Kepler Track hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The Kepler Track is a 60 km loop in Fiordland National Park, in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island, and one of the country's ten Great Walks. It starts and ends at the control gates on the Waiau River, 5 km from the town of Te Anau. In four days it follows the beech-forested shore of Lake Te Anau, climbs to an open ridge with views over the lake and the Kepler and Murchison Mountains, drops into the Iris Burn valley and comes back along Lake Manapouri and the Waiau River. You sleep in three Department of Conservation (DOC) Great Walk huts or at two campsites, all booked in advance in summer.

The route

Most walkers go anticlockwise. From the control gates the track follows the lake shore to Brod Bay, then climbs steeply under limestone bluffs to the bushline and on to Luxmore Hut (1,085 m). Day 2 is the big day on the tops: a long, exposed ridge past the side trip to Mount Luxmore (1,472 m), the Forest Burn and Hanging Valley shelters, then a long zigzag descent through forest to Iris Burn Hut. Day 3 follows the Iris Burn down past Rocky Point to Moturau Hut on the beach of Lake Manapouri. On day 4 you cross a wetland and follow the Waiau River to the swing bridge at Rainbow Reach, where many walkers take a shuttle, or walk the last 9.5 km back to the control gates.

This guide follows the route mapped on OpenStreetMap and splits it into 4 stages, about 14.3 km each: control gates to Luxmore Hut, Iris Burn Hut, Moturau Hut and back to the control gates. Our line measures 57 km; DOC's rounded section figures add up to 60 km. Fit walkers can do it in 3 days by walking from Iris Burn straight to Rainbow Reach, about 22 km.

Highlights

• Luxmore Hut and the Luxmore Caves: sunset over Lake Te Anau from the hut deck, and a cave system 20 minutes away (bring two torches)
• The alpine ridge: several hours above the bushline, with views down to the South Fiord of Lake Te Anau
• Mount Luxmore: the highest point you can reach from the track, 30 minutes return from the ridge in fine weather
• Iris Burn Falls: a waterfall and swimming hole 20 minutes from Iris Burn Hut
• Lake Manapouri: the beach at Moturau Hut, and Shallow Bay Hut on a short side track

When to walk the Kepler Track

The Great Walks season for 2026/27 runs from 27 October 2026 to 30 April 2027. The huts then have gas, heating, running water and a ranger, and DOC manages avalanche risk. December to February are the warmest and busiest months; March and April are quieter. Fiordland gets up to 9,000 mm of rain a year, and snow, strong wind and cold can come in any month. Avalanche risk on the ridge can last into December, and DOC may close the alpine section for a day when it is high. On the first Saturday in December (5 December 2026) the Kepler Challenge race runs over the whole track.

From May to late October the Kepler is not a Great Walk. The ridge is unmarked and usually under snow, there are nine avalanche paths, and the huts lose their gas, rangers and radios. Only experienced walkers with ice axe, crampons, avalanche gear and a personal locator beacon should go.

How hard is it?

In summer DOC grades the track intermediate. The path is well built and well signposted, but day 1 climbs about 870 m and day 2 is long and exposed, with about 1,250 m of descent to Iris Burn. Allow 5 to 6 hours a day. There is no reliable water on the ridge between Luxmore and Iris Burn, so fill your bottles at the hut. DOC does not recommend the track for children under 10. Days 3 and 4 are easy forest walking.

Permits, booking and fees

You do not need a park permit, but in the Great Walks season every hut and campsite night must be booked on the DOC booking site. Bookings for 2026/27 opened on 19 May 2026, and popular dates in December to February sell out within days. Fees per person per night in the season: huts $88 for New Zealand adults and $132 for international adults; campsites $28 and $42. International children (0–17) pay $66 in huts. Without a valid booking you can be charged a penalty or turned away. Outside the season, Luxmore Hut still needs a booking ($35); the other huts and the campsites are first come, first served and paid with Backcountry Hut Tickets or a Hut Pass.

Huts have mattresses, gas cookers, heating, flush toilets and cold water, but no food, pots or showers. Campers bring a stove and cannot use the huts. Boil all water.

Getting there and away

Queenstown Airport is the nearest big airport, about 2 hours by road; InterCity buses run daily from Queenstown to Te Anau (about 2.5 hours). From the DOC visitor centre on the Te Anau lakefront it is a 50-minute walk along the lake to the control gates. Tracknet runs shuttles to the control gates and from Rainbow Reach (12 km from town), and a water taxi runs from the Te Anau lakefront to Brod Bay from 1 October to 30 April, which skips the first part of day 1. In winter, transport needs minimum numbers: book before you start.

Money and phone signal

Te Anau has a supermarket, cafés and a pharmacy. Nothing is sold on the track, so carry all your food plus spare for a weather delay. Do not count on a mobile signal on the track. Carry a personal locator beacon: you can hire one in Te Anau.

What to pack

A 40–60 litre pack with a waterproof liner, a 3–4 season sleeping bag, full rain jacket and overtrousers, warm wool or fleece layers, hat and gloves, sunhat and sunglasses, a first aid kit, a torch, and earplugs for the bunkrooms. Bring insect repellent: sandflies are fierce at the lake ends. Campers also need a tent, mat and gas stove. Kea, the alpine parrot, damage tents, boots and packs left outside.

Safety

In an emergency call 111 and ask for the police, who coordinate search and rescue; in the Great Walks season the hut rangers can also help. Check the Fiordland forecast and the avalanche advisory before you start, and turn back if the ridge is in cloud, wind or snow: day 2 has few escape routes, and the shelters are for emergencies only. Didymo, an invasive alga, is in Lake Te Anau, Lake Manapouri and the Waiau River, so clean and dry your gear.

History

The Kepler Track opened in 1988, during the centenary of Fiordland National Park, to take pressure off the Milford and Routeburn tracks. Much of it was built in 1986 and 1987 with help from Operation Raleigh volunteers. Surveyor James McKerrow named the Kepler Mountains after the astronomer Johannes Kepler. In Māori tradition the explorer Rākaihautū named the two lakes on either side of the track, Te Ana-au and Roto Ua, today's Lake Manapouri.