Caples-Greenstone Track: More birds galore

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A MODERATELY demanding tramp winds its way through the beautiful Caples and Greenstone Valleys, which come together by the shore of Lake Wakatipu and are also joined, in the hills, by the subalpine pass of McKellar Saddle, which offers incredible views of the surrounding landscape.

There is plenty of native wildlife on the track, and when I first did it a few years ago, we were lucky enough to see falcons, kea, mōhua, and plenty of other birds.

The tracks, which form a loop in the same way that the Rees and the Dart do, can be hiked from either the Lake Wakatipu end near Kinloch and Glenorchy, or from The Divide on the road to Milford Sound/Piopiotahi. The Divide also is one of the end points for the nearby Routeburn Track and many exhausted Routeburn trampers are picked up there, although some choose to extend their hike and carry on through the Caples/Greenstone for a longer tramp.

Even without an extension onto the Routeburn, the Caples/Greenstone is still a significant four-day journey.

On the other hand, tramping.net.nz ranks the Caples/Greenstone as an easier option than the otherwise similar Rees-Dart Track.

Original blog post: a-maverick.com/blog/caples-greenstone-track-more-birds-galore