Hut Catch · Great Walk guide
Walking the Kepler Track
A loop of about 60km from Te Anau, with a whole day on an alpine ridge above Lake Te Anau. What each day is like, where you sleep, how to get there, and how to get a bunk when it's booked out.
The alpine ridge on the Kepler Track. Photo: Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Kepler Track was built as a Great Walk: a loop through Fiordland National Park that starts and ends near Te Anau. It climbs through beech forest under limestone bluffs to Luxmore Hut, follows an alpine ridge with views over the South Fiord of Lake Te Anau and the Murchison Mountains, then drops into the Iris Burn valley and returns past Lake Manapōuri along the Waiau River.
Most walkers take four days and three nights, staying at Luxmore, Iris Burn and Moturau huts. In the Great Walks season, 27 October to 30 April, every hut and campsite has to be booked.
Map
The Kepler Track with its huts and campsites. Zoom in with the + and − buttons.
Day by day
Anticlockwise, over Luxmore first, the way most people walk it. The loop works the other way too.
Day 1Kepler Track car park to Luxmore Hut
An easy start through beech forest along the shore of Lake Te Anau to Brod Bay, then a hard climb under limestone bluffs and above the bushline to Luxmore Hut, with views across the Te Anau basin. Luxmore Cave is 20 minutes return from the hut.
Above Lake Te Anau, near Luxmore Hut. Photo: Robert (Bic) Bicknell, CC BY-SA 4.0 Day 2Luxmore Hut to Iris Burn Hut
The alpine day: along open ridges with views across the South Fiord of Lake Te Anau to the Murchison Mountains, then a long descent to Iris Burn Hut in a large tussock clearing. Fill your water bottles at Luxmore: there's no reliable water on the ridge.
The track along the ridge. Photo: Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 4.0 Day 3Iris Burn Hut to Moturau Hut
Over a low saddle and past a large slip, then through a gorge and lowland beech and podocarp forest to Moturau Hut on the shore of Lake Manapōuri.
Forest on the Kepler Track. Photo: Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 4.0 Day 4Moturau Hut to the Kepler Track car park
Easy walking across a wetland and along the Waiau River to the swing bridge at Rainbow Reach. You can catch a shuttle back to Te Anau from there, or carry on beside the river for another 9.5km to the car park.
Watch the track
A walk-through of the Kepler Track's alpine section, its hazards and the decisions you'll make on the way, from the NZ Mountain Safety Council.
Huts and campsites
Luxmore, Iris Burn and Moturau huts have bunks with mattresses, heating, toilets, basic cooking facilities, solar lighting and cold running water, and a DOC ranger stays at each one. There are no showers, cooking utensils or food. The Brod Bay and Iris Burn campsites have toilets, sinks and water.
Outside the Great Walks season, only Luxmore Hut needs a booking; the others are first come, first served.
Getting there
The track starts at the Kepler Track car park, 5km from Te Anau, or about 50 minutes' walk from the Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre. In the Great Walks season, shuttle buses run daily to the car park and to Rainbow Reach, and a scheduled boat runs to Brod Bay.
Before you go
The alpine section between Luxmore and Iris Burn huts is exposed, and snow, strong wind and heavy rain can come at any time of year. Avalanche risk can last into December, and DOC may close the alpine section when it's high. Kea live up there and take a keen interest in unattended gear.
DOC doesn't recommend the track for children under 10.
Getting a booking
Bookings for the Great Walks season open months ahead on DOC's website, and popular dates on the Kepler Track sell out fast. But plans change all season: people cancel, and their bunks go back on sale for whoever happens to be looking at the time.
Hut Catch checks DOC every few minutes, day and night, and emails you as soon as there's room for your whole group on your dates.
Setting up an alert for the Kepler Track
The loop works in either direction, so more than one order of huts can work. Watch every hut you'd be happy with, and add the Brod Bay and Iris Burn campsites if you're carrying a tent.
Questions
Can I camp on the Kepler Track?
Yes, at the Brod Bay and Iris Burn campsites. Like the huts, they have to be booked in the Great Walks season, and Hut Catch can watch them too.
How long is the Kepler Track?
About 60km. Most walkers take four days and three nights; some save the last 9.5km by catching a shuttle from Rainbow Reach.
Track details are from the Department of Conservation, checked October 2026. Conditions, fees and booking dates change, so check DOC's Kepler Track page before you go. Hut Catch isn't part of DOC.
Want a bunk on the Kepler Track?
Tell us your dates and huts. We'll watch DOC around the clock and email you the moment there's room for your group.
Set up a Kepler Track alert