On the fourth day of my solo hike of the Routeburn Track and Greenstone Tracks I hiked from the McKellar Hut down the beautiful Greenstone Valley and alongside the Greenstone River to the Greenstone Hut.

There were no large ascents or descents today as the track alternated between the valley floor and just within the native forest which covers the foothills of the mountains. The valley floor is farmed and I did pass a number of cattle in the upper valley. The sun showed up only briefly and again, for much of the day i was in rain with the temperature dropping in the afternoon with snow predicted.

Highlights of the day included the stunning beech forests and the tussocks on the valley floor, as the day went on, the valley became wider. I was fascinated by the number of avalanches and the log slash on the banks of the tributary creeks.

A very long but relatively easy walk today, some twenty five kilometres which took me over eight hours. This track is much quieter than the Routeburn and i only passed one group of guided walkers the whole day.

I really struggled to keep the rain off the camera lens and to have the camera stay upright on the tripod in the wind.

ℹ️Stats

📅 Date: 5th December 2021

☀️Weather: Showers with occasional sun

⏮ From: McKellar Hut, Greenstone and Caples Conservation Area, Otago

⏭ To: Greenstone Hut, Greenstone and Caples Conservation Area, Otago

🏡 Accommodation: $20 DOC Serviced Hut, bookings not required, first come first served.

👏 Difficulty: Intermediate Great Walk / Easier Tramping Track

🥾Distance: 24.90km

🏔 Elevation Gain: 228 metres

🏔 Max Elevation: 643 metres

🏃🏼‍♀️ Moving Time: 6 hours 39 minutes

🕘 Elapsed Time: 8 hours 9 minutes

🥑Calories burned: 1,683

🥾 Boots: Iowa Lavena ii GTX Lowa Boots