Category: Great Walks

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Hiking the Routeburn Track outside the Great Walks season (May to October) | Conservation blog

Source: Department of Conservation

The Routeburn Track is one of the highlights of New Zealand tramping. It offers dramatic mountain views, alpine lakes and sparkling waterfalls.

Most people hike the track during the Great Walks season, which runs from the start of November to the end of April.

Outside the Great Walks season, conditions on the track change dramatically. Winter blankets the track with snow and ice. There are avalanches and the streams and rivers flood often.

The Routeburn Track in late October 2023. Photo: Josefin Westdahl

The track remains open, but anyone attempting the track through this period needs winter alpine skills, equipment and experience.

If you’ve only seen photos of the Routeburn Track during the Great Walks season, it’s hard to imagine how the landscape changes in winter. The local DOC team have put together these photos to help bring it to life.

(Left)The Routeburn Track in late October 2023. Photo: Josefin Westdahl.
(Right) Lake Harris on 27 April 2024. Photo: Niall Bullock

Conditions on the Routeburn Track change often during the off-season, so always contact the Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre or the Queenstown Visitor Centre before departure to discuss the current situation.

The track is often buried in deep, unstable snow over winter

Snow tends to start accumulating in the alpine section of the Routeburn Track from mid to late May. By winter, Harris Saddle is usually covered in snow.

Snow can make sections of the track treacherous. It can also make it hard to navigate and even cover the marker poles.

Photo: Sophie Carty

Low visibility makes navigation even more challenging.

Spot the marker pole. Photo: John the Hut Ranger

Hiking in snow is much slower and more difficult than hiking in normal conditions. You will need to carry alpine equipment and walking times will be longer than signposted.

The Routeburn Track in late October 2023. Photo: Josefin Westdahl

The snow causes avalanches that can cross the track.

The Routeburn Track has a lot of Challenging and Complex avalanche terrain. There are over 32 avalanche paths, some of which can bring debris to the valley floor and across the Routeburn Track.

PDF maps of avalanche paths: Lake Howden to Lake Mackenzie | Lake Mackenzie to Falls Hut

DOC does not manage avalanche risk on the Routeburn Track outside the Great Walks season. If you are going then, make sure you:

• have the skills for the Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale (ATES) class you are going into
• have checked the NZ Avalanche Advisory
• have talked to the Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre or the Queenstown Visitor Centre about the current conditions
• take and know how to use an avalanche transceiver, avalanche probe and a snow shovel.

September and October is avalanche season. Avalanches start high above the track, so even if there is little or no snow on the track, people walking it could still be hit by an avalanche.

Harris Bluffs in October 2018, with the Routeburn Track and an area of avalanche risk marked. Photo: Mike, Track Hopper

It is common to get ice covering the track

Water on the track freezes and becomes very slippery ice. The Hollyford Face and Harris Saddle can be extremely dangerous when covered in ice and snow.

Ice on the Routeburn Track. Photo: DOC Fiordland
Ice on the Routeburn Track. Photo: Anna Morley (DOC)

Sometimes the alpine lakes freeze over. They are beautiful but are dangerous to walk on. Thin ice can be covered by snow, which could break when walked on.

It is very cold and there can be storm damage on the track

Very cold temperatures are common in winter. Daylight hours are short and the high mountains let little sunlight into the valleys. Anyone attempting the track needs to carry lots of warm, waterproof clothing, as hypothermia is a real risk.

Storms are common in winter. There can be fallen trees over the track, making it impassable.

Windfall on the Routeburn Track after a storm. Photo: James McQueen, DOC.

Side streams can flood and two bridges are removed

DOC flies out two avalanche-prone bridges in early June. They are re-instated when the avalanche risk dissipates in late October to early November.

Unbridged side streams can flood, becoming swift, icy and dangerous to cross.

Wash Creek in flood on the Routeburn Track. Photo: Or Moshe

Hut facilities and transport services are reduced

Facilities are reduced in the Routeburn Track huts in winter. For example, there is no gas provided and running water is turned off inside the huts. If the outside tanks freeze, hikers need to get water by melting snow or collecting it from streams. It is very cold in the huts.

Routeburn Falls Hut. Photo: DOC Whakatipu.

Track transport shuttles don’t operate to the Glenorchy area out of season.

There are safer winter tramping alternatives than the full Routeburn Track

If you want to experience this track in winter, the local Visitor Centre team recommends an overnight return tramp to Routeburn Flats Hut or Routeburn Falls Hut.

This is a safer trip than the full Routeburn Track, though you still need to be well prepared and equipped for winter conditions, and ready for reduced facilities at the huts.

