gertrude saddle

Fabulous views, a little treacherous as the snow was melting , but the waterfalls and Black ;lake were fantastic even small ice bergs in the stream. Recommend taking walking poles and plenty of sun protection

Undertake only in good weather. A beautiful journey up the valley. Really worth it even if you don't make it to the top; just walking up to the top of the valley before you start climbing steeply is amazing. Excellent Swimming hole a short walk from the main road if your passing on a hot day. Navigation reasonably straight forward. Lots of snow to walk over up high when we did it in mid December. Plus take extra care crossing the bottom of the Glacier. I wouldn't do this hike unless you have a reasonable amount of hiking experience and don't mind heights. It's also quiet a steep climb so you need to be reasonably fits otherwise you wont enjoy it. I made several attempts at this route but have been turned back by bad weather in the past so was stoked to finally get up to the top.

My teenage son and myself , stayed up in homer hut .....made a day trip to Gertrude saddle . It started off as just a track ...when it slowly started to climb .....the climb to the too is tough and dangerous ,,,but very exciting and worth the pain .... We had a good fine day but I am sure the challenge would be greater if wet . The climb to black lake is enroute to the saddle can also enjoyed .... You can collect some fresh natural spring water . There are ropes to support yourself to up to the saddle .....it is quite steep and can be slippery ..... The view from the saddle is heavenly .... Did not want to come down ...I am sure trampers would have settled in for the night ...,there are more climbs from then on ....

For me, this hike tops the Routeburn in terms of views and cool factor. The track is hard to follow at times, and you are walking up an old rock/avalanche fall in places. This can make for tough going, but the view at the top is second to none. As mentioned by another reviewer, there is sign at the road for 'Gertrude Saddle', only for 'Gertrudes Valley', look out for this so you don't miss the turn off. We managed to do the Lake Matheson loop in far less than the stated time, but in this instance, the full 6 hours was needed. We lost our way from the track a couple of times and had to scramble up loose rocks and debris. You will want to allow time to spend up at the saddle. I would say an hour at a minimum. If the weather looks in doubt I would not attempt this at all. The rocks near the top offer great grip in the dry, but would be treacherous in the wet. Plus, there would hardly be any point as the highlight really are the views towards Milford Sound.Be mindful of sunset times and available light, the fog comes down very quickly, and you MUST be able to see clearly for quite a while in front of you to find the track markers.I highly recommend this, it was the single biggest highlight of my time in the South Island (and I have been here many times).

There are breathtaking views all the way from Te Anau to Milford Sound and it is worth driving up to Homer Tunnel to enjoy so many of the outstanding viewpoints. Stop along the way at various spots which are signposted - all are worth a visit.

Father,Mother,son aged 12,daughter aged 8 set out to conquer GS.Lovely sunny day when we set out. We took out time and picked our way to the top.View with the kea from the top looking to Milford Sound was amazing.Mist started creeping in so we turned to come back and mist followed us in quickly making rocks a little slipprey.All safe and sound down again.Kids reminise on this accomplishment very frequently.Keep a mind out for the weather would be my only caution

only for experienced mountain hikers, steep walk, treacherous and slippery in the wet.fantastic views in good weather. looks down onto milford sound, few other people around.

We did a lot of hiking during our two weeks in New Zealand, and this is one of the best (if not the very best!) hikes we did. It's definitely not easy (the sign at the start suggests that it's "for fit and experienced trampers only", which I would probably agree with, and it takes awhile (the sign estimates 4-6 hours, and it took us about 5), but it's totally worth the effort.The start of the hike is fairly easy to find. It's about 1 KM before the Homer Tunnel entrance (when you're heading towards Milford from Te Anau) on the right, and you'll see a sign that says "Gertrude's Valley". There's no sign for "Gertrude's Saddle" that you can see from the road, so look for the Valley sign. There's a large parking lot, and the hike starts from there.The trail is reasonably easy to follow, though the sign warns that it's an "unmarked route" and "alpine and navigation skills" are required. We didn't have much trouble as there are stakes with orange tips at the start of the hike marking the path, and then rock piles at regular intervals later in the hike. The rock piles were sometimes a bit hard to spot, but we never really got far off the track and were always able to find another marker without too much trouble. We were told that this trail can be very tricky to follow and quite difficult to hike in the winter as much of the route could be covered with snow, so make sure you check before heading out. We were there in the middle of summer and there were still some patches of snow on the way up towards the saddle.The first part of the hike is easy and scenic as you walk through the valley towards the mountains. Well marked trail, not too steep, and pretty neat to walk into the valley with mountains on all sides. This easy part took us 45 minutes or so, and passed by some beautiful pools of water.From there, it started to get steep as the trail headed up the mountains towards the saddle. As you go up, there are numerous lakes with flowing water connecting them, which were really beautiful and quite cold! The scenery is pretty spectacular between the lakes, waterfalls, and views of the mountains and valleys. But the real highlight of the hike is at the top of the saddle, which took us over 3 hours to reach. The trail gets quite steep at times, and there are even ropes (really just wires bolted to the rock face) to use for balance and to help climb up.But it's all worth it, because from the saddle, you will have absolutely beautiful 360 degree views ... the valley in one direction, and Milford Sound in the other!The way down is not too much easier as some of the footing is slippery and it's pretty steep, but we made it down in about two hours, so just over half the time it took to hike up. Overall, definitely do this hike if the weather is good and you're in good physical shape.

I did not complete the full hike, but did part of it, starting in the Gertrude Valley. The waterways are stunningly beautiful - clear blue water that just begs you to dip in it (don't, though, unless it's a hot day - the water is very cold!). I would love to complete the full hike as the scenery in this particular area is second to none.

Gertrude saddle is a hike that should only be done in sunny weather or at least dry. The rocks can be slippery in rain, so if you're lucky to have a beautiful day in Fiordland, get on top of the saddle and you won't regret it!!First part of the hike is in the valley, so for about 40 minutes you're walking on flat terrain with mountains surronding you. Then it starts to go up and it takes you about an hour an a half to get on the top of the saddle. The track is well maintained and you go pass a couple of beautiful lakes and dozens of waterfalls. The view from the top is as I said, spectacular!!! If you look one way, you see directly to Milford sound and if you look the other way, there is a beautiful valley in front of you! If you have the weather, do the hike!! :D And another thing is that not a lot of people know about this hike, so there won't be a crowd :) Best regards

Gertrude Saddle - горная седловина, с которой открывается замечательный вид на один из самых знаменитых фьордов Новой Зеландии - Milford Sound. Трек не очень длинный - обернуться туда обратно можно за 4-5 часов, но очень требовательный к физической форме ввиду того, что бОльшую часть пути идет достаточно серьезный набор высоты по крутому склону, да и спускаться под таким углом местами непросто. Открывающийся с седловины вид - замечателен! Любителям хайкинга - на заметку.

Eine Wanderung zu Getrude Saddle lohnt sich allemal. Schon der Aufstieg zur Anhöhe wird mit einem tosenden Wasserfall und wunderschönen Landsschaftsausblicken belohnt. Oben hat man dann eine wunderschöne Sicht auf Richtung Milford Sound und umgebende Berge. Top! Einzigster Nachteil: Kondition ist gefragt.