Routeburn Track: Day 3, Routeburn Falls to Lake MacKenzie, 2nd March 2022

Across Harris Saddle and the Hollyford Face to Lake MacKenzie

Day three of my Routeburn Track tramp was the big one...five hours climbing up to Harris Saddle and the long sidle along the Hollyford Face. The distance is not that far...only 12 kilometers but the terrain meant it was a tough challenge in places. 

Routeburn Track at Routeburn Falls Hut

It takes two full hours to climb up to Harris Saddle from the Routeburn Falls Hut and it is uphill all the way there. The gradient is ok in some sections but in others it was steep and rocky which really slows you down. I didn't get any views on the way as thick cloud descended down from the saddle and I could only see about 10 meters up the track. 

Climbing up to Harris Saddle on the Routeburn Track

After a brief stop at the Harris Saddle Shelter I continued on my way with the long and exposed sidle across the Hollyford Face. This is the longest section of the day and will take around 1.5-2 hours to cover. 

Making my way across the Hollyford Face, Routeburn Track

From the Hollyford Face there is the steep and very rough descent down switchbacks to Lake MacKenzie. The hut sat tantalizingly close but the rough track meant it took me over 1.5 hours to cover about 2 kilometers of track. 

View down to Lake MacKenzie from near Pt. 1310

It was quite a tough day and I was pleased to finally be sitting at the hut drinking some tea at 1.30 pm...

Walking from Routeburn Falls to Harris Saddle:

Once again I was the second person out the door and the first heading West...I set out on my days journey at around 7.30 am. The first section of the day was alongside the Routeburn Falls so I got to see the cascades for a second time. 

Day three starts with the climb to Harris Saddle

The track winds slowly up the hill past the Routeburn Lodge and it is aiming for the lip of the Routeburn Left Branch basin. A series of switchbacks slowly climb up the side of the hills meaning you are climbing right from the hut door...

Upper Cascade of Routeburn Falls...and my route!!!

The Routeburn Track climbs up past Routeburn Falls Lodge

The weather was dry but overcast and it became cloudier the higher I climbed up the track. I had the track to myself and the first person I saw that day was a mountain runner who passed me as I was approaching the Harris Saddle Shelter. 

Upper cascades of Routeburn Falls

The pools on the lower cascades...Routeburn Falls

Last view down to Routeburn Flats, Routeburn Track

Once you reach the lip of the Routeburn Left Branch the track levels out for about a kilometer as you slowly get closer to the source of the Routeburn. The track is slightly elevated so you have some awesome views out over the surrounding hanging valley with the Routeburn running down its center. 

Crossing into the Routeburn Left Branch, Routeburn Track

Glacial erratic rocks in Routeburn Left Branch

Waterfall in the Routeburn Left Branch...Routeburn Track

You make your way up valley towards a bridge over a side stream where the track climbs up into another basin with Harris Falls at the far end. 

It is a steady climb up out of Routeburn Falls

Looking back down the Routeburn Left Branch, Mt Aspiring NP

Low cloud started to descend into the Routeburn Left Branch

The track is level and easy walking with bridges over all the streams and long sections of boardwalk over the swampy areas. It was quite eerie as the silent cloud descended into the basin and a cold, brisk wind blew down from the saddle. 

Long section of boardwalk enroute to Harris Saddle

Tarns and the Routeburn Left Branch at the basins head

There is another footbridge at the top end of this second basin and from here you start the long climb up to Harris Saddle about 200 meters and two kilometers above you. There is no water at Harris Saddle so if you need some you must take it from this stream...the next source is about 30 minutes along the Hollyford Face on the far side of the saddle.

All major streams have bridges in the Routeburn Left Branch

There were a lot of Golden Spaniard growing in these alpine basins and I took a photo of this fine specimen growing right next to the track. Spaniard grows from about 800 meters to 1300 meters in alpine and sub-alpine regions of the South Island and are a good means of gauging your altitude when tramping...

Golden Spaniard in the Routeburn Left Branch

It grew dimmer and gloomier as I climbed up into the cloud and I had to stop at one point to put my jacket on as the wind was blowing hard and cold. The track would be difficult to lose in cloudy conditions as it is wide, well maintained and marked with a ton of orange snow-poles...

Looking down into the higher basin of the Routeburn Left Branch

There are a series of huge rock Tors along the middle section of the track...massive chonks of rock calved of the bluffs visible high above you. Some of them are as big as a four story building and several of them had natural rock bivy's where slabs have come to rest on others...

