Location: South Island, near Queenstown
Track / Route: Greenstone and Caples Tracks
Adventure Type: Multiday hike
Distance: 63.5km
Duration: 3 Days
Huts / Campsites: Night 1: Camping in the Greenstone Valley.Â
Night 2: Camping in the Caples Valley
Who went: Zebedy Harris and Thais Ehinger
The Greenstone and Caples Tracks near Queenstown make for an excellent multiday tramp.
Being a loop makes it logistically easy, and means that every day is different as you don’t have to backtrack the same way you came in. The hike offers beautiful mountain valleys, alpine scenery and stunning blue rivers.
With a good weather forecast and three days to spare on our little road trip, Thais and I decided to tick this one off our list.
Day 1: Into the Greenstone Valley
We decided to hike the loop in a clockwise direction. This track is most commonly completed over four days, but we wanted to squeeze it into three. Day 1 started in the Greenstone Valley and was our biggest day of the trip.
The track wanders through some lovely forest alongside the Greenstone River, giving us glimpses of the pristine blue waters that flow through these valleys. The surrounding peaks made themselves known whenever we popped out into the open flats.
Making good time, we took a quick detour to visit Slip Flat Hut, a rustic little three bunk hut, before continuing on to the Greenstone/Mavora Walkway junction.
Slip Flat Hut.
We decided not to bother visiting Greenstone Hut, as I had visited it previously on Te Araroa, and had lunch at the junction where we were visited by a friendly South Island robin.
With just over 13km under our belt, we got moving with the goal of getting to camp while the sun was still shining. The track continued to open up to the river plains and envelope us in stretches of bush as we followed the track up the Greenstone Valley.
As the day wore on and the kilometres added up, we were keen to find a campsite, but we were struggling to find one to our liking. Eventually, as the sun dipped behind the mountains, we found a nice flat spot with a great view looking down the valley.
The Mont Moondance 2 FN tent was quickly set up and water was on the boil for dinner. Day 1 ended up being 27.81km in total, a bit further than we had intended.
Night 1 campsite.
Day 2: McKellar Lake and the Saddle
Day 2 started with oats to break our fast. After a great night’s sleep in the tent, we were excited to continue hiking and see what the day had to bring.
The track took us in and out of the forest and river plains, with a few small muddy sections to navigate around. We arrived at McKellar Hut in good time, had a quick snack and wrote our intentions in the DOC book.
Hiking through some beautiful lush bush, we passed the sign that marked the start of Fiordland National Park before reaching McKellar Lake.
Looking back towards McKellar Lake.
The track took us around the edge of the lake. With the mountains looming in front of us, this was going to be the steepest part of the trip as we made our way towards McKellar Saddle.
Slow and steady wins the race, and we made good time up to the mountain pass. We had beautiful views of the surrounding mountains, with Mount Christina showing off proudly.
The subalpine part of this track is fragile and you are not allowed to camp here. The track consists of a well-maintained boardwalk to minimise trampling of the sensitive environment. We had lunch just off the saddle before beginning the descent down to the Caples River and into the Caples Valley.
Making our way onto McKellar Saddle.
On McKellar Saddle with Mount Christina in the distance.
This was probably the most monotonous part of the trip. With the track steadily snaking its way through the seemingly never-ending forest, we started to feel it drag on a bit.
I took a quick detour to visit Upper Caples Hut before we made our way onto the grassy flats of the Caples Valley.
We had made good time and wanted to spend some time lounging in the sun, so we found a lovely spot to camp next to the Caples River. We had covered 22.51km and were starting to feel it.
Campsite, Night 2.
We tried to enjoy the afternoon sun, but unfortunately the sandflies had a different idea. They had to be some of the worst sandflies I have experienced out in the backcountry. They were relentless.
The wind did pick up occasionally, which gave us brief moments of respite. We managed a quick dip in the cold river and, as the evening drew near, we enjoyed some yummy Real Meals for dinner. I was definitely grateful for the fast boil time of my Soto Fusion Trek Stove.
With food in our bellies, we surrendered to the protection of our tent, where we spent some time attacking the sandflies that followed us in, and got ready for an early start the next day.
Day 3: Back to the Carpark
We started the third and final day of our trip in the dark before the sun had come up. With my Soto stove, we got some water on the boil for coffee, tea for Thais and some Radix breakfasts before packing up our camp and getting on the trail.
We were aiming to make good time back to the carpark. The sandflies made themselves known as we started hiking, which was perfect timing. We had a couple of kilometres to get to Mid Caples Hut.
On our way to Mid Caples Hut.
We reached it to find people enjoying their breakfasts inside the cosy confines. Not wanting to dilly dally, we had a very brief stop and got moving again.
We spent the morning hiking amongst the bush and river flats while the sun slowly crept higher into the sky. We made great time back to the carpark, hiking the remaining 13km in three hours.
The final kilometres back through the Caples Valley.
We had an amazing three days out in the New Zealand backcountry, and it was great to tick off this classic New Zealand tramp.
The Greenstone and Caples Tracks are an excellent option for someone wanting to give multiday tramping a go. With plenty of camp and accommodation options available, you can complete this trip at your own pace.
Gear Notes
Mont Moondance 2 FN
An excellent tent to handle New Zealand conditions. A durable tent, but still light enough for one person to carry without too much issue.
We had good weather on this trip, but if it turned, we could be confident knowing our shelter could handle it. It is quick and easy to set up, which after a long day of hiking is appreciated.
Black Diamond Betalight 45
My current favourite pack for when I need to carry more gear. Plenty big enough to fit everything and some for a multiday tramp.
The Ultra fabric is best in class when it comes to weight versus durability. Weighing under a kilo, the pack still carried very comfortably, even with a two person tent and three days worth of food.
