Day 1 - Te Anau, Lake, Clinton Hut
We stayed at Lakeview Kiwi Holiday Park and Motels and we all squeezed into a
family motel unit. Great place to stay - everything was clean and the punters
were friendly.
On the Tuesday night we had a BBQ at the campground using the outdoor electric
BBQ and sat in the setting sun to eat it. Yummy asparagus rolls with haloumi
for me and Iona.
Iona managed to get up and watch the total lunar eclipse as did Stacey - but
Mike and I slept through all their comings and goings. Shows you how we sleep!
Like logs. Stacey got some good pics on her camera - and Iona managed to sleep
on her bed and view it out the window above her head.
Up nice and early and we were packed up and munched our way through some
granola before Mike and I parked the van in their long term car park up the
back of the campground and we caught the TrackNet bus from the camp office.
Callan and Stacey put their huge bag in the office for safekeeping.
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Day 1 packed and ready
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Van in loc at the motor camp
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We got in the bus and tootled around a few places picking up other punters
before heading up alongside the lake towards Te Anau Downs where our ferry boat
ride was waiting for us.
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Boat ride from Te Anau Downs
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We pile on the boat straight off the bus
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We had gorgeous weather - but the wind out on the lake did make it a tad
chilly so we had to wear our parkas to keep warm.
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| Callan and me |
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| Iona and me |
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| Mike and me |
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| Besotted |
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The wind means we need our jackets to keep warm
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| Lovely day |
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Iona checks where we're headed
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| H&S check |
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| I see land! |
The scenery was stunning and the captain gave us the odd story here and there
about the lake. It took us about an hour (after the 45 mins bus ride) to the
head of the lake. We heard about MacKinnon himself - and how he was the first
pakeha guide on the lake and eventually went missing off his boat, Juliette.
And we heard about some stats on the lake. Largest body of freshwater in
Australasia - it is about 1.2m hectares in surface area. Hauroko is the
deepest lake at 462m but only 40m separates the depths of the 3 big
lakes: Te Anau, Manapouri and Hauroko. Te Anau has about 57 cubic
kilometres of water. There! Some stats for you.
The river - Clinton River - was so clear and a deep green colour. I loved it.
Couldn't stop taking pics at all.
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| Nature walk |
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Iona spies something
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| Checks it out |
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And points, excitedly
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Sundew carnivorous plant
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| Gender split |
Back to the hut. It was a nicely configured hut. We had bunks in one end of
a room next to a fire exit door. Much easier coming and going from there.
Slept ok - a lot of snoring. Looking forward to day 2 and a decent long walk
up to Mintaro Hut in perfect, if a bit hot, conditions.
Today was also Vivienne's birthday. To me, being in the bush was a lovely
time to recall her love for being outdoors. She would have been in her
element in a place like this.
Let's see what day 2 of Milford Track holds in store for us.
Day 2 - Clinton Hut to Mintaro Hut
We were up pretty early after a fair bit of snoring the night before. It was a
big bunkroom with about 20 punters, I reckon. The evening had passed quietly
with Iona and Stacey discussing greyhounds for a while. We were in bed by
8.45pm.
The day was lovely on day 2. Mike made me brekkie and I sat outside and
enjoyed that. We all packed up our gear and we were away by 8.20am easily.
It was slightly overcast - but not cold. And the forecast was for quite warm
conditions. Today was a long walking day - over 20 kms - but all flat. 6 Hours
on the DoC sign. But it took a little more than that for me and Iona. More on
that later.
This walk was coined "helicopter highway" by Iona. Constant buzz of the
helicopters as we walked - dropping off supplies and people. We saw trout in
the river in the deeper pools.
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We get to the north arm of the Clinton River
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| Surprise! |
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Iona surveys the land
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Often Callan, Stacey and Mike would walk ahead. Iona and I were happy to
walk at our own pace and know we would get there in the end.
Because Milford track is only one-way, you move with the same punters through
the 4 days as a cohort. Today we got to meet Kate and Jan from Tasmania (Kate
had a late surprise for me and Iona on the last night of the track in Dumpling
Hut) - both dairy farmers there. Jan has a business - Van Diemens Land
Creamery ice cream. Going to look for that next time I am in Aus.
We met Claire from Geelong - in pharmaceuticals at the hospital there. Very
sociable. And Jemina from Chc - in accountancy for BDO in the agri
space.
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We start in slightly overcast conditions
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Iona points to another waterfall down the steep sides of the valley
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The diversion to one of the lakes/waterfalls was closed due to
avalanche risk. But Prairie lake was open - and we found a lot of our cohort
swimming when we got there. Not our little group - but the wider group. Iona
would have gone for a swim - but she did not have her "swimming undies" on.