Rock Tors just down from Lake Harris, Routeburn Track

This Tor is four stories high, Routeburn Track

Natural rock shelter under the Tor...Routeburn Track

The final push is the section which sidles the hillside high above Lake Harris. There is a long set of stairs to gain altitude and then you are walking on a narrow path with a big drop off to your right. Take care to stay on the track as there is 100 meter bluff right next to the track. 

Ascending into the mist above Lake Harris

So....normally this is the most picturesque part of the whole Routeburn with views of Lake Harris, Valley of the Trolls and Conical Peak. Unfortunately it was cloudy when I walked through the saddle so I got to see bugger all...sorry folks!!!

What you should see...Lake Harris

What Jon saw... Lake Harris in thick cloud!!!

The tarns in the photo below this are about 100 meters away from the Harris Saddle Shelters so when they come into view you are at the high point of your days walk. 

Tarn just before Harris Saddle, Routeburn Track

I eventually made it to Harris Saddle Shelter after walking for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. There is a DOC shelter on the saddle with seating inside for about 20 people and a toilet off to the side of the hut. There is no water here so bring plenty with you. This shelter would be a god send in bad weather as it would get you out of the elements for a while. 

Harris Saddle Shelters loom out of mist

The much fancier Ultimate Hikes Shelter is next door and it looked very nice...light, airy, spacious with water tanks to the rear. That is their $1800-$2400 bucks at work. The photo below is from the DOC website....

Harris Saddle Huts with Conical Hill to rear

Harris Saddle is the border between Mt Aspiring National Park and Fiordland National Park. The demarcation line would be under this sign so of course I acted the Goat and jumped back and forth over the border. Once you start walking down onto the Hollyford Face you are in Fiordland NP for the rest of the trip...

On Harris Saddle, Routeburn Track

 I had intended to stop at the shelter for a break out of the wind BUT it smelt like old, stale hobo piss...so I didn't. Many dirty dogs have obviously relieved themselves inside...instead I kept walking down the hill and onto the Hollyford Face...

DOC Harris Saddle Shelter, Fiordland NP

Interior of Harris Saddle Shelter...dark and stinky!!!

Harris Shelter is at an impressive height...

In clear weather you would have a stupendous view of the Darran Mountains and the chance to walk up Conical Hill Track. I didn't bother this day as it was totally covered with cloud...no views to see!!!

Cloud over the Hollyford Valley, Fiordland NP

The descent to the Hollyford Face is steep and rocky but it then levels out into a long slow sidle along the flank of this side of the Hollyford Valley. You will spend the next two hours walking up valley along the Hollyford Face with views down to the valley bottom and across to the Darran Range.

Descent down from Harris Saddle to Hollyford Face...windy!!!

It was dark and cold along the Hollyford Face

Be aware that this is the most exposed section of the Routeburn Track as it receives all the fury of the elements especially when a southerly wind is blowing. Be prepared with warm clothing, decent wet weather gear and plenty of sustaining food. You will find calm pockets tucked out of the wind so try to stop there if you need a break. 

Darran Range loom out of clouds...Routeburn Track

Cloud covers Harris Saddle and Conical Hill

I have seen this particular section of the Routeburn Track in many photos...it looks otherworldly with the big stepping stones and weird Alpine plants. Craig Potton has an excellent photo of this area in his book about the Great Walks. 

Stepping stones along the Hollyford Face

View towards head of Hollyford Valley

 Mt Gifford (2149) from the Hollyford Face

About 30 minutes along the Hollyford Face you pass the turn off to the Deadmans Track...this goes down to the bottom of the Hollyford Valley. It is a heinously steep and quite dangerous side track so is best left for emergencies and those with good outdoor skills...it is not an easy escape from the Routeburn.

Turn off to Deadmans Track, Hollyford Face

Just past Deadmans Track is a foot bridge over a permanent stream and this is the first place to get water since the Routeburn side of the Harris Saddle. I stopped for a 15 minute break and filled my water bottles with icy cold fresh water. 

By Gawd was it good!!!!

Ocean Peak and Pt. 1544 on the Hollyford Face

Ocean Peak (1848) just above the Hollyford Face

Just past the stream I moved out into the sun shine as the sun came over the surrounding mountains and onto the Hollyford Face. It was much nicer conditions to be walking in and I was able to dispense with my woolly hat and jacket for the rest of the trip to the lake. 

Cloud starts to clear off Harris Saddle

It is really amazing how much happier you feel with the sun warming your back as you walk...it certainly put an extra spring in my step. 

Happy to be back in the sun on the Hollyford Face

By this time the cloud had retreated and the sky had turn to a lovely blue sky day. I had some awesome views over the Hollyford Valley and at certain points you could even see all the way out to Martins Bay at the western end of the Hollyford Valley.

