Greenstone and Caples

My friend and I will be in South Island over the April break. We are planning to do this tramp and if anyone is able to join us, please let me know ASAP! I am able to take 3 people in my car, so ATM that is the trip capacity. This might change if anyone else can also bring a car.

The Greenstone and Caples Track is an intermediate-level tramp in the Otago region of South Island, with the start of the track located near Glenorchy. See the DOC page here. 

The plan is as follows:

13th April: Pick people up from Queenstown in the morning. We will be at the road end by midday (1.5 hour drive from Queenstown). Greenstone road end to Mid Caples Hut (9km).

14th April: Mid Caples Hut to McKellar Hut (22km) 

15th April: McKellar Hut to Greenstone Hut (18km)

16th April: Greenstone Hut to road end (12km), an early start to make sure we can get back to Queenstown in good time for any flights/buses/long drives home.

There is also the more advanced option of instead going via Steele Creek and staying in Steele Creek Hut rather than McKellar Hut on the 14th. We can decide as a group whether we do this. At the moment there is good availability at each of the huts and campsites, but this will likely change as the break approaches so I would like to get this locked in fairly soon. 

We will be passing through Queenstown before and after the tramp. If you aren't yet planning to be down south or cannot drive yourself to join us, we are able to pick you up from Queenstown airport or the bus interchange. Ideally, this would happen early on the morning of the 13th. We can then drop everyone back to Queenstown on the 16th. It is up to you to book transport to/from Queenstown. Flights are looking quite expensive, so if you do need to fly you might want to look at this ASAP. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about these logistics.

Cost Breakdown

• Huts are $25 per person per night 
• Campsites by the huts are $10 per person per night
• Share of fuel - who can say what this will be nowadays, hopefully <$20 per person...
• Food - it would be nice to do a group meal
• Transport to/from Queenstown

Gear

You will need standard gear for a 4-day tramp for this trip (pack, sleeping bag, layers, waterproofs, etc. We can share out things like cooking equipment). I will send out a specific gearlist to those who sign up well in advance.

Please email me or find me at a Tuesday meeting if you are keen to join or have any questions! :)