This is an activity blog penned by Geoffrey. Please contact me if you are interested in knowing more about anything related to walking the Milford Track.
Over to Geoffrey …
After 35 years of tramping in New Zealand I finally got to tick-off the Milford Track – dubbed the “finest walk in the world”. Two reasons why it took this long to do. Firstly, I had always wanted to save the “best to last”, and secondly, I finally managed to successfully get a booking which had become an increasingly difficult thing to secure after missing out over a number of years. It’s now almost akin to trying to get an entry to one of the World Marathon Majors!
There are basically 2 options for walking this 3-nights, 4-day 54km walk. There is the classic independent backpacker hiker option where you take and carry everything you need and stay in DOC (Department of Conservation) huts and share all facilities with other tampers. Alternatively, you go the guided route where you only carry a day pack and where catered meals and private lodge accommodation await you at the end of each day. Obviously, the big difference is cost – but the Milford can be a demanding walk either way and can be very challenging if the weather is cold, windy or wet. The Milford Track is set in alpine conditions and as such can experience adverse weather conditions any time of the year. Going with the guided, so-called “luxury” option does not guarantee you nice weather!
The walk can only be booked between April and October and it is unsuitable to be walked in the winter without suitable alpine experience.
Stephen and I started off at 8am from Queenstown using Fiordland Outdoors which provided the shuttle and water taxi transport to the start of the track and then back to Queenstown. The track commences after a 1-hour boat ride from Te Anau Downs to Glade Wharf. We started walking around 12:30pm and it was only a 1-hour 5km flat walk through attractive beech forest along the banks of the Clinton River to our first night accommodation at Clinton Hut. So it was a very cruisy first day!
The 2nd day is a 6-hour gradual 17km climb continuing to follow the Clinton River up to Lake Mintaro which is at the base of Mackinnon Pass. It’s quite different from the first day – as although you are still walking beside the Cinton River – you notice the narrowing of the valley and the increasing sheer scale of rock walls either side. Mintaro Hut is only 3 years old and was the newest of the 3 huts on the walk.
The 3rd day was the hardest (7 hours 13km) as there is a steep climb to McKinnon Pass and a harder steeper descent – much of it in exposed conditions. We were lucky to have near perfect conditions – unfortunately many trampers experience wind swept, wet or almost white-out conditions! Instead we were treated to panoramic views from the top of the pass. The descent, although tricky, is interesting with many waterfalls and varied alpine plant-life. As a result, Stephen and I were still in good shape to do an additional 2 hr side walk to the spectacular Sutherland Falls – New Zealand’s tallest waterfall. So in total – a near 9 hr day and the sight of Dumpling Hut was most welcome and I had no hesitation in having a (very) quick dip in the nearby swimming hole to freshen up.
Day 4 was forecast for rain and we started off early at 6:30am to be able to meet our 2pm shuttle back to Queenstown. It’s a longish 19km walk following the Arthur River to Sandfly Point. A silver lining of the rain was seeing the Mackay Falls in full force. Interesting features were Bell Rock (which we declined to crawl into) and the man-made rock carved into the steep rock face that formed part of the track.
The Great Walk status of the Milford means that it is well-maintained with managed facilities during the walking season – unlike many other tramps in NZ. There are bridges over all the creeks and rivers, boardwalks over muddy swampy areas and steps over the very tricky steep sections. The “huts” are also well managed with cooking gas provided, clean flush loos, pristine but ice cold water holes to wash. There can little respite from the pesky sandflies but again, we were very lucky that they were fairly quiet for the 4 days.
Several special mentions about this walk. First, is the variation in scenery from over the 4 days. This is what makes Milford so special. You can have stunning scenery but if it doesn’t change much from day to day it can get boring. Secondly the waters are absolutely pristine. Thirdly was the relative abundance of birdlife we saw every day (ducks, wekas, keas, flocks of wood pigeons (kereru) and many smaller endemic forest birds. We weren’t lucky enough though to sight Kiwis although they were around. This is testament to the successful and on-going stoat trapping which takes place in the park. Finally, I’ve rarely seen the clarity or waters anywhere in my years of tramping in New Zealand. Having a drink from these sweet waters is a must-experience. Please note that this blog is written from the independent walker perspective.
Nearing the top of McKinnon Pass