By step, by step, by step, by step, by step, by step, by step, by step, by step, by step, 113.759 steps / 5.997 active calories (according to Marnix’s Apple Watch). That’s the Milford Track! The world’s greatest tramp! The Milford track is a 4-day track trough New Zealand’s Fiordland, an epic journey along Clinton River, up Mackinnon pass and then down next to the Roaring burn cascades and finally following the Arthur River to Milford Sound. On day five you get rewarded with a scenic cruise trough the Fiord to open water and back.
What to pack for this journey when every gram on your back counts? Only two walking outfits, pyjamas, flipflops, toothbrush, sunscreen, insect repellent (sandflies!!), your boots and a raincoat. AND RAINPANTS! It rains about 10 meters per year in Milford, so prepare to get wet!
Not a lot of tramping, the first hut is only 2 km away. But we did do a nature loop and learned all about the local tree and plant species. For example eating delicious peppery leaves, but getting a numb tongue in the process. Also we learned a bit more about the Kiwi-accent, beech tree is spoken as bitch tree…
Our first stretch was 16 km. And what a fine day we got, sunshine all day long in a fairytale forest! Or should I say a Lord of the Rings forest? ;-) Steep mountains all around us, alternated with beech forest and even swamps. The swamp was splendid, with diverse mosses, red flesh-eating flowers and orchids in the bud ready to bloom within just a few days. And lot’s of robin birds to accompany us. One even stepped on our boots! Near the end we passed a big open prairie caused by avalanches, what a view of the valley. I won’t even try to describe it in a 1000 words, see the pictures!
Day 3: UP UP UP - RAIN RAIN RAIN - DOWN DOWN DOWN – RAIN CLOUDS… SUN!
The main course, up Mackinnon pass! It was raining cats and dogs! Marnix put on his newly bought rain trousers, I put on my “water-resistant” Fjällraven pants… OMG, except for an ocean I never saw so much water! We saw countless waterfalls and overflowing creeks – which we often had to walk trough. We went up and zigzagged past the tree line into the open. In the open the rain luckily changed from pouring to ‘normal’ rain. And what beautiful alpine flowers we saw! White, yellow, red, pink and purple, magical! When we finally reached the hut at the top of the mountain, I was wet trough an trough. My boots were little swimming pools and my thermos a swimsuit I could wring out. I took off everything I could replace with dry clothes in my pack. Marnix was sweet and offered his rain trousers to me. Thank you! After trying to dry in the hut for quite some time we started the descent. And then finally the clouds started to lift up and we got to see the valley we’ve been hiking in for the first time! What a view! Our slightly longer wait was rewarded! Downhill was the hardest part, but also the most gorgeous. We passed lots of alpine flowers, the cascading roaring burn, and downhill more lush forest. The sun even broke trough and when we reached the hut at five we were actually walking in only a T-shirt. We really did see 4 seasons in one day!
Day 4: Walking a marathon (together)
The last stretch is 21 km to Milford Sound. Remarkably enough our legs were up for the task! Again it felt like walking trough a Lord of the Rings set, passing the beautiful Mackay falls, lake Ada, and the final stretch along Arthur River on flat land. We got to the finish by singing all the songs we knew by heart, which meant a lot of Dutch songs actually. Opzij opzij opzij, Het is een nacht, Dromen zijn bedrog, Ik ben vandaag zo vrolijk… And then we finally reached Sandfly Point! We did it! Whoohoo! A small shuttle boat picked us up and took us to the Mitre Peaks village. The boat ride to Mitre Peak was magical. The fiord overwhelmed our eyes with impressive mountains and glaciers sandwiched between blue water and skies. Seeing the fiords with a bright blue sky and bright sun in the background and with a glacier in view is amazing. Then we were arrived to civilisation and a hot bath! Oh… and the news that Federer won the Australian Open. Almost as big an achievement as us walking the Milford Track! :-p
Day 5: The rewarding Milford Sound!
More rain… But no more walking! In the morning we boarded the scenic cruise and just enjoyed the cloudy view. The rain changed into drizzle and we decided to go up to the roof and enjoy the full view of the sound. We saw glorious mountains, aerodynamic sea birds, seals and more rainfalls. Then the rain was switched for wind… I’ve always liked the beach look for my hair, but the fiord look isn’t for me I guess. I looked like cousin It! Then we went back, and… that was it! Back to Queenstown and to be continued…
Milford Track 1 Milford Track 2 Milford Track 3
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