The Milford Track and beyond...

The Milford Track is famously known as “The Finest Walk in the World”. Some people say that it was coined as such by an over enthusiastic journalist who had never even walked the track and that Milford while pretty, was certainly not the finest. I suppose it’s all a matter of opinion and what you’ve seen…what your idea of beauty is, but I found the Milford Track and Fiordland National Park to be the most beautiful area of raw, dramatic, natural landscape I’ve ever seen. As I was walking I kept thinking to myself, how will I ever explain to everyone back home how amazing this place is? No wordy description I can write will ever do it justice. On the trail, the words/phrases “unbelievable”, “oh my god” and “I can’t believe I’m here” kept running through my head.

The journey began on Wednesday the 14th. The bus picked us up in Te Anau and drove us 20 minutes north to Te Anau Downs where the boat transferred us to the start of the track at the top of lake Te Anau. 40 trampers are allowed to begin the track each day. The first day is a bit easy. From the boat ramp, it’s an hour walk along the Clinton River to the first hut which is Clinton Hut. This hour gives you a good idea as to how well you packed your backpack and if your shoulder/back will survive the trip. My bag felt extraordinarily heavy, but after awhile you get used to it.

Clinton Hut is tucked into a neat spot uphill from the river and is built over wetland area at the base of a mountain. The huts have the very basics, such as a main kitchen/dining area, gas cookers, sinks and a woodstove. No electricity but there are flush toilets. There are two separate bunkrooms, each with 20 bunks. There is also a helicopter landing deck at each hut. The first night is fun because you meet the people you will be spending the next three days and nights with. Everyone’s story is interesting…there were people from Germany, Australia, the UK, Israel, Switzerland, and the US. I met a British woman, Anna, at the hostel in Te Anau the night before…we just happened to be in the same room and realized that we were doing the hike on the same day. After we all had eaten our dinner, there was a hut meeting with the DOC (Department of Conservation) ranger (there is one posted at all three huts) to discuss the upcoming section of track for the next day, safety issues and weather. Following the meeting, several of us went a bit down the track with our torches (headlamps to us Yanks) to see glow worms. There were several spots near the river where we found them. They’re really quite pretty….they look like a beautiful starry night or fireflies frozen in place. They are not pretty when you see what they really are, which are insects cling to the roof of a cavern that drip a long nasty goo down to lure and trap smaller insects….ick.

The following morning, after a quick breakfast, I packed up, eager to hit the trail. I left around 8:00 and was the second person to leave. If you leave early enough, you feel like you are the only one out there, it’s great. This leg of the hike which follows the Clinton Valley, all the way up to Mintaro Hut and the base/starting point for Mackinnon Pass is usually completed in 6 hours. I think I did it in 4.5 to 5. This part of the walk is relatively flat, along the valley floor. The first part winds along with the river, then the trail opens up to wetland with the mountains of the Clinton Valley on either side. This part of the track has many avalanche areas. There are signs posted, warning trampers when they are entering such a zone, and not to stop walking until a “safe area” sign appears. Though it was fairly safe, there were several small slides while I was there. They sound like a mixture of thunder and loud crackling. I had to walk across several spots where there were landslides and it’s amazing to see how powerful and destructive they can be. These areas would be huge hills of dirt, rocks, boulders and whole trees piled in mass at the bottom of the hill. When you look up the path it came down, it looks as though a giant razor has shaved the mountainside. There are many pretty waterfalls along this area too. Once you reach the end of the valley, the landscape begins to change. The wetland turns into forest filled with beech trees covered in moss. EVERYTHING is covered in all different kinds of moss and lichen. Then you trail begins to climb uphill, to roughly, 2000 feet. The mountains around you begin to look bigger and have more snow on them. Then you reach Mintaro Hut. Mintaro sits up on a hill, in front of Mt. Balloon, just near Lake Mintaro. We had our first experience with Keas here. Keas are an alpine parrot with huge personalities. They are highly intelligent and big trouble makers. If you dare leave anything outside it becomes a toy for the kea. They destroy boots and clothes and try sneaking into the hut whenever they can. That night at Mintaro Anna taught me how to play a card game called Sh*thead (also known as Palace in the states). We soon had a group of regulars and passed the evenings this way. The next day was to be a big day, as many people find day three to be the most rewarding, scenic and difficult.

