Routeburn

...so, almost up to date...

...today we got back from a two day walk up part of the Routeburn track - one of the 5 'Great Walks' in New Zealand. We only had time to do part of it and avalanche risks meant that we couldn't have walked the middle section anyway (but you could take a 30 second helicopter ride over for just $55!), but it was a fantastic couple of days, maybe the best yet?

The walk started in mossy beach forests and climbed steadily rising to a large, flat valley surrounded by mountains with a river winding its way through. After that the track became steeper, climbing up and out through the trees to Routeburn Falls hut, where we would be spending the night. We dropped off some of our gear and carried on as high as we could go to the summit at Harris Saddle. Sadly, we couldn't get to the top, but it was this part of the walk that was absolutely stunning - a wide bowl shaped valley, ringed by snow covered mountains, with a lake and waterfalls (middle and bottom pics). I've never seen anything like it.

Last night we slept at 1000m at Routeburn Falls, and I have to say it was nicer than many of the hostels we've stayed in. It has a verandah facing out over the valley and mountains, so cool! Today we walked the same route out and now we're in Queenstown for the night, getting a few jobs done before driving towards Mount Cook tomorrow. What are my chance of persuading Tim not to climb to the top of it?

K&Txx