KEPLER TRACK

This is Te Wahipounamu, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape shaped by glaciers and relentless weather, where nature operates entirely on its own terms. Even over a short distance, the scale is humbling. Beech forest gives way to open sections of track, Lake Te Anau slipping in and out of view, and you quickly realise that here the weather isn’t background noise, it’s an active participant…

Somewhere along the track, that quiet was shattered by the impending chaos of a kea hurtling downhill toward me — wings half open, head cocked, clearly pleased with itself. Equal parts comedian and anarchist, it paused just long enough to assess whether my pack contained snacks before bouncing off again into the bush. Then came the rain — proper Fiordland rain — sweeping in sideways, soaking everything, blurring ridgelines, and reminding me who really runs this place. It’s the kind of weather that strips things back to basics: steady breathing, wet boots, and the simple satisfaction of moving forward.

And woven through it all is the legend of the Fiordland moose — released in the early 1900s and never officially seen again, yet whispered about in huts and over steaming mugs of tea. Maybe they’re gone, maybe they’re not, but the idea of them lingering unseen in these vast forests feels perfectly fitting…