Talk to the Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre or the Queenstown Visitor Centre about the current track conditions and what trips would suit you and your group.

Routeburn Falls frozen. Photo: Anna Morley (DOC)

Where to learn more

• Routeburn Track website page

• Download a winter tramping information sheet

Te Rua-o-te-moko/Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre
Phone +64 3 249 7924
Email fiordlandvc@doc.govt.nz
Address Lakefront Drive
Te Anau 9600
Whakatipu-wai-Māori/Queenstown Visitor Centre
Phone +64 3 442 7935
Email queenstownvc@doc.govt.nz
Address 50 Stanley Street
Queenstown 9300
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7 top tips for hanging out with wildlife this summer | Conservation blog

Source: Department of Conservation

The summer season is upon us once again, and with that brings the festive spirit, family time, relaxation and many adventures. Many kiwis, nation and bird alike will be taking pause, time to themselves and looking to recuperate before the new year.

Whether you are an advanced tramper, or a complete amateur when it comes to our national walks, lakes, forests and wildlife, the same rules apply, we urge you to consider and respect the wildlife that call the environment surrounding you, home.

Always remember DOC HOT. Our emergency hotline that operates 24/7.

Call 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468) immediately if you see anyone catching, harming or killing native wildlife.

Here are 7 important top tips we have compiled for hanging out with the wildlife this summer:

1) Take time before you go to research, plan and understand the different wildlife that inhabit where you are planning to go

One of the most important tips to take with you, is having a clear plan of action ready and available to you when you are on your tramp/hike/bike or swim. New Zealand is precious – everyone who lives and travels here has a responsibility to look after it.

Make sure you are utilising all information available to you on our website, detailed tips and tricks for your desired destination.

  • Take care of Aotearoa, and always be prepared for your trip:
    – Weather
    – Maps
    – Land Safety Code
    – Take a distress beacon
    – Gear lists
  • Alerts:  find out about changes in conservation areas that might affect the safety or enjoyment of your trip
  • Protect nature: keep your distance and don’t feed wildlife (more on this below). Follow any rules restricting dogs, fires, drones and vehicles.
    – How to behave around wildlife
    – Dog access
    – Pets on public conservation land
    – Fires on public conservation land

2) Don’t feed the native wildlife

Weka – Image: Sabine Bernert | ©

Over the days, weeks, months of your travelling/tramping/exploring, protect our precious native species by keeping your distance and not feeding them.

Don’t share your picnic with birds, no matter how convincing they may be, especially our cheeky kea.

Our birds evolved without human food and aren’t used to it – it can make them sick and can even be fatal. Wildlife congregating in areas known for human food can also spread disease. If kākā or kea eat food such as nuts and seeds they may develop metabolic bone disease.

So, don’t feed our wildlife – even if they ask.

3) If you want a picture, don’t get close – use your zoom instead

Getting too close stresses wildlife.

Top tip: enjoy marine mammals – from a distance. Especially seals and sea lions.

Keep at least 20 m, the length of two buses, away from seals and sea lions. If you are too close, they may panic and stampede, hurting themselves in the process. Some may become aggressive, especially if you are blocking their escape route to the sea or near their babies.

They can move as quickly as you can.

Although they look cute, they have a nasty bite. Their resting time on land is important, so try not to disturb them.

If you are in the water, on your boats, jet skis, paddle boarding or even just swimming – and you are lucky enough to see one of our marine mammals (e.g. dolphins or whales), it is important to stay back and give them space.

Before you go check the rules for operating boats or swimming near marine mammals here: Sharing our coasts with marine mammals (doc.govt.nz)

Dolphin watching from a boat. 
Image: Ailie Suzuki, Dolphin Watch & Nature Tours. | ©

4) Leave nesting birds ALONE

If you come across a roped off or signposted area, it may be a nesting ground for one of our critically endangered species, like dotterel or black billed gulls.

You need to avoid these places to protect our species.

Make sure your dogs are kept away as well.

It is important to remember, not all birds nesting spots are marked, so stay alert while walking on dunes or riverbeds and avoid any birds you see.

Driftwood provides good cover for New Zealand dotterel chicks and eggs 
Image: Mithuna Sothieson | DOC

5) Take extra care if you have dogs with you

Having your best friend on your adventure seems like a great idea at first, unless your best friend is furry and four-legged with a nose for investigating! Do yourself a favour, make sure you know where you can take your dog and access rules – different areas have different rules on if you can take your dog there or not. Some areas allow dogs, others require a permit, and some do not allow dogs at all.

