The Hiking World

Kepler Track

開普勒遠足徑 · ケプラー・トラック · কেপলার ট্র্যাক

OSM hiking route in Fiordland, New Zealand (61.6 km loop). Vertical figures sampled from Copernicus GLO-30. Days (5) is a placeholder from round(lengthKm/12), not the published 3–4 day Great Walk window (unverified).

Byline

  • The Hiking World editorial · author

    Desk byline for seed records. Named surveying editors replace this once a trail is verified.

Mount Luxmore on the Kepler Track, Fiordland, New Zealand
Photo: Bart Römgens · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Figures marked provisional are seed data and still need verification. Source and last-checked date sit under each cited value.

loading map...
Facts-45.423, 167.718
Distance61.6 km*
osm:relation:1385141 · 2026-08-24 · osm · provisional
Ascent+2,196 m*
copernicus-dem:glo-30 · 2026-08-24 · dem · provisional
Descent2,189 m*
copernicus-dem:glo-30 · 2026-08-24 · dem · provisional
High point1,394 m*
copernicus-dem:glo-30 · 2026-08-24 · dem · provisional
Low point178 m*
copernicus-dem:glo-30 · 2026-08-24 · dem · provisional
Routeloop
Days5
Seasonlate Oct–30 Apr (Great Walk season)
GradeSAC T2 · YDS 1

Editorial v1 · Provisional catalog

DifficultyUngraded (OSM ingest)
SAC T2
Mountain hiking. Continuous trail, some steep ground, sure-footedness helpful.
YDS Class 1
Class 1. Walking on an established path; low fall risk.
Wikidata Q846931

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Ingested from OpenStreetMap relation 1385141 (ODbL). The mapped line and 2D length are derived from that geometry. Ascent, descent, and high/low points are sampled from Copernicus GLO-30 (copernicus-dem:glo-30) and remain provisional. Water, permits, and hazards were not taken from OSM tags and must be verified.

OSM 2D length is 61.6 km (relation 1385141; longest-component snap of the DOC Great Walk loop, ref GW08). Published 60.1 km / 3–4 days (DOC Kepler Track, https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/fiordland/places/fiordland-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/kepler-track/, checked 2026-08-24) are cross-checks only, not this DataPoint. Wikidata Q846931 is the Kepler Track, not Routeburn or Milford.

typicalDays 5 is Math.round(lengthKm/12), a placeholder. DOC says most walkers take four days / three nights; that stamp is not authoritative until an editor replaces it.

The OSM way-bag does not vertex-close: the control-gates start and Rainbow Reach end are about 3 km apart. routeType is loop per DOC's circular Great Walk; a closer was not invented.

Water was not mapped to named WaterSource points (no honest atFraction). DOC notes no reliable water on the alpine section between Luxmore Hut and Iris Burn Hut; that is a safety note, not a positioned WaterSource.

Water

No water sources recorded.

Permits & fees

Permit
DOC Great Walk hut/campsite booking

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Getting there

Sourced legs to the Kepler Track control gates (OSM line start) base start station — where this trail record begins. This is not a route planner: durations are approximate and marked provisional until an official transport page confirms them.

  1. Bus · Queenstown (ZQN) → Te Anau

    Road/shuttle from Queenstown to Te Anau. No rail to Fiordland trailheads.

    doc.govt.nz · 2026-08-24 · official · provisional

  2. Road · Te Anau → Kepler Track car park / control gates

    DOC: Kepler Track car park is 5 km from Te Anau; the Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre is a 50-minute walk along the lakefront to the track entrance. Shuttle buses run to entry/exit points in the Great Walks season; a scheduled boat also serves Brod Bay (https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/fiordland/places/fiordland-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/kepler-track/, checked 2026-08-24).

    doc.govt.nz · 2026-08-24 · official · provisional

  3. Road · Invercargill (IVC) → Te Anau

    Secondary South Island gateway; road to Te Anau, then local transport as above. Not named on the DOC Kepler page.

    en.wikipedia.org · 2026-08-24 · wikidata · official · provisional

No rail. Rainbow Reach (12 km from Te Anau) is an alternate start/exit on the same DOC loop; this record's OSM line currently starts at the control-gates end.

Plan from your location

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Trailheads

  • Start (OSM line) car-free: unknown
  • End (OSM line) car-free: unknown

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Hazards

  • Exposed alpine section between Luxmore Hut and Iris Burn Hut; weather can change quickly and DOC may close that section or use a bad-weather route when avalanche hazard is present (https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/fiordland/places/fiordland-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/kepler-track/, checked 2026-08-24).
  • No reliable drinking water on the alpine section until Iris Burn Hut — fill at Luxmore Hut (same DOC page, checked 2026-08-24).