Iris Burn Hut — Hotel in Fiordland Community

A gorgeous hut in the valley just below the crossing section of the Kepler Track. This hut is one of the nicer I have stayed at in the DOC system. Very well run and super clean. The sandflys are a nuisance here, but not as bad as some other areas on the trail. Fortunately, the door for the toilets/changing area are kept closed most the time and you can escape them for your personal business.

The area here is quite nice with a cool waterfall only 20 minutes walk away. Many of the hikers are coming down from the Luxmore Hut to reach Iris Burn and complained of the strenuous hike down into the valley. Many of them utilize the pool of water near the waterfall to refresh their weary bodies. Some opportunity to spot a Kea (alpine Parrot) and the Whio (blue duck). The Kea may come and steal your boots, so make sure you hang them on the elevated pegs provided outside. As a great walks hut, it comes with clean water and gas stoves for cooking. So you have a little less to...

If you are going to do the Kepler great walk in a counterclockwise direction, you will get here for your second night (after Luxmore hut). You will love to see this place because you will have to descend about 1000 meters to get here. Going up to the Kepler mountains was not nearly as demanding as going down. You will be tired and sore, which is why you will love this place get you get here haha. There is plenty of water to drink. There is a short detour you can take after you arrive to nearby falls. This place though comes alive at night. There are a couple of kiwis here, if you want to see them make sure you bring a flashlight with a red filter (they can’t see red). If you don’t you will scare them away. There are many bunks, grab one away from a snoring person haha. Leave your shoes/boots tied up on coat hooks so the Kia bird don’t peck and...

Great hut! The only reason it gets four stars instead of five is because the Luxmore and Moturau Huts are SO nice; Iris Burn was definitely my least favorite hut of the three.

There are three bunk rooms, two large and one small.

There's a river nearby which is a nice spot to read at (as long as you have bug spray for the sand flies), and a waterfall about a 25-minute walk away.

If you have a headlamp with a red light setting, you can stay up late to try and catch a kiwi sighting. Do NOT go kiwi watching if you have a normal headlamp or flashlight as the light will damage their eyes.

As with the other huts, the water is safe to drink without boiling/purifying (the rangers will tell you that), and gas is provided to cook with, just make sure you bring a pot. There's a shared kettle, but I wouldn't...