26-29th December 2013- Milford Track

The Start

Boxing day I woke , slipped out the hostel in Queenstown and caught an early bus 6:50am to Te Anau Downs. It was a longish journey and got there for the boat which left a 1pm to Glade Wharf. The boat went down Lake Te Anau providing great views of the mountains around and glacial valleys. The boat arrived at Glade Wharf the start of the Milford Track at about 1:45pm.

Coming into Glade Wharf

The path to the first hut was only a few miles so I slowly walked to the hut across the well made paths to the hut. It was warm and sunny and there wasn't as many sandflys as I expected. I was one of the first at the hut so chose a bunk, meandered round and got to meet the people I would be spending the next 3 nights with. After some reading, playing cards and a nature walk with the hut warden Ross i had dinner and then waited for it to get dark and then walked 100m from the hut to see some glow worms.

Views of the valley

On friday morning I tried to lie in as much as possible as I knew there was only about 10 miles , plus some extra, to do today. I had breakfast and then headed off down the track. Most of this section was in the bush but breaks in the trees provided great views of the valley. It was a dry day with some cloud early on getting sunnier as the day went on. Trying to consume time I did every side trip available including the Hidden Lake (not very hidden) and the smaller (but nicer in my opinion) Prairy Lake.

Waterfall at Priary Lake

I got to the shelter by Pamplona and had some lunch at midday, but I had already done two thirds of the track. I carried on after some brie and made it to the Mintaro Hut at about 2pm. So I decided instead of hanging round the hut, I dropped my bags and decided to go up Mackinnon pass as the weather was good and thought there was the possibility that I may not be good the next day.

Views ascending Mackinnon Pass

I carried on up the track and then the path started to get steeper and gaining height. But still it was a good path and was quite easy to ascend. I made it to the top by the Mackinnon memorial in about 75 minutes and I was rewarded by awesome views over the valleys below.

Views from Mackinnon Pass

I walked a bit further to the actual highest point of the walk to get views of the valley i'd just walked and then I came back down. Back at the hut I went down to the river and took a dip in the very cold water to feel clean again. At the hut had dinner, chatted then read before going to bed.

The Mackinnon Memorial

Saturday morning turned out to be very sunny and hot, so we would get views at Mackinnon pass anyway. I had breakfast while watching the Kea (a noisy NZ bird, that likes to steel things, even boots) put on a show outside the hut.

Kea at the Hut

I left the hut and started up the hill, passing a lot of my fellow trampers on the way. I made it to Mackinnon pass, took more photos and chatted with the other walkers. After a brief stop at the shelter at the top of the pass I continued down the descent towards the Quinton shelter.

Descending from the Pass

The descent was fun as the track was a bit rougher than the other side and provided good views of Mackinnon pass above. I made it to the shelter and met with the two German girls and we had lunch together along with complimentary tea and cake left in the shelter.

Weka

The three of us left our bags at the shelter and went on the side trip to see the magnificent Sutherland falls, which are the highest in New Zealand at 580 metres. We got to about 50 metres from the falls and got soaked, but we dried off in the sun on the walk back to the shelter.

Wet Idiot

From the shelter I continued along the track and it wasn't far to the hut for the night, Dumpling Hut. By the hut is an awesome swimming spot on the Arthur River and there ended up ten or so of us jumping off rocks into the cool water.

Sutherland Falls

Soon after we got in from swimming, the heavens opened and it rained quite a bit in the night. It was our last night and a lot of played cards, dice games and drank whisky until it was time for bed.

The Swimming Hole

On Sunday morning, I lay in a bit but was still walking at about 8:30. The aim was to walk slowly as you didn't want to be waiting around Sandfly Point for long, as you would get eaten alive. The weather again was good. The last section is about 18km long but less eventful as the day before, as most of it just followed the river in the bush with a few decent swingbridges.

Random swing bridge shot

There is a couple of impressive waterfalls, the Mackay Falls and Giant Gate Falls, where I stopped to have lunch.The track then continues along Lake Ada and then the track ends at Sandfly Point. The last couple of miles I finished with another Englishman and the two German girls and we were at the end at about 1:15 with a wait for the boat at 2pm. But at least we had great views of Milford Sound.

Sandfly Point, Milford Sound

The boat picked us up and the 30 minute trip gave us brilliant views of Milford Sound, including an impressive look at the awesome Mitre Peak, when the boat pulled into the Milford Sound boat terminal.With the few hours I had till my bus at 5pm, I joined an American couple (who had been in our group) for a couple of beers and something to eat, at the only cafe in Milford Sound. I was glad I had packed the food for the Routeburn to, as there is nothing else apart from hotels in Milford Sound village. I then caught my bus to The Divide at 5pm.

Mackinnon Pass