Kepler Mountains Walk – New Zealand Visit – February 2015 – Part 7

This was the last walk we did on our New Zealand visit. After completing the Greenstone – Caples walk, we had originally intended to spend a few days on the Hollyford Track, but we had already done a fair bit of valley walking and thought it may be better to spend a few days in the hills.

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We and not booked any spots in the huts of the Kepler Great Walk, but we knew it was OK to camp near the track – as long as you camp more than 500 m from the track (except in two spots). So that was what we decided to do. We would walk up from Te Anau to the tops of the Kepler Mountains, camp for a night or two and then return.

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So, we set of from the carpark near the Lake Te Anau Control Gates and walked part way around the lake to Brod Point and then followed the track to the tops. Being a great walk track – it was built to an excellent standard. Our progress was not fast however, as there was a lot of fungi and slime moulds out to photograph.

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Once up on the open tops, we looked around for a campsite and found one close to the bushline well away from the track.

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It was nice to have fine weather and great views, but overnight it cooled down to below freezing and the next morning was a bit frosty. It was a clear sunrise, but a little later a big mist rolled in and covered our campsite and the ridge nearby. We packed our gear and set of back to the Kepler Track and continued on to Luxmore Hut. It was still very misty when we arrived, so we dumped our packs and set off with daypacks for the summit of nearby Mt Luxmore.

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We had great conditions. It didn’t take long to climb above the mist into a world of mountains. The mountains of Fiordland. A fantastic place! We continued on and soon arrived at Mt Luxmore. More photos….

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Then back down. At Luxmore Hut, we did a short side trip to Luxmore Cave – a nearby limestone cave. It was well worth visiting and it would be good to spend more time exploring underground.

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Then we shouldered our packs and set off back down to the shores of lake Te Anau.

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We camped the night at the campsite at Brod Point and on the next morning we walked back to Te Anau. We later headed back to Queenstown from where we flew back to Australia the next day.

More photos online on my website spread over two pages – Page 1 and Page 2

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