There are some trips you venture out on, where you’re rewarded with grandeur and magic from a place that is simply surreal. Much of the great exploring has been done but we all find our own ways of finding a way to reimburse adventure; I certainly think we all NEED it whatever shape or form it may be in. Personally, the biggest appeal is finding a place that really is ‘off the radar’ and you can count on being away from all civilisation. My recent trip to Lake Unknown was just as the title says, a place where no track lay, no human evidence found and a piece of the world that represents grandeur and magic in nature.
Originally planning on a full 7 day circuit, our plans soon diminished when we saw the forecast for the next week, a bout of bad weather hitting right in the middle of our ‘wouldbe’ trip. We opted to break it down into 2 smaller trips instead, the second would be our climb to lake unknown. We began our trip at the Routeburn shelter, the Glenorchy end for one of NZ’s 9 great walks; The Routeburn Track. We would follow this track for 1km before turning off to head up-and-over the Sugarloaf pass, a wet and muddy 600metre climb through beech forest before breaking out onto the boggy tussock tops.
This story is from the June - July 2019 edition of Adventure Magazine.
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This story is from the June - July 2019 edition of Adventure Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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