Birds get stressed when chased by dogs. One panicked seal can start a chain reaction in a breeding colony, where pups are at risk of being crushed by adult seals rushing to the sea for safety.

A wildlife scan makes a good game plan.

Some of the wildlife on our beaches can be quite camouflaged. Sleeping fur seal/kekeno, or sea lion/pakake can look a lot like a log or bit of driftwood from a distance. Visually scan the area so you are always one step ahead of your dog and you can plan where to walk.

Example of fur seals/kekeno being well camouflaged. There’s a lot of seals in the background, can you spot them?
Image: Shellie Evans

Different coloured leads

You might start noticing more traffic-light-coloured leads around the place because of Lead the Way. These are a bonus for dog safety as they let others know the temperament of your dog.

  • Green is friendly with dogs and people
  • Orange is caution sometimes nervous/reactive with new dogs or people
  • Red is often nervous or reactive with new dogs or people
  • Yellow is disabled so vulnerable to some interactions

It’s always good practice to ask an owner permission first before approaching their dog – no matter what colour lead, bandana or collar a dog might be wearing, if they say no, please respect their dog’s need for space.

Not all dogs like other dogs or people.

If you ignore dog access rules or conditions, you may be issued an infringement fine or prosecuted if you take your dogs into no access areas, controlled areas without a permit, or breach the conditions of your permit.

A dog may be seized and impounded or destroyed if it is found in a national park or controlled dog area without a permit.

Report dogs where they are not allowed to Animal Control or DOC:

  • Animal Control: +64 7 348 4199
  • 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468)

Cats are not allowed on national conservation land under any circumstances.

6) Keep New Zealand clean

Take all rubbish with you and use toilets where provided. Be a tidy kiwi, as you would do in your own home, our beautiful nature and wildlife deserve the same respect.

Poo in a loo – and be prepared when there isn’t one

Like all waste, it’s important to properly dispose of used period products when tramping. Take used tampons and pads away with you and know how to properly empty menstrual cups in the backcountry.

Help keep our natural environment free of litter. Litter harms our environment and wildlife. This includes food scraps which feed pests like rats, stoats and mice.

Be prepared to carry your litter away with you.

There are no rubbish bins in the bush. It helps to come prepared with a container or bag for rubbish and to remove excess packaging before you go.

Packing away a banana skin 
Image: DOC

Do not discard plastics, nylon fishing line and other types of rubbish at sea. Like whales, large filter-feeding sharks and rays can accidentally ingest these, and all species suffer from entanglement in marine debris.

7) Finally, be respectful

Respect others, respect culture.

Help everyone enjoy the outdoors by being considerate of others when you’re out in nature. Make space for others, keep noise down and read up on tramping hut etiquette.

Bikes, dogs and drones can really impact on other people, so make sure you are following the rules and being considerate to others.

Cultural heritage sites are places in the landscape that tell the physical, spiritual, and cultural stories of our past. They are places we value and connect to as New Zealanders. When visiting a heritage site please treat it with care and respect, so it can be enjoyed for many generations to come.

For Māori, public conservation land is a taonga (treasure) and of special significance. Many of these places are wāhi tapu (sacred to Māori) and need to be treated with respect. If you are visiting a place that is wāhi tapu, there may be restrictions on access. There may also be tikanga (protocols) in place, such as not eating, running, or making loud noises while at the wāhi tapu site. Respect these tikanga.

Be a good kiwi and help keep our land clean and free from harm.

This time of year, has snuck up on most of us, we know! So, make sure in all the last-minute adventures you are undertaking, you have made time to plan, prepare and are ready to protect. Act responsibly and safely for yourself, as well as those of all species, sizes and forms in the environment surrounding us that need our help to keep Aotearoa their home.

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Thinking of hiking the Milford Track before the Great Walks season? Here’s what you need to know | Conservation blog

Source: Department of Conservation

The Milford Track is often called the finest walk in the world. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime journey in the Fiordland wilderness, through towering valleys and beneath snow-capped peaks.

The steep-sided valleys are perfect for photo opportunities, but in early-mid Spring they can also cause substantial avalanches. Flooding is common on the track through Spring too.

Hiking the Milford Track in early-mid Spring (in September and October, before the Great Walks season) can be an amazing adventure. However, there are some significant risks on the trip and in the wrong conditions it can be very dangerous.

In this blog post, a DOC ranger shares her tips for anyone considering an early Spring hike on the Milford Track – what to expect, what you need to know about avalanches, why a good weather forecast is essential, and where not to picnic.