Yeah - I dunno what that meant either. Apart from regret from Iona after the
entire tramp when she reflected back on it and wished she had gone for a
swim.
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Selfie time - starting to heat up
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To be honest, I am with her on this. It got so hot that Iona and I
actually probably got some heat exhaustion by the time we got to Mintaro
hut. A swim would have kept us very cool for the last half of the walk that
day.
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| Some shade |
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Mike checks the river and steep sides of the valley
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Long walking day - but flat
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I was stopping at many of the clear streams to dunk my hat and buff and cup
so cool down. I should have done more of that! I am Captain Hindsight.
We did see a lot of birdlife on our walk. And cat cam traps - triggered at
night by cats so they can keep a tab on.... tabby cats! The birds were many
and varied: kaka, kereru, korimako, warblers.
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Pass ahead still in cloud
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| Many bridges |
We got close to 6 hours according to our watches, and found a sign
that said: New Mintaro Hut 20 mins.
What?
Yeah - turns out the old hut on the signs was no longer an option and they
had built a new hut in April 2021 a bit further up the track. I ran out of
my drinking water with a kilometre to go. But in reality, it was more like
2.5km as that hut had moved!
Mike walked back for 600m and met us - and we walked to the new hut
together. Iona and I got there bang on 6 hours. Pretty chuffed. And what a
palatial place this was. Excellent facilities. You could walk in to an
inside area to take off your gear - right outside your bunkroom.
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New Mintaro hut
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The bunkrooms were nicely split up - and had cubbies for your packs. I
was feeling slightly nauseous at this point and drank a lot of water. And
had a wee lie down. Mike joined me. And Iona was in her bunk opposite. She
noticed that both of us fell asleep and Mike snored. And a woman from the
bunkroom came over and watched us sleep. I think she was identifying any
potential snorers. Hahah. Creepy.
We could see the steep cliffs around the hut - and the Mackinnon pass high
overhead. There were kea flying around and lovely weather for sitting
outside and enjoying some sunshine.
I felt much better after lots of water and a snooze. But then Iona got a
migraine and was in her bunk for most of the evening.
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I see the shelter on the pass - next day's effort!
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Dinner was delicious
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We had a great hut talk from Murray - the hut warden. He told us about
Mackinnon and Sutherland. Donal and Elizabeth ran a boarding house in
Milford and he pushed a track through to explore from that side. And Quintin
Mackinnon got paid 30 pounds to find a way over from the Te Anau side.
Murray told us an American chap ran the track in 2014 in 6 hours and 55
minutes. OMG! And Murray also pointed out the sounds were named by
Cook in error. They are all fjords!
We sat at a table with Sam and Joe from Auckland - both engineers. And I
introduced Sam to plant based jerky goodness from Off Piste. Mmmmmm.
Iona came out and we made her eat some food before we were all in bed by
9am. Ready for the big push up to the pass the next day.
Day 3 - Mintaro Hut, McKinnon Pass, Sutherland Falls, Dumpling Hut
Today was our hardest day - up and over McKinnon Pass. But it was also the
very best day! I'd say that the other days are really there just to get access
to McKinnon Pass and Sutherland Falls, some of the most spectacular scenery
you'll see anywhere.
Anyway, Iona and I left at 7.40am to get a head start on the others. There's
nothing to gently prepare you - you're straight into a 2½ hour climb.
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Iona passes through Goblin Forest
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| Mt Cook Lily |
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| Getting closer |
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| Is that the top? |
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| It's the top! |
Callan and Stacey caught up with us pretty early. Within an hour
we were out of the shade of a tall mountain and in the sunshine. The day was
beautiful - warm (but not too hot) and sunny.
But soon we summitted the pass and were admiring the view and the cairn
to Quintin McKinnon. We all took lots of photos. The group of women (along with their
covid-positive friend, as a picture on a stick) were making pancakes.
Mike and Callan went even higher, to the topmost top spot, along with Claire
the vet from Geelong. Mike thought they were hiking all the way to the top
of the peak, and only went with them because of peer pressure. He was quite
relieved when they just went a few hundred metres up for a slightly better
view.
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Looking across the saddle
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| Stunning views |
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Looking back - we came from down there
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The official sign
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Stacey, Iona and I stopped in at the shelter about 10 min walk
from the pass, still on the saddle. We had a quick break and a visit to
the scenic wharepaku. Alas theree was no window on the view side.
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This reminds me of something in history
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We headed downhill at 10.45am. Not far down, we were diverted onto the
'emergency track' that avoided the avalanche path from a large snowpack far
above us. Mike went on ahead. Iona and I walked alone. It was
steep and rough compared to a regular Great Walk track, but okay. I was
slow. It was so hot now.