Mt Sabre to Mt Gifford on the Darran Range

Mountains between Mt Sabre and Mt Gunn, Darran Range

Sidling along the Hollyford Face on the Routeburn Track

 I started to encounter people heading the opposite direction along the track including a large guided group with over 25 people in it. They universally talked to me about the nasty track from Lake MacKenzie to the top of the hill near Pt. 1310. 

They were not wrong....be we will get to that soon.

View down the Hollyford Valley from the Routeburn Track

Upper basin of the Hollyford Valley..Gunns Camp below

The ridge off Pt. 1449 in middle distance....Routeburn Track

You descend down to Lake MacKenzie past this ridge

I spiked myself in the knee with a Spaniard when I stepped off the track for a break...stupid Jon wasn't looking where he was going. It was nice siting there in the sun and out of wind and enjoying the beautiful views...

Beautifully sunny conditions on the Routeburn Track

The last section of the Hollyford Face is the walk around the ridge coming down off Pt. 1449...it juts out into the Hollyford Valley and you walk the contours around its edge. Just past here was the start of the descent down to Lake MacKenzie my final goal for the day. 

Martins Bay just visible at end of Hollyford Valley

Heading for Pt.1310 and descent to Lake Mackenzie

Tarns on the ridge above Lake MacKenzie

The ridge juts out far enough into the valley below that you can see Lake McKerrow at the mouth of the Hollyford Valley. You could clearly see waves breaking on the shore even though it is over 40 kilometers distant....

You can see the West Coast from the Routeburn Track

A distant Lake McKerrow about 40 kilometers away....

I stopped for another break at the top of the switchbacks leading down to Lake MacKenzie...you could see up the Hollyford to where SH94 was running through to Milford Sound. You could also see across to Key Summit and I noted a number of glints on the top from people visiting the area. The rest of the track was visible sidling the distant hills...my pathway for the next day. 

View to Key Summit from near Pt.1310, Routeburn Track

Pt.1821 on the Ailsa Range above Lake MacKenzie

From the ridge I climbed the last small slope and then had views down to the Lake MacKenzie area for the first time. The huts looked tiny on the valley bottom about two kilometers away and 300 meters below me...

Alpine Dracophyllum plants above Lake MacKenzie

First view of the Lake MacKenzie Huts

From the ridge line you drop very steeply down the track along a series of sharp switchbacks. The top section was rough and included several places where I had to clamber down small rock faces. I took few photos as it was a committing piece of track...you had to constantly watch your feet because a fall along here would mean certain serious injury.

Lots of ankle breakers and bluffs to plunge over...

Lake MacKenzie, Fiordland NP

After the first difficult section off the ridge top the track levels out into far more forgiving switchbacks. 

On the path down to Lake MacKenzie

Lake MacKenzie Hut is at the eastern end of the lake

About halfway to the hut you pass a large boulder with memorial plaques on it for trampers who didn't make it off this track. There were two for some teenagers who died on a school trip back in the 1960's and one for that Czech guy who fell off the track in 2016. 

Tragic in both cases as they were so close to the hut...less than a kilometer as the crow flies. Sometimes these mountains can be mild, beautiful and awe inspiring and sometimes a real monster.

Memorial plaques for trampers lost on the Routeburn Track

The track to Lake MacKenzie is slow going...

The last kilometer of the track to the lake is below the bush line...the first bush since early the previous day. It didn't speed up my pace though as the track from here to the flats near the hut is some of the gnarliest I have ever walked on a Great Walk. You are walking over old boulder fields so it is steep, rocky, slippery from moss and chaotic. 

Thank god for the trekking poles is all I can say...they are a knee saver.

Back in the bush near Lake MacKenzie for the first time that day...

This beast was a huge chonk of rock about three stories high and totally covered with moss and ferns...I'm glad I wasn't here when it rolled down the mountain side.

Three story high boulder enroute to Lake MacKenzie

Goblin forest at the mouth of Lake MacKenzie

Chaotic track conditions near Lake MacKenzie 

A small cavern along the track near Lake MacKenzie

Eventually I made it to the flats at the eastern end of Lake MacKenzie and caught the occasional view of the hut just in the distance. I could taste that waiting brew of Earl Grey....

First close view of Lake MacKenzie Hut

You will arrive at a junction with the side track to Lake MacKenzie Hut...turn left and walk the last 100 meters through flat bushland to the the hut. 

