Fully-Booked And Beautiful

“Why if the [Routeburn Track] is so fully-booked, expensive, and logistically unfriendly, would so many people choose to trek it?” asks Gadling blogger Kyle Ellison. “Because, to put it simply, it might actually be one of the most beautiful landscapes in the entire world. This past year Lonely Planet listed the Routeburn Track as one of its top ten treks in the world, and the heavily trodden track has seen its annual numbers climb to over 13,000 walkers per year. As one of New Zealand’s nine ‘Great Walks’, the greenstone traders and early explorers have been replaced by Gore-Tex covered tourists carrying carbon fiber walking poles.”