Kepler Track

The Kepler Track running along a grassy alpine ridge in Fiordland

Photo: Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Distance
60 km (37 miles)
Country
New Zealand
Difficulty
Moderate
Type of trip
Hiking trail

The Kepler Track is a 60 km loop in Fiordland National Park, in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It starts and finishes at the Kepler Track car park by the Lake Te Anau control gates, 5 km from Te Anau. It's one of the Great Walks run by the Department of Conservation (DOC). The track is built to a high standard, with most streams bridged and boardwalks over the boggy ground, but the climb to Luxmore Hut is hard work. Most people take 4 days and 3 nights. You can walk it either way round, and you can save a day by starting or finishing at the Rainbow Reach swing bridge, 12 km from Te Anau.

You sleep in DOC huts or campsites. There are three huts, Luxmore, Iris Burn and Moturau, and two campsites, at Brod Bay and Iris Burn, and in the Great Walks season all of them have to be booked well ahead. In the 2026/27 season a hut bunk cost $132 a night for international visitors and $88 for New Zealanders, in NZ dollars.

Highlights along the way

  1. Lake Te Anau: The first 5.6 km follow the shore of Lake Te Anau, the largest body of fresh water in Australasia, through beech forest to the campsite at Brod Bay. Then it's a steep climb under limestone bluffs to the bushline.
  2. Luxmore Hut: The hut sleeps 54 and sits above the bushline. A signposted side trip of 20 minutes return goes to Luxmore Cave.
  3. Mount Luxmore: A 30-minute return side trip takes you to the summit, at 1,472 m the highest point on the track. The ridge beyond looks across the South Fiord of Lake Te Anau to the Murchison Mountains. There's no reliable water until Iris Burn, so fill your bottles at Luxmore.
  4. Iris Burn: The hut and campsite sit in a big tussock clearing. Kea, the alpine parrots, live around here and on the tops, and they'll go for your tent and gear if you leave them.
  5. Lake Manapouri: After a low saddle, a large slip left by heavy rain in January 1984 and a gorge, the track comes out on Lake Manapouri. Moturau Hut is right by the beach.

Distance

60 km (37 miles) round. DOC's sections are 5.6 km from the car park to Brod Bay, 8.2 km on to Luxmore Hut, 14.6 km to Iris Burn Hut, 16.2 km to Moturau Hut, 6 km to Rainbow Reach and 9.5 km back to the car park. If you haven't booked transport, the car park is a 50-minute walk from Te Anau.

Best time to go

Go in the Great Walks season, which DOC gives as 27 October 2026 to 30 April 2027 this time round. Outside it the Kepler isn't run as a Great Walk. There's ice, snow and short days, the alpine section isn't marked and is often under deep snow, and DOC says only fit, experienced people with alpine, river crossing and navigation skills should try it. Avalanche risk can last into December, and DOC may close the alpine section between Luxmore and Iris Burn when there's a risk. Fiordland gets up to 9,000 mm of rain a year, and snow and strong winds can come in any month. In November 2026 DOC had bookings open for stays up to 30 June 2027. Check the Kepler Track page on doc.govt.nz for dates, prices and track conditions before you book.

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