Where are all the trampers going?

The Hump Ridge Track may be looking at a record year as it benefits from the closure of other major tracks because of flooding.

The Routeburn and Milford track are both closed because of weather damage. The Milford track is expected to be closed for at least three weeks while the Routeburn had sustained significant damage from the floods and will not reopen this season.

Hump Ridge Track chairman Don Frengley said: ‘‘At the moment numbers are looking strong for us, but I’m not counting my chickens just yet.’’

Trampers may be considering alternative options, and that might make the Hump Ridge track a consideration.

The track had not been affected as badly by the weather as some of the other tracks, Frengley said.

Hump Ridge Track general manager Cedric Wedderburn said the track had a lot of bookings but had the capacity to take on more.

However, he said he could guarantee that it wasn’t just The Hump Ridge that had picked up business since the floods.

Fiordland Trips and Tramps owner Steve Norris said the Kepler had also been ‘‘very busy in conjunction with Fiordland Jet [and there had been] a lot more Kepler Heli Flights’’, he said.

Some of the people that were booked on the Hollyford, Routeburn or Milford tracks would be in the area so the company had picked up other peoples misfortune, he said.

‘‘You never want to get business on peoples bad luck’’, but it had been busy, Norris said.

In terms of numbers he said he would only be ‘‘throwing a dart at the wall’’ guessing how much busier the track had been.

With weather damage hitting the Milford and Routeburn tracks, trampers may be looking at alternative walks, like the scenic Hump Ridge Track, pictured, near Tuatapere.