Trails › New Zealand › Southland › Fiordland National Park

Kepler Track: Rainbow Reach to Shallow Bay or Moturau Hut

Trail11 km · 7 miModerate · 5/10Best Sep–Apr

Next nearby hike: Mount Luxmore 5.8 mi · 9.3 kmExplore Fiordland National Park →

Fiordland National ParkFiordland National ParkKepler Track · Fiordland National ParkSouthlandMount Luxmore · SouthlandSouthlandEndStart5 kmN ↑

Kepler Track: Rainbow Reach to Shallow Bay or Moturau Hut other trails nearby (tap a dot to open it)

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NZ Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0) · OpenStreetMap · Official page · Basemap: OpenFreeMap (OpenMapTiles, © OSM contributors).

7-day forecast

Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)

Best time to hike

Best months: Sep–Apr · highs 11–18 °C (52–64 °F)

  1. J18°10°148
  2. F18°10°100
  3. M16°9°128
  4. A13°7°121
  5. M10°5°142
  6. J7°2°128
  7. J6°1°105
  8. A8°2°115
  9. S11°4°136
  10. O13°5°150
  11. N15°7°118
  12. D17°9°145

Average high °C · low °C · precipitation mm per month. Highlighted: best months.

How we pick months

Best months are those where the 1981–2010 average daily high is 10–27 °C (50–81 °F), the average overnight low is 0 °C (32 °F) or warmer, and average precipitation is 200 mm (7.9 in) or less. Values are long-term monthly averages for the ~1 km cell at the trail point on the map, from CHELSA V2.1 climatologies (Karger et al., CC0), not a forecast. Higher or more exposed parts of a route can be colder, wetter or snowier.

About this trail

To sample the Kepler Track (a Great Walk) or for an easy overnight tramp for kids, follow this track through beech forest to Moturau Hut and Shallow Bay on Lake Manapouri.

NZ Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0).

Trail facts

Length
11 km · 7 mi (DOC route geometry)
Source
NZ Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0)
Difficulty
Moderate (5/10) (Intermediate · NZ Department of Conservation difficulty (CC BY 4.0))
Typical time (DOC)
3 - 3 hr 30 min return
Official page
doc.govt.nz/link/3950bfc769934c0ea6e2ffff958
Nearest town
8.1 km S of Te Anau (Southland District, Southland) · GeoNames
Park or forest
Fiordland National Park
Best months
Sep–Apr
Country
New Zealand
Region
Southland
Continent
Oceania
Route centre
-45.4866, 167.6859
How it’s scored

Moderate (5/10). Official rating: Intermediate · NZ Department of Conservation difficulty (CC BY 4.0).

A score is omitted when we do not have an official rating or enough measured length and elevation gain to compute one. Nothing is guessed. Read the NPS method: https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/how-to-determine-hiking-difficulty.htm

Hikers can rate difficulty from 1 to 10 (1 = flat, short, easy walk for anyone; 3 = gentle hills, a little effort; 5 = moderate climbs, some fitness needed; 7 = steep or long, solid fitness required; 10 = extremely strenuous or technical; long steep climbing; experienced hikers only). The community average is shown once at least 3 people have rated the trail; until then the official or computed score is used when we have one.

Nearest trails

distance from the trail centre

All trails in Southland → · All 1,167 trails in New Zealand →