Avalanche debris on the Milford Track, 2021

Before planning an off-season Milford Track hike, make sure you understand the avalanche and flooding risks

The area around the Milford Track is complex avalanche terrain. This is the most difficult category of avalanche terrain, with multiple overlapping avalanche paths and few opportunities to avoid the danger areas.

There are over 57 avalanche paths along the track, including in Clinton Valley, Arthur Valley and on Omanui/McKinnon Pass. The last big year of widespread damage on Milford Track was Sept 2013, with a number of signs, toilets, bridge foundations and track washed out.

As Fiordland is so southern, the avalanche season extends later into Spring than in most parts of New Zealand. If you are hiking the track in September or October, it might feel like Spring on the valley floor. However, the temperature is very different 1200-1400 metres above you, where avalanches start – there could still be a lot of snow up there.

DOC manages the avalanche risk carefully during the Great Walks season. This includes monitoring avalanche conditions, closing sections of the track when the danger is too high, and in some years arranging helicopter transport over the closed sections (for a fee). Outside the Great Walks season, visitors need to assess and manage avalanche risk themselves.

Avalanches are so common that DOC removes 14 bridges from the Milford Track over winter, to stop them being destroyed. For example, in September 2021 avalanches caused extensive damage to the Milford Track, and would have destroyed 3-4 bridges if they had been in place. The bridges are only reinstated at the start of the Great Walks season, when the avalanche risk is lower.

This means the track has a lot of unbridged stream crossings in September and October. It’s common for these to rise, become dangerous to cross, and cut off hikers. In heavy rain, these stream crossings will not be passable. Even hot weather can cause streams to rise in the afternoon from melting snow further up the slopes.

Pompolona avalanche, caught on camera by the Omanui/McKinnon Pass web cam, 27 September 2019

Be realistic about whether you have the skills and equipment needed

Anyone who wants to hike the Milford Track before the Great Walks season needs good river crossing skills. You will be crossing many unbridged side streams that flood often, so you need to know how to judge when a stream is safe to cross and how to cross it. Learn more about river crossing skills on the Mountain Safety Council website.

If you plan to hike when there is still avalanche danger, you will need specialist avalanche skills. You need to know how to hike safely through complex avalanche terrain, as well as carrying and knowing how to use an avalanche transceiver, avalanche probe and a snow shovel. Ask the Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre for advice on the current avalanche conditions and what gear you would need. Also check the Avalanche Advisory for the Fiordland region.

Plan flexibility into your trip, so you can hike during good weather

If you are comfortable with the risks outlined above and have the experience to manage them, then the next step in planning an early-mid Spring hike of the Milford Track is to build flexibility into your trip.

Everything is a bit more dynamic in the spring. There can be sudden flooding or severe weather, which can ruin long made plans.

The best way to have a safe hike is to ensure you can walk during good weather. Plan plenty of time in the Te Anau area, then look at the forecast near the time and select the best weather window.

If you don’t have the flexibility in your plans, then if it’s not a good forecast, do another trip. Don’t try and force it through on the Milford. No one should try and walk the track during a severe weather warning/watch, and it’s best to avoid it in early-mid Spring if heavy rain is forecast. You don’t want to end up in the situation of choosing between missing your flight and attempting a dangerous river crossing.

DOC recommends the short walks around the Milford Road (such as Key Summit Track) or an overnight trip to Luxmore Hut or Moturau Hut as good alternatives in wet weather. If there’s a heavy rain warning, it’s best to save the hiking for another day and explore Te Anau town instead.

Trampers on a flooded Milford Track, 2008

Always check the forecasts (weather and avalanche) before you go

Stop in at the Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre and ask their advice on the weather forecast and avalanche conditions.

Check the weather forecast for Omanui/McKinnon Pass

Check the New Zealand Avalanche Advisory for Fiordland (external site) and the Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale (ATES) for Fiordland.

Avalanche zones aren’t good picnic spots – follow the no stopping advice

Avalanche paths on the Milford Track are marked with signs, indicating no stopping zones. Please read and follow these signs if you are walking the track. The more time you spend in an avalanche zone, the greater the chance of being hit by an avalanche or debris.

Many of the avalanche areas are nice clearings, tempting places to stop for a picnic or a photo. However, they are clearings for a reason – it’s because avalanches have destroyed the bush. It’s best to keep moving and save the snacks for another spot.

For most visitors, the Great Walks season is the best time to hike the Milford Track. If you’re considering doing the track outside the Great Walks season, talk to the Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre staff for advice.

If you don’t have the right skills and experience for an off-season hike, there are lots of other fantastic adventures that allow you to see stunning Fiordland scenery – you could consider Key Summit day hike, Luxmore Hut overnight trip or a multi-day tramp on the Hollyford Track.