DOC Huts often look like this. Many people in one big room. One person snoring is probably guaranteed
Another interesting bit I didn't know was that the routeburn and the milford track actually were only private tracks for many years where you had to use the private (and expensive) lodges as the sole option. It's only after enough people complained that the DOC (Department of Conservation) added public huts and allowed regular hikers/backpackers to enjoy the tracks by being able to stay overnight too. That bit of history aside, given that we had just flown in to NZ the afternoon before, and Jennifer was still battling a cold and resulting poor sleep, doing the routeburn in 3 days with short days, plush accommodations and nice meals, as opposed to a very long day with few breaks, made things easier for her :) For the price, ultimatehikes still offers a convenient package that takes you to/from queenstown, lends you gear so that you don't have to fly it in or rent it, and in case of problems like a track being flooded to a point that it's not safe to cross, they have at times flown their customers across an impassable points where the other hikers had to turn back and cancel their hike.
Ultimatehikes is more of an obvious choice for people who don't hike as fast, feel more comfortable with guides who can help them out if they run into trouble, and also benefit from not having to carry as much (you can do the hike with a mere 5 to 10kg given that you don't have to carry any food, bedding, tent, just your clothes and personal items). In my case, it felt like so little weight and cheating so much that I took my laptop and extra stuff I really didn't need (I knew we'd have short hiking days and I had lots of pictures to sort as well as a talk to write for the conference I was attending), which added another 5kg to make it a bit more challenging. I had around 15kg and it still felt super light compared to what I'm used to carrying :)
this is so wrong that I had to do it :)
this was also wrong enough that I had to take a picture :)
the routeburn lost many birds due to introduced mammals, we only got to see a few
the generator output went into a room that became a drying rack, nice idea
you could even do your laundry
the lodge was spacious of course
you could even pay more to get a private room
a few courageous people went in the very cold water
it's obviously less plush, but still beats sleeping outside in a potential heavy rainstorm
it explained how they are trying to kill the mammals have been decimating the local birds
those traps are all over the track, hopefully they work
warning on how the keas love to destroy your hiking boots :)
the lake by the lodge is quite big
we got lucky enough to a flock of Keas fly by
we had a lunch break by saddle shelter huts
our guides made drinks for us, served with cookies :)
my boot didn't look great, but it worked for the rest of the hike
this was going to be our hike out on the 3rd day, but we never got that view again
the other lodge was very nice too
while the DOC hut was a bit more packed
I did manage to miss a spot with the sunscreen the previous day
my 2nd boot also failed just as I exited. I guess it didn't like the water