We took a drive to the flanks of Mount Aspiring in the Southern Alps, then a day hike on a portion of the Routeburn Track, which is one of New Zealand’s Great Walks.
Mount Aspiring, also called Tititea by the Māori, is New Zealand’s 23rd highest mountain with an elevation of 9,951 feet above sea level. It’s ofter called ‘the Matterhorn of the South’ due to its pyramidal shape when viewed from the southwest.
The Routeburn Track is a 32 km hiking track which crosses into both the Mount Aspiring and Fiordland National Parks. The track gets its name because it follows the Routeburn River for much of its length. The river gets its name from the Scottish word ‘Burn’ which translates to River … so Routeburn literally translates to Route River, or River along the travel route. Wait, which name came first? The river’s or the route’s?? That’s a question for a more historically savvy person than me to answer!
Awesome