In the morning I left around 7:30 and was the second person on the trail. It seemed like the trail immediately began to climb. In this leg up to Mackinnon Pass, you climb switchbacks up for about 90 minutes (just over 1000 feet). It was tiring, but I was surprised at my strength. I should mention that the weather up to this point had been misty with periods of sun coming through but also the occasional light shower. When I reached the top of Mackinnon pass, it was slightly foggy and misty. You could see the surrounding mountains peeking in and out of the grayness. It fog made everything mysterious…like mother nature wanted to keep us in suspense, hiding the grandeur behind a curtain. But the wind suddenly changed and in a matter of minutes every bit of fog was gone and you could see for miles in every direction. It was glorious. I couldn’t believe the extremeness of the beauty all around me. After many photos were taken, we all moved a little down the trail to the Mackinnon Pass shelter, which had a stove and was a good spot for a snack. None of us realized how cold it was until we stopped moving. I was feeling really hot when I went inside, like it was a warm summer day, but I could see the breathe coming from my mouth. I decided to keep moving so I wouldn’t get too cold. I continued on down the trail which leads over the other side of Mackinnon Pass, down into Roaring Brook and the Arthur Valley. Due to the fact that it’s still avalanche season, we were redirected along the emergency trail, instead of the main trail. Coming down the other side of Mackinnon Pass is extremely steep. You descend the entire 3,000 feet in about 3 to 4 hours to reach Dumpling Hut, for the last night on the track. Though steep, it has amazing views, beautiful rivers, and huge waterfalls. About an hour before reaching Dumpling Hut, there is a side trail that leads to Sutherland Falls, the highest waterfall in New Zealand at 580 meters (the fifth highest in the world!) Then it’s another hour to Dumpling Hut. Dumpling was the nicest of the huts. It didn’t have anything special, it was just set up nicely with 4 separate bunkrooms, making things a bit quieter at night. The keas here were unbelievable. One of them woke us up around 3 AM because it was pulling everyone’s boots off the hooks and dragging them across the deck making a “bang, bang, bang” sound. When we gathered them all up and placed them inside one of the rooms, the kea squawked and pecked at the door, trying to get in. They are cheeky little things! The ranger at Dumpling was especially endearing. His name was Ross and must have been in his 60s. He went through the usual gist of things at our hut meeting but he told lots of funny stories about the keas, and lots of informative things about the birdlife.

On Mackinnon Pass

I was hurting on the morning of day 4. My calf muscles were so tight, I couldn’t walk for several minutes when I first stepped out of bed. Everyone was experiencing the same. My pack was feeling really heavy despite the fact that 90% of my food was gone. Again I set out early, around 8:00. You have to leave Dumpling around 8:00 in order to catch the boat at the end of the track to Milford Sound. This leg takes about 6 hours. This part of the track meanders through the Arthur Valley and the Arthur River. More beautiful scenery, the highlights being Mackay Falls, Giants Gate Falls and Lake Ada. The end of the line is Sandfly Point, which is named quite well. The sandflies are relentless… From here, the boat picked us up and brought us to Milford Sound, a 20 minute ride across the way where the bus was waiting to bring us back to Te Anau (a 2 hour drive). The boat ride across was an adventure in itself! The wind was rocking the boat from side to side and we were all tossed about…it was great fun.

The drive through Fiordland National Park was amazing in itself. Everything is so majestic, you really feel small. Most of the mountains are in the 6,000 to 7,000 ft range and the Milford Rd. meanders along the valley between them. We even went through one when passing through the Homer Tunnel. I was in awe the whole time.

A bunch of us got together back in Te Anau for a big dinner and drinks at The Moose restaurant and for a “Milford style” Sh*thead playoff.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience I won’t forget soon. I’ve just left a sheep farm in between Invercargill and Bluff. A lovely family…Paula and Bede MacKenzie. They have three grown kids, Amber, Bridget and Scott. I was doing lots of yard and garden work, babysitting and helping out with cooking/cleaning. I had my own little cottage room and it had a hot tub out back!

To end on an exciting note, I’ve decided to stay in New Zealand until the end of February to volunteer on a Habitat for Humanity project in Invercargill! They would like me to speak (or be interviewed) about my personal Habitat experience. It’s a great opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. In the meantime, I’m thinking about spending some time up in Dunedin. I keep hearing about how great it is so I’m thinking that’s where I’ll spend Christmas.

More to come…. :)