On the fifth day of my solo hike of the Routeburn Track and Greenstone Tracks I hiked from the Greenstone Hut down the remainder of the beautiful Greenstone Valley to the confluence of the Greenstone and Caples Valleys and also confluence of the Greenstone River with the Caples River finishing at the Greenstone Shelter. Bill was waiting with his shuttle ready to take me back to Glenorchy, where I changed shuttles and returned the rest of the way to Queenstown with Renato.

I started earlier today so that I’d be on time for the Shuttle as with all my stopping and starting to film, I tend to take longer than the average walker. There’d been snow on the peaks overnight and the temperature was cool so even though the sun came out later in the morning, and despite my activity, I wasn’t overly hot with my wet weather gear on.

As for the day before the track alternated between the valley floor and just within the native forest which covers the foothills of the mountains. I didn’t see any cattle today but there were signs of deer and I did see around a dozen deer way in the distance on a river flat.

Highlights of the day included the stunning beech forests, the rivers, waterfalls and smaller tributary streams and the massive sense of achievement when I reached the confluence of both valleys, knowing I’d almost completed my epic, five day, solo walk.

It was a relatively easy walk today of around eighteen kilometres which took me about four hours. As I got closer to the Shelter and shuttle drop off point, I started to meet trampers heading in the opposite direction and still with the fresh smell of soap on them, I don’t know what they must have thought about me having not showered for five days! The final swing bridge of the walk at the confluence of the valleys is where the Greenstone joins the Caples track for the return to the trail head.

ℹ️Stats

📅 Date: 6th December 2021

☀️Weather: Showers with occasional sun

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

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

🏡 Accommodation: Queenstown YHA (now permanently closed)

👏 Difficulty: Intermediate Great Walk / Easier Tramping Track

🥾Distance: 17.74km

🏔 Elevation Gain: 261 metres

🏔 Max Elevation: 522 metres

🏃🏼‍♀️ Moving Time: 4 hours 11 minutes

🕘 Elapsed Time: 4 hours 41 minutes

🥑Calories burned: 1,199

🥾 Boots: Iowa Lavena ii GTX Lowa Boots