The Routeburn track is a stunning walk through the alpine mountains of New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park. I walked the track over 3 days, staying 2 nights in Department of Conservation huts. It was an excellent experience and as a proud New Zealander, the ability to immerse myself in pristine native bush and alpine terrain was awe inspiring and gladly received.

Routeburn Flat. A basic reflection shot.

Photographing beautiful locations on multi day hikes is never going to be easy. A beautiful location doesn’t always equate to a beautiful image, as many other factors come into play. Good light just doesn’t happen all day every day, you need to plan, and you need a good dose of luck. So while a hike through some of New Zealand’s most stunning scenery sounds marvellous for landscape photography, the reality is a little different. On my trip I had 3 days of glorious fine weather. Perfect conditions for a hike, as well as enjoying clear stunning views in alpine locations. The flip side to the great weather is bright hard lighting conditions for photography, locations with deep shadows and bright highlights… huge dynamic range.

Routeburn Flat. I didn’t take a tripod as i was wanting to keep my pack weight down, so no ability to focus stack.

So when you have weather like this, the best thing to do is just embrace it and enjoy the experience of just taking photos. Another photography challenge is the need to keep moving along the track to make the next hut. Landscape photography is a pursuit best given time, you arrive at a location, find a nice composition and give time for the light to be good for the scene in front of you. Hiking photography, is more a case of taking a snap as you find nice views on the trail, when you happen to be passing it by.

It quickly occurred to me I had to focus my time on how I utilised sunset and sunrise on my Routeburn track adventure. My first night I stayed at Routeburn falls hut. A lovely hut with sweeping views from the tree top balcony. That evening I had a lovely time taking images, but when I popped them on the screen at home they were all poop. However, I learned a lot about the location and I do plan on returning at a future date.

A hiker enjoys the view from Routeburn Falls hut.

I was up the next morning at about 5am to catch the first light on the Harris Saddle. Without a tripod I couldn’t bracket my images, but Lake Harris was a great spot to catch the first light hitting the peaks surrounding the lake.

Lake Harris, Harris Saddle, Routeburn Track.

Once the sun comes up the light gets extremely harsh, not ideal for images. I was climbing the Conical hill track not long after sunrise and you can see from the image below how contrasty the light was.

View of the Darran Mountain range from the Conical hill track.

While full sunshine was never going to be making for great photography, I still enjoyed taking images of the Darran Mountain Range.

There was even the odd small tarn I could use as foreground in taking pictures.

I stopped not far from here for lunch, not a bad spot to enjoy a hot beef curry.

The stop for the night was at Lake Mckenzie and it turned out to be a very photogenic spot. Lake Mckenzie would be a fantastic place to photograph in winter. I can only image how spectacular the mountain peaks would be covered in snow, and with ice and snow around the waters edge. This is definitely a place I’d like to return and there is a fairy glen right next to the lake I’d love to explore. with a tripod.

Lake Mckenzie hut has sleep together style bunks, and the bloke who was next to me apologised for his loud snoring just before he nodded off and started to snore. So I dragged my mattress into the kitchen and slept there. I had a great nights sleep, plus it gave me a chance to get away early again. The track from Lake Mckenzie remains in the bush for about 20-30minutes and you can see the Darran mountain range catching the morning light through the trees but not get a clear shot. Luckily I walked through an avalanche zone where the trees had been destroyed and I got the shot below. But if you do want to take advantage of the alpine glow, you need to get away early.

The Darran mountain range, Routeburn track.

The track follows an up and down type walk to the finish at the Divide. The most notable stop for an image is Key Summit, an opportunity to capture a beautiful shot of mountains with a tarn in the foreground. I didn’t manage to get conditions I was at all happy with, and no keeper image ensued.

How I will photograph the Routeburn track in future

After walking the Routeburn track and understanding where I think the best photo opportunity’s are located, I don’t think I will walk the complete route again. I used a transport service to drop me off and pick me up from each end of the track. But there were far too many photo opportunities I missed by doing this, so instead I like the idea of splitting the walk into two outings and using my own car, so I can stop for images.

1. Routeburn Shelter to Routeburn Falls Hut

By taking my car to Routeburn Shelter I could also incorporate possible photography on the way through Glenorchy. So the plan is to shoot a sunrise in Glenorchy, walk the Routeburn track to Routeburn falls, shoot a sunset and sunrise at the location and then return, with a nights stay in Glenorchy to give me a sunset and sunrise.

2. The Divide to Lake Mckenzie

By leaving my car at the Divide I will be able to include photography of the Milford Sound, Eglinton valley and other possible photography sites. The plan would be to drive in to Milford Sound, get a sunset, and then an early start to get a sunrise at Key Summit. Hike to Lake Mckenzie for Sunset, then up early to walk back out, getting alpine glow on the Darran Mountain ranges, another shot at Key Summit, and then back to the car.

All in all the Routeburn track offers plenty of photographic opportunities, but for me I think a bit of planning is needed to get the best possible conditions to shoot the nicest locations.

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