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| Down, down, down |
Soon enough we reached Moraine Bridge where we rejoined the 'proper'
track. Mike, Callan and Stacey were there waiting for us and handing out Fruit
Bursts. We continued wandering down stairs and boardwalk, following Roaring
Burn, a cascade of beautiful pools and falls, to the shelter beside Quintin
Lodge (for the higher-paying guided walkers). It took ages and it was
still baking hot. There was a kea on the track about 1km from the
shelter who kept us company and was very keen to check us out.
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| Roaring Burn |
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| Roaring Burn |
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Cheeky Kea
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We had lunch at shelter - ensconced inside in spite of the heat to escape
from the sandflies. I was delighted to find a flush toilet. At
2pm set off for the 45 min stroll to Sutherland falls. Initially measured at
over 1000m tall they are the largest in New Zealand, if not the Southern
Hemisphere (allegedly, do your own research). I nearly didn't go as I was so tired.
But it was stunning. Mike reckons it's the best waterfall ever and I
wouldn't argue. The spray was amazing. It was so hot that it was
lovely. I did dunk my hat into any stream to keep cool.
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In the distance...
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| ...Closer... |
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Hard to get a concept of the scale of this thing
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4pm saw us back at Quinton Lodge shelter and setting off for the last part
of our journey. Iona and I walked together. She drank from dripping
moss on the way. We were at Dumpling Hut just after 5pm. Some of us went for
a swim in the river. Iona got mostly under. I just dunked my
head. Mike avoided the cold water completely.
A quick dinner and I was in my sleeping bag by 7pm. I spent a long time
chatting to the Tasmanian woman who owned an ice cream business -
Van Deimans Land Creamery. I'm going to have to look for this next time I'm in that part of the
world. Unfortunately though she had a bit of a nasty cough. What does Mike
say in his Nepal blog? Something about foreshadowing?
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| Dumpling Hut |
Day 4 - Dumpling Hut to Sandfly Bay, Milford Sound, back to Te Anau
Our final day and we had a deadline. The first boat out left at 2pm and
we were keen to be on it.
We were up at 6.30 and eating breakfast - scrambled eggs and Brie in a wrap
which was the envy of our hut mates.
It was lightly drizzling as we packed up and set off. We were on the trail by
7:40am.
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| Misty morning |
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Pack covers and parkas out
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Today was a gentle walk. A series of trail runners came through from
Milford. I was astonished to recognise one of the runners - @do_your_impossible from Instagram! And Mike recognised a tramping club buddy too.
What are the chances?
McKay Falls and Bell Rock were amazing. I got the place to myself for a
bit and could admire the single glow worm at the top of the bell in
solitude.
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| McKay Falls |
The wharepaku at Golden Gate shelter was hideous and ... full. We decided not
to stop for lunch.
One of our hut buddies had developed a limp so his mates took turns ferrying
his pack as he struggled gamely along the track.
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Cliff Sidle by Lake Alda - blasted into the cliff
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100yo graffiti. Maybe the engineers who created this part of the track?
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| Giant Gate Falls |
We made Sandfly point by 1.20pm. It was well named, the sandflies were
thick in the air. After a short wait, our boat, the Te Mamu arrived. There
really was no need to hurry, as it just did laps of the bay - from Sandfly Point
to Milford Sound proper - every five minutes.
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33 milepost - the last milepost! We've nearly finished.
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And I photographed Mike photographing me
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Well covered up to avoid the sandflies
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Regular parade of Milford Sound shuttle ferries
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| Made it! |
We now had a few hours in Milford Sound - and Callan had booked us into a
nearly-2-hour
Cruise Milford
cruise up and down the sound. Incredible. Thanks Callan! Mike would likely
have pooh-poohed the idea and we would have missed out on something really
special.
You can only really appreciate Milford Sound from a boat, with the sheer rock
and bush clad faces cascading into the water, the enormous waterfalls and
the Fur seals and Fiordland crested penguins. The photos just don't
capture the mindbending scale of the place.
One of the highlights was the Captain nosing the boat directly under Stirling
Falls. Mike and I still had our parkas on so we were one of the few people to
hang about in the bow and get blasted by the spray.
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| Off we set |
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| Stunning views |
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| Seals |
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| Penguins |
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| Waterfalls |
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Under the waterfall!
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We wandered off the boat and back to the car park to find our Te Anau
minibus. "We have everyone booked, so let's go!" said our driver so off we set
30 min early. Our driver was lots of fun and kept us entertained with a steady
banter.
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| Iona is dubious |
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Approaching Homer Tunnel
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Stacey had booked us a nice crib for our Te Anau rest day, and we made it back
just in time for the Womens Rugby World Cup final over fish and chips dinner.
The Black ferns won in a nail biter, 34-31 over England. What a great finish
to a great day.
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