Milford Track

Day 2 -- looking pretty spunky still
see all photos »

It’s been labeled the finest walk in the world – and after completing our five day, 33.5 mile journey, we just might agree.

The Milford Track is just one of the many Great Walks here in New Zealand and until now we have only committed to day hikes (no camping for us). We hoped this guided walk would give us a great experience in the Fiordland National Park in southeast New Zealand. In this walk, you get to see it all, glacially carved valleys, glacier and alpine views, open prairies and also rainforest – WOW! The best part was that our weather could not have been better. Essentially, the 33 miles are covered over three days with the second of these days being the toughest where you climb to MacKinnon Pass at roughly 3700 feet and then take a decline in the same day down to a level of just 1000 feet. The first and last day was spent transporting us to and from the hiking trail and also taking in a couple of great cruises on Lake Te Anau and Milford Sound. Also, with a guided walk you don't have to carry your own food just your clothes and you to stay in fairly plush lodges with ensuite rooms, a hot breakfast and three course dinner cooked for you and laundry facilities with great drying rooms to dry out everything that might have gotten soaked. Most importantly, there is a bar with beer and wine that opens at cocktail hour where nibbles and a slide slow detailing the next day’s walk are provided for the group. Now that we’ve been spoiled, we’ll never graduate to independent overnight tracks!

33 miles and heaps of fun ..... oh, and rain

A view back from MacKinnon Pass
see all photos »

Roughly half the group was from English speaking countries and the other half was Japanese. Some of the Japanese could speak a little English but most could not but everyone made an effort to communicate along the way and had a great time. Our foreign language skills now include two Japanese words – Ohio (good morning) and Konychiwa (hello) – but not sure on the spelling here! The group of walkers was really great and we enjoyed everyone’s company. The oldest guy in our group was 75 which was pretty impressive.

So this is why everyone says you need to experience Milford in the rain!
see all photos »

The first three days consisted of sunny blue skies for the most part – and actually a little warm on the first day, but no complaints there. The second day (or first real day of hiking) was mostly flat along a river valley and gave us a good chance to get used to the 15 lb pack on our backs for 10 miles and was a good warm-up. There was even a waterfall fed lake that Scott and a few others braved and took a swim in the freezing cold water. The third day actually went really well and it was easier than we expected. Over the first 2.5 miles you climb about 700 feet but the next 2.5 miles is a bit steeper as you climb 2100 ft to MacKinnon Pass. Then after you reach the top, have some lunch at Pass Hut and take in the beautiful scenery, you have to make the descent down the other side. The descent is very steep, 3000 ft over 3.5 miles, and I was quite worried about my knees but between my walking pole, my Advil and hopefully my fitness, my knees didn’t even ache until we got to the last mile.

Walking along Clinton River Valley
see all photos »

Heavy rain was forecasted for the fourth day and a heavy rain it was. This portion of the walk takes you through the rainforest to Milford Sound and on average this area gets up to 30 feet of rain per year. After the first five miles of light rain, the skies poured down on us for the remaining eight miles. Everyone had told us that you want it to rain as the mountains surrounding the valleys turn into endless waterfalls which are really what this region is all about. We couldn’t agree more. We were soaked to the bone, from head to toe – rain gear really served no purpose here when you’re out for 6+ hours in a downpour. None of this really mattered however because every time we looked around us, the waterfalls on the hillsides were stunning and we couldn’t believe the number and the volume of water coming down. Some waterfalls looked like spouts coming out horizontally from the hillsides. We were excited that our waterproof shoes were holding up that is until mile 9 for the day when we came upon a rushing torrent of water crossing the path and dropping off a ledge just to the right of the path. Two of our fellow Japanese walkers had stopped as they were afraid to cross thinking that they would be swept in the current and over the edge. I have been known to be afraid of crossing streams before, so I probably would have sat there with him had it not been for Scott. He just looked at it and thought it’s our only option and walked right in. When he made it safely to the other side, I buckled down and headed across. This was the one time I was so thankful that I brought the walking pole which kept me steady as I crossed. We waved the others through and held out a helping hand on the other side. With that scary moment behind us – I was very relieved. Little did I know that there were maybe 10-20 more water crossings on that last 3-4 miles stretch, but none were as scary as the first one. And it goes without saying that the shoes were filled with a nice pool of water from that point on. Much of the trail along the way had simply become a stream because it was raining so hard. The day was really something and we were glad to have experienced it and were fortunate to see the waterfalls at their absolute best. And we were certainly thankful that the rain came on this last day rather than one day prior where we would have been climbing the pass and coming down on a rocky descent. At least this last walking day was with relatively flat terrain.

Strolling through the prairie....
see all photos »

Our final day we woke to sunny skies once again to enjoy our cruise along the Milford Sound. It was amazing that all the rain had runoff the mountains surrounding the sound and the majority of the waterfalls had disappeared. The mountains are made of granite and retained none of the rain from the day prior. I guess that explains why the waterfalls are so spectacular during the rain and not after.

Tidbit of the day:

The Dept of Conservation limits the number of new walkers on the trail to 50 guided walkers and 40 independent walkers per day. The trail is one way which is great as you can find yourself walking alone much of the time during the day. The guided hikes have been a business here since the late 1800s which is amazing as it is very remote and all supplies had to be carried in and out by horse. Now much of that is done by helicopter and you could see the pad at each of our lodges. Up until the 1950s when a tunnel was completed, the walk had to be done out and back as there was no road at the end of the trail to get you back to the starting point. According to our lead guide (who has completed 100+ trips), someone has to be choppered out with an injury on one of every three trips. Luckily, no issue for our trip – maybe due to the good weather on the tough day.

The pretty pools along the way....
see all photos »

Tidbit # 2 of the day:

Milford Sound is a misnomer – it’s actually a fjord as it was carved from glacial action rather than other geological forces. Fjordland here has 14 different fjords (one of which happens to be called Nancy Sound)