I finally arrive at Lake MacKenzie Hut in Fiordland NP

I made it to the hut at around 1.30 pm so it had taken me about five and a bit hours to cover the ground between the two huts. I was the second arrival for the night so chose a lower bunk in the main bunkroom and proceeded to hoe into some lunch, soup and a big brew of tea...

Front entrance to Lake MacKenzie Hut

Lake MacKenzie is 100 meters from the DOC hut

Looking back towards the ridge off Pt. 1449

The mountains between Lake Harris and Lake MacKenzie

Lake MacKenzie hut is the oldest on the Routeburn Track now and probably due for replacement soon. It is still serviceable but is starting to look its age. It is the same design as Iris Burn and Moturau on the Kepler Track and was built about the same time...mid to late 1980's. 

When DOC was set up in 1987 they got a bucket load of cash from the government of the day to build stuff and build they did. Tracks, bridges, huts and other structures. Its a pity subsequent governments weren't so free with the cash...

Lake MacKenzie Hut: the cooking space...

Lake MacKenzie Hut: the living space downstairs...

Lake MacKenzie Hut: entrance to the hut...

 It has 50 bunks with 30 in a room at the top of the hut and a separate bunkroom outside with another 20 beds. Moving some of the bunks to another building is a fantastic idea. It has created a lot of space in the hut in the living/cooking area that would otherwise have been taken up with bunks. 

Lake MacKenzie Hut: the upstairs bunkroom

Lake MacKenzie Hut: the upstairs bunkroom

Lake MacKenzie Hut: the 20 bunk overflow bunkroom

Lake MacKenzie Hut was very comfortable and I enjoyed my nights stay there. I especially liked the veranda...most of us spent the afternoon sitting there in the sun and enjoying the remarkable scenery that surrounded us. 

Lake MacKenzie Hut: Information panels in the hut...

Closer view of the information panels, Lake MacKenzie Hut

After spending some down time in and around the hut I decided to go for a walk down to the nearby campsite via the eastern end of the lake. The lake is only 100 meters away and the campsite is five minutes down a side track and about 200 meters away.

Lake MacKenzie, Fiordland NP

I stopped at the lake first and had a bit of a walk out into the water to test the temperature. Oh boy was it cold!!!! Lots of people went for a swim when they arrived but that water temperature put me right off...I washed my legs and feet but there is no way I would have plunged into that icy pool.

The flats at this end of Lake MacKenzie...sometimes submerged!!!

The water was cold in Lake MacKenzie

The campsite is a couple of hundred meters along the side of Lake MacKenzie and looked like it would be a decent spot for camping. There was an open sided cook shelter and a set of camping spots for tents. They looked weird as they are covered with artificial grass...it almost looked like a mini putt course. 

Cooking shelter at Lake MacKenzie Campsite

Unusual setup at the Lake MacKenzie Campsite

There is a separate DOC workers hut at Lake MacKenzie and I especially liked the mail box stuck to the veranda rail though I doubt any mail is getting delivery to it anytime soon...

Hut wardens quarters at Lake MacKenzie

So that was my penultimate day on the Routeburn Track. All that remained was the section from Lake MacKenzie to the Divide Shelter and that would be the end of my 30 years walking the Great Walk Tracks. 

Access: The Routeburn Track can be walked in both direction with the majority of trampers walking from East to West. From Queenstown I took the shuttle to the Routeburn Shelter stopping at Glenorchy on the way. We then followed the access road for about 30 kilometers to the carpark at Routeburn Shelter. The track starts from the bridge over the Routeburn.

Track Times:  Routeburn Falls Hut to Lake MacKenzie Hut is 12 kilometers or 5 hours walking time. 

Hut Details:   Routeburn Falls Hut: Great Walk, 50 bunks, woodburner, water tanks, woodshed, flush toilets: Routeburn Falls Lodge: Private Lodge run by Ultimate Hikes for guided walkers: Harris Saddle Shelter: Day shelter only, toilets, bench seating inside, picnic table outside: Lake MacKenzie Hut: Great Walk, 50 bunks, woodburner, water tanks, woodshed, flush toilets: Lake MacKenzie Campsite: Great Walk, 10 sites, cooking shelter, water, compostable toilets: Lake MacKenzie Lodge: Private Lodge run by Ultimate Hikes for guided walkers

Miscellaneous: All Great Walk huts/campsites are on the DOC Hut booking system, must be booked for overnight visit. Hut Warden present over summer season. Easy track but some uphill sections especially along the Routeburn Gorge. The access road to Routeburn Shelter is gravel and can be difficult to use in winter due to deep snow. 

You Tube Link: Routeburn Falls to Lake MacKenzie