4 days to waste in Te Anau so why not.

Day 1: Rainbow Reach Carpark to Brod Bay Campground (15.1km)

So this is my second time doing Kepler and I like to think I’ve learnt a lot since last time so here goes! A lighter pack and a brand new tent, this should be interesting. 

I dropped my little bro off at the official start of the Keppler track as he was going to be walking roughly the same days as me except he was staying in the huts while I was just going to camp it.

I waved goodbye and drove off feeling a little guilty knowing he was dealing with some nasty blisters from a big walk a couple of days earlier. Anyway, he was making his own adventure and didn’t seem too concerned so I’m sure he’ll be ok. 

I headed down the road to Rainbow Reach carpark which was going to add 9.5km to my day but it was going to make our last day that much shorter and I had a feeling little bro was gonna need it.

I’d already pushed this trip back a day in the hopes of better weather but it was still pretty wet and rainy as I crossed the suspension bridge and started walking towards Brod Bay.

The walk itself is pretty easy going and the wet weather meant the moss, ferns and fungi were looking their finest. A little over 2hrs and I was at the control gates. 

The weather man was true to his word and the rain had mostly stopped as I continued on for another hour and a bit on level ground. Loosely following the shoreline until I got to Brod Bay camping area. 

Amenities were better than expected with two drop toilets, a cooking shelter, water tank and a fireplace for those rare days when the wood is dry enough to burn. I didn’t see any designated camping spots but there was plenty of options to camp right by the shore if you wanted.

I spent longer than I’d like to admit setting up my new tent, desperately trying to remember what the YouTube video said (yeah I threw the instructions out while muttering something about ultralight hiking). 

Quick chat with the other campers to let them know I wasn’t a psycho then off to bed for an early sleep. First time sleeping in a 4 season tent and I’ve gotta say, I’m feeling pretty toasty as I type this into my phone!

Day 2: Brod Bay > Luxmore Hut > Iris Burn Campsite (22.8km)

Woke to a thick fog over the lake, weather was cool but it looked like the rain was gone so I packed up and had a quick breakfast with the sand flies before heading up the mountain. 

I remember doing this walk a few years back and my pack was really heavy and I’d made a lot of mistakes in how it was packed so I remember doing it pretty tough. This time felt much better but it was still a pretty slow trudge up the hill. 

1.5hrs got me to the limestone bluffs which were pretty daunting to be walking under, 30 more minutes and I was through the tree line where it opened up and I was lucky enough to see clear skies. Another hour and I was at Luxmore Hut.

Ditched my pack (inside away from circling Kea) and made my way towards the cave. It was pretty interesting but I don’t think I went in as far as i could have. I kinda wussed out being on my own and my headlamp has this cool habit of turning off when I try to tilt it which it did to me twice leaving me in total darkness. (DOC says to take two light sources per person and luckily I had my phone as backup)

Back to Luxmore Hut where I tried to have a quick snack but gave up after being harassed by a particularly pesky Kea. They’ve definitely got braver since I was here last.

Onward and upward! The plan was to head all the way over the mountain to camp at iris burn so I still had another 14.6km ahead of me.

This section is definitely the most picturesque part of the walk with a worthwhile side trip to Luxmore summit if the weather is good. It was interesting to compare this trip with my last attempt when there was snow along this whole section. Amazing to see how high you really are and all the other surrounding mountains. 

The track follows the ridgeline between a few peaks with a couple of emergency shelters along the way before plunging sharply down below the tree line again. There’s a sign at the second shelter (Hanging Valley Shelter) that says 2hrs to Iris Burn but I reckon that was pretty optimistic.

I remember from last time that this section from the tree line to Iris Burn Hut is longer than you think but no matter how much I kept telling myself that, I was still amazed at how long it just keeps going… switchbacks for days! (I was tempted to scream into the void “It just keeps fucking going!”)

Finally stumbled in to Iris Burn Campsite and was greeted by a cloud of sand flies. The campsite itself is really nice with a choice of forest sites or more open spots in a field. There’s a cooking shelter with some amazing views up the valley, a water tank and a couple of drop toilets.

The hut warden warned us that they’d been having an issue with Kea trying to get into tents at night and looking for food so suggested we use the campers storage locker to keep our packs safe. The down side was that there was also a bit of a rat problem with rats getting into tents and packs so he’d placed traps and baits around the storage locker. Seemed like whatever you chose you were going to end up feeding someone. 

I opted to seal all my food in about 3 layers of dry bags and keep it in my pack in the tent. The only time I’ve ever had a pack chewed into was in a hut which is why I generally like to avoid them if I can. (Not sure if it helped but I also went crazy with insect repellant to try and make my tent the least appealing to investigate). I even considered smearing hand sani on my zips for any nosy Kea but i figured that was overkill. Pack and tent survived the night but I didn’t hear of anyone else getting chewed into either so maybe it was all for nothing. 

There’s a heap of stuff to see and do around Iris Burn Hut but to be honest I was pretty buggered from a massive day so crashed out early. It was cool to hear all the different bird calls as I drifted off to sleep.

Day 3: Iris Burn Hut > Rainbow Reach Carpark (22.2km)

I was one of the last campers to leave, had a pretty lazy start to the morning and my feet were pretty sore so I wasn’t in any rush. Tried to have breakfast but eventually got run out of camp by the sand flies. I was probably 5 minutes down the trail taking fungi photos when little bro wandered up behind me, perfect timing! 

This last section was pretty consistent, a bit of a downhill then just a steady, mostly level, track that follows the Iris Burn through some lush green moss and ferns. A few muddy patches from the rain a couple of days earlier but nothing crazy. 

Eventually the track meets the shoreline of Lake Manapouri at Shallow bay with a few opportunities to duck down to the waters edge. A little further and we had a quick stop at Moturau Hut but it was pretty cold and windy so didn’t stay long. Perfect spot to soak your feet if you wanted to spend a little longer though. 

We pushed onward, both pretty fatigued I think and just keen to get back to the car. Overall a pretty easy walk but felt tough coming off the back of two solid days. 

A couple of swing bridges later and we’d made it! The car was there a I hadn’t lost my keys, I even found a packet of lollies in the boot 😀

“Missed opportunities are just a reason to do it again”