How many days do you need for the Routeburn, Kepler, Milford and Rees-Dart?

I walked 11 days over 19 days in November 2023: three on the Rees-Dart, three on the Kepler, two on the Routeburn and three on the Milford. Plan three weeks in New Zealand if you want all four.

When is the best time to hike the Great Walks?

The Great Walks season runs from late October or November 1 to April 30. For 2026-27 that's October 27 on the Kepler and November 1 on the Routeburn and Milford. Outside the season the tracks become alpine winter routes.

How do you book Great Walk huts?

Book on the DOC website the day bookings open in May, at 9:30 a.m. New Zealand time. For 2026-27, huts cost international adults NZD 132 a night on the Kepler and Routeburn and NZD 152 on the Milford. I couldn't get Milford huts, so I joined a guided walk.

Can you camp on the Milford, Routeburn and Kepler?

There's no camping on the Milford. The Routeburn and Kepler have booked campsites, and the park bylaws ban camping within 500 m of the track elsewhere. I wild camped at Lake Wilson, about 2 km from the Routeburn Track.

How do you get to the tracks?

I based myself in Queenstown for the Rees-Dart and Routeburn and Te Anau for the Kepler and Milford. Info & Track and Tracknet run shuttles to the trailheads, and the Milford needs boats at both ends because there's no road to either end.

The New Zealand film: South Island, New Zealand

South Island, New Zealand · 11 days · 155 miles

New Zealand Hiking Guide

Rees-Dart, Kepler, Routeburn and Milford: 11 days on four South Island tracks.

Watch the film · 354K views

888K YouTube views
Instant PDF + GPX
30-day refund
Free updates

Look inside

Real pages from the guide. Tap one to see it big.

A day page
A day map and elevation profile
At a glance
One-page trip sheet

Swipe for more pages

Get Day 7 free

The route

My GPS recording of 11 days on a relief map. The numbers are where each day starts; the red dot is the finish. The full GPX files and the day maps come with the guide.

Relief map of the New Zealand route: 11 days drawn in red with numbered day starts, labelled Muddy Creek, Sandfly Point, Rees-Dart Track, Kepler Track and Milford Track. — Map data: Terrain: Mapzen Terrain Tiles (LINZ, SRTM) on AWS · Glaciers, rivers & lakes © OpenStreetMap contributors

At a glance

Days: 11 days
Distance: 155 miles
Climbing: About 23,400 ft (7,150 m) up

What's inside

All 11 days. Stats, time to allow, my notes, the trail, where to get off, a map with an elevation profile, and links to that day in my films.
My GPX files. My own recordings for each day, plus one file per track with waypoints for the huts, campsites, trailheads and passes, ready for AllTrails, Gaia GPS, Garmin or Organic Maps.
Booking the huts. How the DOC Great Walks booking day works, the 2026-27 opening dates and prices for international visitors and residents, and the Rees-Dart huts.
Guided or independent. What the guided Milford includes and costs, and the independent four-day hut plan you can book yourself.
Shuttles, buses and boats. Info & Track, Tracknet, the Kepler water taxi and the Milford boats, with 2026-27 times and fares, and how I got to each track.
Camping, explained. Where you can and can't camp on each track, and the rules around my Lake Wilson camp.
Other ways to do it. The standard four-day Kepler, the Routeburn in three days, the Rees-Dart while the Dart Track is closed, and all four in about three weeks.
Before you go and a trip sheet. One page of year-to-year checks and a printable one-page summary of all four tracks.

About this trip

In November 2023 I walked four tracks on New Zealand's South Island in three weeks: the Rees-Dart with two friends, the Kepler, the Routeburn solo with a wild camp at Lake Wilson, and the Milford on a guided walk. This guide has my GPS files, maps and notes for all 11 days, plus how the Great Walk hut bookings work and what they cost for 2026-27, every shuttle and boat between the trailheads, and what's changed since, including the Dart Track closure.

Watch the film on YouTube (354K views).

Gear for this route

Paid links: I earn a commission if you buy through these links, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

I walked four tracks in three weeks, mostly hut to hut, with one wild camp on the Routeburn and a guided Milford where I barely carried anything. Here's what I carried in 2023, what I'd take now, and what I filmed with.

What I carried in 2023

I don't have a full packing list from this trip. This is what my films and their gear lists show.

PackHyperlite Mountain Gear Southwest 2400 Hyperlite
Sun hoodieAmazon Essentials Quick-Dry Tech Hoodie Amazon
ShoesSalomon Speedcross Amazon
Water bottleKatadyn BeFree AC · 1L AmazonHut water comes from rain or streams. I treat it.
Tentmy tentFor the wild camp at Lake Wilson on the Routeburn.
Umbrellaan umbrellaIt was great on the last day of the Milford, except for the sandflies.
On the Milfordhiking clothes, camp clothes, camera gear and a few snacksI barely had to carry anything.

