Routeburn Track - Routeburn Shelter to Routeburn Falls Hut

Day 1 of the Routeburn Falls hike started with a beautiful drive up from Queenstown up through Glenorchy to the Routeburn Shelter.  If you have a chance to spend some time around Glenorchy, try  horse riding up through the Glacial Valley!


The trails are well defined and the first part of the hike to Routeburn Flats is easy going uphill.


The clouds will start to lift as the day progresses.  You are soon walking beside a beautiful mountain stream.





You will soon cross a tension bridge - there are lots of these in NZ and they are very well built!  This is when you start realising you are in "Narnia" (for C.S. Lewis fans).



You continue to follow this stream out onto the Routeburn Flats (play sound of music soundtrack here).


Your target for the night is at the top of the falls - in the saddle of the following photo.


If you wanted, you could camp or stay at the Routeburn Flats Hut which has a pretty amazing outlook.


The next section of the trail is a bit rocky and quite steep as we climb out of the valley up to the Routeburn Falls Hut.  There are amazing views to take your mind off the uphill climb.


Once you get to the Routeburn Falls hut you can drop your backpack off and go and explore the local area.









Location: Routeburn Track, Mount Aspiring National Park 9372, New Zealand

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