Moturau Hut to Rainbow Reach

Kepler Track · Stage 5

6.0kmStage distance
141mMapped ascent
5Stage number

Across the wetland and along the Waiau River to the swing bridge at Rainbow Reach, where you can leave by shuttle.

Best season: 27 October to 30 April (the Great Walks season). The Department of Conservation's 2026/27 Great Walks season runs from 27 October 2026 to 30 April 2027: the huts have rangers, gas and heating, and huts and campsites must be booked. Avalanche risk on the alpine section can last into December, when DOC may close it. From May to October the tops are an alpine route with avalanche paths, for well-equipped, experienced parties only. Iris Burn Hut is closed for renovations until mid-October 2026; the planner counts it closed until 27 October, and the Iris Burn campsite stays open. Before you go

Moturau Hut to Rainbow Reach

Loading topographic map…
200m225m250m01 km2 km3 km4 km5 km6.0 km245m198m
Flat (<5%) Gentle (5–10%)
Green: Moturau Hut to Rainbow Reach. Grey: full trail. Elevation follows this mapped track.

Moturau Hut to Rainbow Reach

5 / 6
GPX

Where this stage starts and ends

Facts read from the operators' own pages and OpenStreetMap on 27 September 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with the hut before you rely on a date or a bed.

Stage start

Moturau Hut

Staffed mountain hut · Department of Conservation

Season
2026/27 27 October 2026 to 30 April 2027 The 2026/27 Great Walks season, with a ranger, gas cooking, heating and flush toilets: bookings required. Outside the season: From May to late October first come, first served, $30 adult, with no gas, ranger, indoor water or emergency radio. doc.govt.nz, read 27 September 2026
Places
40 places in total · Self-catering In the Great Walks season: 40 bunks, a ranger, heating and gas cooking (no utensils), solar lighting, flush toilets and cold water (no showers). Boil the tap water.
Booking
Book online Book in the Great Walks season; first come, first served outside it. Great Walks season: adult NZ$132 (international), NZ$88 (NZ resident), child $66 / $44.
Contact
Official site

OpenStreetMap

Stage end

Rainbow Reach

Trailhead · 208 m

The swing bridge over the Waiau River and the Rainbow Reach car park, 12 km from Te Anau: many walkers finish here by shuttle instead of the last 9.5 km to the car park.

What the operators say about this leg

Make it your trip

Book the huts and campsites

In the Great Walks season every hut and campsite night is booked on DOC's booking system; campers may not use the huts. Luxmore Hut needs a booking all year; outside the season the other huts are first come, first served. Book the shuttle or water taxi with it. The planner's nights are the huts: campers choose Brod Bay or the Iris Burn campsite on DOC's booking.

The loop from the Kepler Track car park

The whole loop in four days, a night at each hut.

Plan this journey

Kepler Track car park to Rainbow Reach

Three days, leaving at Rainbow Reach by shuttle instead of the last 9.5 km.

Plan this journey

Weather this week

Loading the forecast for on the trail (222 m)…

Weather by month

Typical weather on this stage, around 191–252 m. Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.

Monthly climate averages and daylight
Month
WeatherGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGood
Day / night20°/9°20°/9°18°/8°15°/7°12°/5°10°/3°9°/2°10°/3°13°/4°15°/5°16°/6°19°/8°
Rain, mm11613915411514315113897130129152110
Snow at high point––––––––––––
Daylight15 h 1813 h 5812 h 2910 h 529 h 308 h 449 h10 h 1011 h 4213 h 1714 h 4815 h 39

Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.

Before you go

Prepare for the Kepler Track

Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.

Prices

Each hut night in the Great Walks season costs an international adult NZ$132 and a New Zealand resident NZ$88 (children $66 / $44); a campsite night $42 / $28. Off-season, Luxmore $35 and the valley huts $30 an adult night.

DOC: Great Walks pricing

The alpine section

Between Luxmore and Iris Burn the track runs along exposed tops with no reliable water. In winter it crosses nine avalanche paths, most of which can reach the track; DOC says to go then only with an ice axe, crampons, avalanche gear and a distress beacon. DOC's webcam looks toward Hanging Valley Shelter.

Kepler Track webcam

Signal and help

Phone coverage cannot be guaranteed: carry a distress beacon. The hut rangers have radios in the season. For search and rescue call 111. The Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre: +64 3 249 7924.

DOC: distress beacons

Getting there

Connect your journey

Travel around Moturau Hut to Rainbow Reach.

Directions to this start Travel from this finish

Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.

Te Anau and the car park

The Kepler Track car park is 5 km from Te Anau, a 50-minute walk from the visitor centre. In the season shuttles serve the car park and Rainbow Reach (12 km from Te Anau) daily, and a scheduled water taxi crosses to Brod Bay.

Tracknet: Kepler Track

Take your trip with you

Offline maps

Prepare every day while you still have a connection: DOC says phone coverage on the track cannot be guaranteed.

Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.

  1. Open this trail in the app. Install TrailSplits, then open this trail there. On iPhone, downloads in a browser may not be available in the installed app.
  2. Choose your route or stages. Choose Prepare offline above. Wait for the route and maps to finish downloading.
  3. Try it before leaving coverage. Switch offline, close and reopen the app, then use My Hikes to start navigation. Repeat for every part you will need.

Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.

Route & sources

About this map

The Department of Conservation gives a 60 km loop from the Kepler Track car park, walkable either way; DOC lists it by Luxmore first, as here. The line here is the track's relation on OpenStreetMap (planet of 21 September 2026), 58.1 km, cut at DOC's stage ends; the times are DOC's.

Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 27 September 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.

Department of Conservation: Kepler Track

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation

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