I did this walk with my older brother, Phil, and my younger sister, Rachel. We had spent two nights sharing a house in Te Anau with our other brother, Andy. We were well rested and fully provisioned for the walk.
We drove our hire car to the track head on the southern shore of Lake Te Anau. The walk begins by crossing the control gates that regulate water flowing out of the lake.
The sun was out and the walking was easy as the track followed the shore of the lake. The vegetation comprises moist forest, and there is the occasional creek crossing.
Along the track we saw many brightly coloured mushrooms. These are not native to New Zealand, and we were later advised by a park ranger that it was fair game to kick them over.
After about 5 km of walking we reached the Brod Bay Shelter. It’s possible to catch a boat across from Te Anau township to Brod Bay and avoid the first part of the walk. Personally, I liked the first part of the walk and I wouldn’t want to avoid it. It was shady and level and the track was in excellent condition.
After Brod Bay the track begins to climb. The total climb is about 800 m. The climbing begins slowly but, after a kilometre, the track steepens and begins to zigzag up the hill.
We saw a number of stoat traps next to the track as we were doing the climb. Beware Zealand’s Department of Conservation put a lot of effort into trying to control feral animals, particularly stoats which have a serious impact on the indigenous wildlife.
Eventually, the track reaches a cliff line and traverses underneath the cliff. There are views across Lake Te Anau and to distant mountains. I had my lunch here.
The climbing isn’t over, however, and there is another 200 m of elevation to gain before the forest finishes and the alpine meadow begins. When emerging from the forest, the wind was blowing a gale. I took shelter next to the track behind a rock, and Rachel joined me to have a bite to eat.
The track then rises gently for the next 2 km across the alpine meadow before rounding a spur and reaching Luxmore Hut.
There was a side trip up to the Luxmore Caves but, given the gale that was blowing outside, I decided to take it easy and stay in the hut.
There was a kea on the balcony of the hut, which kept us all amused. We also played cards to pass the time. Dinner was excellent: smoked salmon fillet in a creamy pasta sauce, one of Phil’s specialties.
