International Walking | Jims Walking Journey

Routeburn Track – Lake Mackenzie Hut to The Divide

Day Three Lake Mackenzie Hut to The Divide

All was quiet and still in the valley as I paid a visit to the outside toilet during the early hours. I could see the stars were out so turned off my head torch. As my eyes adjusted to the dark I became aware that above me, the Milky Way was stretching out gloriously across the inky black Southern night sky. A million diamonds twinkling through a black curtain. I stood there for a while, mesmerised by the sight until the night air started to chill me and I made my way reluctantly back into the hut and my warm sleeping bag. The clarity of the air in New Zealand and the lack of light pollution in the mountains has meant regular sightings of the Milky Way during our tramping adventures and it has been a joy to see the stars of the Southern Hemisphere throughout this trip, even if I have not quite got used to seeing Orion upside down.

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Routeburn Track – Routeburn Falls Hut to Lake Mackenzie Hut

Day Two Routeburn Falls Hut to Lake Mackenzie Hut

Day two on the Routeburn Track dawns bright and clear. All twenty or so bunks in our room were full but there were no ‘nighttime noises’ and I slept well, helped no doubt by the fact that the girls from Otago were at the opposite end of the lodge. The weather forecast is for rain early afternoon so I am keen to get moving as soon as we can. After breakfast we finish our packing on the balcony of the hut enjoying the morning sunshine and final views down the main Routeburn valley.

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Routeburn Track – Routeburn Shelter to Routeburn Falls Hut

Day One Routeburn Shelter to Routeburn Falls Hut

Driving to the start of the Routeburn track I was wondering if the walk we were about to do could possibly compare with the beauty and majesty of the Milford track that we had walked only one short week ago. As we left Queenstown and joined the lake road heading north, I realised I needn’t worry. Lake Wakatipu, looking like a huge sapphire jewel set deep into a ring of mountains appeared before us glistening in the morning sun. It stretched for miles and beyond that, the Southern Alps of New Zealand reached their snowy topped fingers high up into the bright blue cloudless sky. Even the road itself, straight as an arrow in places and lined with purple Lupins seemed to be leading us invitingly into the heart of the mountains. It was the road to El Dorado and for the next three days we were about to partake of its golden treasures.

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Glenridding Dodd and Sheffield Pike from Glenridding

Glenridding Dodd and Sheffield Pike, the objects of today’s walk form the northern wall of the Glenridding valley and can be clearly seen from Glenridding village and from Gillside campsite, my home for a couple of days walking. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you like the heat) today’s walk coincides with some of the hottest days of the summer and with temperatures reaching into the 30°c’s an early start seems best to avoid both the crowds and the heat.

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A walk up La Mola, Mallorca

La Mola looks down onto the pretty seaside town of Cala sant Vicenc in the far north east of the beautiful island of Mallorca. Here, you can while away the hours enjoying a nice cold beer or meal in one of its many picturesque sea front bars whilst gazing out onto the aqua blue Mediterranean gently lapping onto the small sandy beach. In fact, the Med features prominently today, being in view throughout most of the walk.

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Milford Track – Dumpling Hut to Sandfly Point

Day Four Dumpling Hut to Sandfly Point

It’s our final day on the Milford Track and there is a sense of anticipation in the air. Today, the forty of us ‘independent trampers’ who over the last four days have all walked together, ate together, talked together and slept under the same roof together will all complete our journey and at last fulfill what for many, including myself, will have been a long held dream and ambition to have walked ‘The Finest Walk in the World’.

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Milford Track – Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut

Day Three Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut

As forecast we awake to a completely different scene from the Sunshine and clear blue skies of yesterday. Cloud and mist have descended low into the valley overnight, draining the colour from the trees and muffling the sound of the birds and the rivers. The huge rock wall of Mount Balloon opposite which last night rose up before us like a giant is completely enveloped in mist and may as well have disappeared as far as we were concerned as we could see nothing beyond twenty metres. The air was still and the mist, cold and damp, hung in the air. It was like a grey wet blanket had been thrown over the valley.

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Milford Track – Clinton Hut to Mintaro Hut

Day Two Clinton Hut to Mintaro Hut

Sometime during the night the rain had stopped and when we left the bunk room the sun was breaking through and the clouds were beginning to lift away from the mountain tops. We enjoyed breakfast of porridge and banana washed down with plenty of tea and chatted with some of the Americans who we met at dinner last night. Our fellow ‘trampers’ seem to be a fairly international bunch, mostly Americans with a smattering of French, German, Dutch and Australian. As far as I can tell, no Kiwis though. The only other Brits seem to be a doctor who is working in Dunedin and his wife.

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Milford Track – Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut

Day One Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut

The Milford Track is remote, so remote in fact that you have to get a boat to the start and from the finish of it. There are no roads on the track, everything has to be walked in or brought in by helicopter. This, in its very essence was the appeal of walking The Milford Track for me. A four day walk through pristine rain forest wilderness, following crystal clear rivers, surrounded by snow capped mountains rising straight up from steep sided valleys sounds just like heaven, and in a way it is.

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A walk along the Vall de Boquer

If you are a walker staying in the Pollenca area of Mallorca, the pretty walk along the valley de Boquer to the small bay at Cala Boquer can make for an attractive alternative to sitting on the beach or frequenting the gift shops. It is not too strenuous, would fill a morning or afternoon nicely and as well as providing some valuable holiday exercise it reveals a little glimpse of authentic Mallorcan landscape. If you are walking in the summer, remember to take plenty of sun protection, hat, fluid and food as there is no shade and no facilities throughout the walk.

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Category: International Walking

Routeburn Track – Lake Mackenzie Hut to The Divide

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Routeburn Track – Routeburn Falls Hut to Lake Mackenzie Hut

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Routeburn Track – Routeburn Shelter to Routeburn Falls Hut

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Glenridding Dodd and Sheffield Pike from Glenridding

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A walk up La Mola, Mallorca

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Milford Track – Dumpling Hut to Sandfly Point

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Milford Track – Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut

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Milford Track – Clinton Hut to Mintaro Hut

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Milford Track – Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut

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A walk along the Vall de Boquer

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