Milford Track & Queenstown
The more time I spend on the South Island, the more I like it. We did our second of New Zealand’s Great Walks, the Milford Track, and followed with a couple days relaxing in Queenstown. Compared to the Abel Tasman, which we did last summer, the Milford Track was a challenge. The kids rocked it. The adults dragged a little.
Te Anau
The lakeside town of Ta Anau is the base from which to explore Fiordlands. In it’s small central area, you’ll find a supermarket, meat pies, and shops selling any outdoor gear you may have forgotten. We stayed in the unique and eclectic Te Anau Lodge. We slept in a house-bus, named “Auntie Helen”, a converted 1964 bus with a galley kitchen, a slide-out breakfast nook, loft beds, and a pair of outdoor clawfoot bathtubs. Watching satellites glide through the stars from a steaming tub was a highlight.
The Milford Track
Although Milford Track in New Zealand’s Fiordlands National Park is billed as “the finest walk in the world”, I will remember it as the wettest. The scenery is certainly stunning, glacial valleys filled with temperate rainforest, waterfalls cascading down near-vertical slopes.
Day 1
The walk consists of 4 days, with the first consisting of a bus to Te Anau Downs to board a boat for the 30 minute ride up to the top end of lake Te Anau, and a quick 5km to Clinton Hut.
Day 2
The second day is walk up the length of the Clinton Valley to the luxurious new Mintaro Hut. Since the location of the new hut is a little bit further than the old one, there’s a sign on the trail that says, “20 min to Mintaro Hut”. Twenty minutes later, you come to a sign that says, “10 min to Mintaro Hut”. Ten minutes after that, you come to a sign the says, “5 min to Mintaro Hut”. Finally, after 5 minutes, you’ll arrive at the hut. You may meet a pair of Kea at Mintaro who like to play with sticks.
Day 3
Day 3 begins with switchbacks up and over the 1000 meter high saddle of Mackinnon pass. That’s enough altitude that it’s significantly colder on top, so add a layer as you ascend above the tree line. The misty views we got were of clouds swirling around towering peaks and the occasional break in the clouds allowing us to look back down the valley. The NZ Department of Conservation has a time-lapse video showing the conditions you can expect on the pass. Gotta go back when the sun’s out! Since our photos are so water logged, here’s one from back country photographer Crystal Brindle.
The long rocky downhill into the Arthur Valley ends in a wooden staircase bolted into to the side of a gorge, which was roaring with rainwater as we passed through. By this point, the rain was such that no one in our cohort made the side trip to Sutherland Falls. On the valley floor, we encountered above-boot-level stream crossings and flooded sections of trail before reaching Dumpling Hut. Just to be a wise ass, I was tempted to leave a review “1 star, no dumplings” but I was quite happy to get in out of the rain, which proceeded to go from steady to apocalyptic while we munched our noodles and tuna.
Day 4
The final day’s walk follows the Arthur river out to Sandfly Point where the valley meets the Milford Sound. The river was at life-threatening flood level. The Giant’s Gate Falls shelter looked to have been very recently submerged. The trail itself was knee-deep in a couple places near Lake Ada. Thirty-three and a half miles doesn’t seem like much, but when you reach the marker at the end, you feel like you’ve done something.
“I love this job because everyone is alway happy to see me,” said the skipper of the water-taxi that takes you across to the small outpost of civilization in Milford Sound. A fabulous way to finish the trail is with a night in the Milford Sound Lodge - not cheap, but worth it.
Kayaking the Milford Sound
The weather finally became more agreeable for a gorgeous day of kayaking on the Milford Sound. The day cruises will take you further out, but after the rigors of the trail, paddling a cruisey loop around the near part of the sound felt about right.
Queenstown
We rented a place in Arthur’s point just outside of Queenstown. We had a couple of fat dinners, a nice walk on the Arrowtown river trail, and a couple of ridiculous bumper-car louge rides. I’ve really missed the beautiful Autumns since moving away from the U.S. East Coast. Luckily, we hit the fall colors in Queenstown just right.
