The bus ride to the Routeburn Track points us South toward Te Anau and Fiordland, past the popular Milford Track. From a California perspective, the

Routeburn is comparable in beauty to anything the Sierras may offer, as well as very diverse in the scenery provided. We took our time here

snapping photos and taking time to take in the incredible sights. Day one puts us at Howden Hut for the night, where I took in dusk over a healthy

sampling of the local Scotch. For preservation sake, there was no primitive camping allowed!