A Wild Vista

[ Links in this article last updated and checked May 27th, 2010 ]

The Dusky Track is a challenging trek on the South Island of New Zealand. Its 84km take at least 8 days to complete, and will immerse you in the remote, primeval, temperate rainforest of South West Fiordland.

Dusky Sound (Liam_OMalley / Flickr)

Completing this track in 2003 was the highlight of my trip to New Zealand. It’s also one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. If you fancy a serious challenge, this list of links to various resources about the Dusky Track will be a useful starting point. The links comprise a mixture of official information sources, important commercial operators (you’ll need boat or air transport to reach the ends of the track), and personal diaries and galleries.

• Department of Conservation (DoC) — Dusky Track pages: official information from the New Zealand Department of Conservation. The best starting point, and the place to check for important updates on current track conditions.
• Lake Hauroko Tours: If you’re going to trek the Lake Hauroko section of the track, then you’ll need some way of getting to the track terminus. Val McKay and his boat, “Namu”, will see you right.
• The Dusky Track, by Mister Moose: an illustrated personal diary that really brings alive the remarkable nature of the Dusky Track. See also a Dusky Track letter from the same author.
• The Dusky Track, by “eD in boots”: an honest, no-holds-barred write-up of a Dusky Track trip. Read this, and you’ve no excuses for underestimating what you could be letting yourself in for…
• FiordlandNZ.com: basic information and a route description.
• Burkhard Wünsche: another nicely illustrated personal journal.
• fiordland.org.nz: basic information and transport contact details.
• Dusky Track tramping trip: a nice photo set on Flickr, by jasoux.
• Doin’ the Dusky (PDF): amusing recollections of a trekking trip along the Dusky — a good read!
• Dusky Track, Fiordland: a Webshots gallery, by amaciar
• Jason Friend (stock photography):stunning photographs from the Dusky Track, by landscape photographer Jason Friend.
• Nick & Jenni’s Wanderings: an illustrated personal blog at Boots n’all.
• Let’s Go Fiordland:a general guide to the Manapouri area, which includes information and a route description for the Dusky Track.
• The journal of a Kiwi: another illustrated Dusky Track diary.
• The mighty muddy dusky: personal recollections at offyonder.com.
• Sebastian is out …enjoying New Zealand: blog entries on a Dusky trip, including some great photos, here, and here.
• Fiordland Brown Kiwi (YouTube video): remarkable footage of a Kiwi taken on the Dusky Track.
• Princess Mountains traverse — February 1979: a fascinating record of a much tougher trip, that happens to include most of the Dusky Track.
• Wings and Water — Te Anau: if you’re planning to start or finish at Supper Cove, then you’re going to need a charter flight from these guys.