What I'd take now

My current kit for a Great Walk hut trip. All of it is on my gear page: [kraigadams.com/gear](https://kraigadams.com/gear).

Sleeping bagHyperlite Mountain Gear 20° Quilt HyperliteHuts have mattresses only.
StoveJetboil Stash AmazonOnly outside the season: Great Walk huts have gas cookers in season.
MugSea to Summit Frontier Camp Cup AmazonHuts have no pots or utensils.
SpoonTiTo Long Handle Spork Amazon
HeadlampNitecore NU20 Classic AmazonHut lighting is only in the kitchen.
Rain jacketArc’teryx Beta AR Jacket Arc’teryx
Warm layerArc’teryx Cerium Hoody Arc’teryxThe Kepler ridge and Mackinnon Pass are exposed. Carry warm layers even in summer.
HatPATH Projects Hoyt Merino Beanie PATH Projects
UmbrellaSix Moon Designs Silver Shadow Carbon Amazon
TentNEMO Hornet Elite OSMO 1P AmazonFor a camp like mine at Lake Wilson.
Sleeping padTherm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite NXT AmazonIf you camp.
NavigationAllTrails+ AllTrails · 30% offImport my GPX files and download them offline. Offline maps need the paid plan.
Phone dataAiralo eSIM Airalo · $3 offData in Queenstown and Te Anau. There's no cell coverage on most of these tracks.

Filming kit

What I filmed these tracks with in 2023. My setup is smaller now (below). Check the drone rules in Weather and safety before you fly: conservation land needs a DOC permit.

CameraSony a7S III Amazon
LensSony FE PZ 16-35mm f/4 G Amazon
MicRode VideoMic GO II Amazon now the GO II Helix
Tripoda tripod
PhoneApple iPhone 14 Pro

What I film with now

Since September 2026 I film with a smaller setup: the Pocket 4 and the Mic 3 on the trail, and the Mini 5 Pro in the air.

CameraDJI Osmo Pocket 4 Amazon
MicDJI Mic 3 · 1 TX + 1 RX AmazonIt pairs with the Pocket 4.
DroneDJI Mini 5 Pro Amazon

Everything I carry now: my gear page.

The Day 7, Routeburn Shelter to Lake Wilson page from the New Zealand Hiking Guide

Free sample + packing list

Try Day 7 free, plus my packing list

Routeburn Shelter to Lake Wilson

The whole day page from the guide as a PDF, plus my hut-to-hut packing list: the 35 things I carry, with a note on each. The PDF opens right away and both come by email. You'll also get my emails about new guides and trips, a few a year.

The details

Format: An 81-page PDF sized for a phone (A5, prints fine too) and a folder of GPX files, in one zip download.
Edition: 2026-27 season edition, updated September 2026.
Delivery: Instant. After you pay you get a private download link. Bookmark it to download again on any device.
Payment: Secure checkout through Stripe, in your own currency. Tax is included in the price, except in the US and Canada, where any sales tax is added at checkout.
Refunds: Not useful? Email me within 30 days for a refund: kraig@kraigadams.com.
Questions: Email kraig@kraigadams.com.

Questions

How many days do you need for the Routeburn, Kepler, Milford and Rees-Dart?: I walked 11 days over 19 days in November 2023: three on the Rees-Dart, three on the Kepler, two on the Routeburn and three on the Milford. Plan three weeks in New Zealand if you want all four.
When is the best time to hike the Great Walks?: The Great Walks season runs from late October or November 1 to April 30. For 2026-27 that's October 27 on the Kepler and November 1 on the Routeburn and Milford. Outside the season the tracks become alpine winter routes.
How do you book Great Walk huts?: Book on the DOC website the day bookings open in May, at 9:30 a.m. New Zealand time. For 2026-27, huts cost international adults NZD 132 a night on the Kepler and Routeburn and NZD 152 on the Milford. I couldn't get Milford huts, so I joined a guided walk.
Can you camp on the Milford, Routeburn and Kepler?: There's no camping on the Milford. The Routeburn and Kepler have booked campsites, and the park bylaws ban camping within 500 m of the track elsewhere. I wild camped at Lake Wilson, about 2 km from the Routeburn Track.
How do you get to the tracks?: I based myself in Queenstown for the Rees-Dart and Routeburn and Te Anau for the Kepler and Milford. Info & Track and Tracknet run shuttles to the trailheads, and the Milford needs boats at both ends because there's no road to either end.