Milford - The End

Our last night on the trip was in Milford, where Ultimate Hikes has taken over the old THC hotel.  We were shown to our allocated rooms, and reunited with our "orange bags", which we eagerly opened to see what clean clothes we had sent to our future selves when we packed that bag several days ago.  It turned out that my past self wasn't very imaginative, so I'm going to have to wear these pants for another day.

The hotel is comfortable, with a view directly down the sound to world-famous Mitre Peak.  Our last adventure on the trip is a cruise down Milford Sound to the open ocean on a big tourist boat.

The lounge in the Milford Lodge - very comfortable.

A small cruise ship passing us.

Some of our Japanese ladies enjoying the wind on the cruise!

Karen and Neil, from Auckland.  Just five of the fifty in our trip were New Zealanders.

There were fifty people on our trip, five of them kiwis.  About fifteen were japanese, mainly quite small women who seemed to have no trouble with the terrain and were obviously enjoying themselves.  We talked a lot to Tom (a journalist) and his wife Carol from Montana.  Bob (MBE, from Bristol, UK) was here in NZ to walk all the Great Walks in the South Island (except for Stewart Island)!  He didn't say much, but is ex-British Army and has spent years in places like Afghanistan, the Balkans, and East Timor.  There was an australian couple, Graeme and Lynne, with their grandson Toby who was the youngest on the trip.  Most of the people we spoke to seemed to have travelled and hiked everywhere - at least one including Antartica.

The full team photo.

Bowen Falls in Milford Sound (162 metres)

Our boat was the one on the right - Milford Monarch

Boarding the bus in Milford, for the trip back to Queenstown.

Our head guide, Kelly.

Mitre Peak, with the sun out.

 We really enjoyed our trip with Ultimate Hikes.  Our four guides were very good, complete with a dry kiwi sense of humour, and they seemed to really enjoy their job.  The lodges were warm, well maintained, and comfortable, and the food was plentiful and good.  There is wine and beer if you want to buy it.  There are permanent staff at each lodge ("lodgies") who welcome you and show you your room, and run the kitchen, etc.  The guides don't get much rest - they double as kitchen staff and waiters!  Each night they run a presentation where they show you pictures and information about the next day's walk, and answer any questions.

A great trip!

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Milford Track Day 4

This is the last day of real walking on the Milford Track, as when we reach Sandfly Point at the other end a boat takes us across Milford Sound to our (luxurious) accommodation.  Tomorrow we relax with a short cruise up and down the sound, before boarding the bus for the trip back to Queenstown.

A new boardwalk saves wet-weather walkers from having to wade across this stretch.

 We were very lucky with our weather.  We crossed hundreds of little streams and dry stream beds which would have been much deeper after rain.  In very wet conditions you have to a lot more wading, and at times the track can become impassable.  In 2011 for example, they helicoptered about 170 walkers over part of the track.  On our trip one woman hurt her knee, so was helicoptered over the last section to Milford.

The "Boat House" is the oldest still-standing hut on the track.  Stopped for a cuppa.

25 miles (40 km) down.  Only 8.5 miles (13.7 km) to go!

Half the track fallen into the river.  It must require constant maintenance!

This part of the track was hacked out of the rock.

Thirty miles. I think we're going to make it!

This weka kept a close lookout for crumbs as we ate our lunch.

Sandfly Point. Finally! This is the photo everyone walks the Milford Track for.

Our ferry across to Milford village.  They had a larger one, but it sank.

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Milford Track - Sutherland Falls

After staggering into Quintin Lodge following the descent from MacKinnon Pass, we had the option of taking an additional 5 km walk to Sutherland Falls and back before dinner.  We had every excuse for skipping this pleasure given the wrecked state of our legs, but naturally we went anyway.  At least we did not have to carry our packs.

It seemed like a long 2.5 km, but it was well worth the visit.  The falls are 580 metres high, which for Wellingtonians is three times the height of Mount Victoria.  So quite high.  The noise is similar to the sound of a jet airliner taking off, and as you approach the base you run into a blast of spray and wind like being caught in a storm.  Without good wet weather gear you will get drenched.

The water falls in three leaps, for a total of 580 metres.

Sue (and my camera) in the blast at the falls.

A photo doesn't really do it - you have to go and see it yourself.

We learned from the guides that all the rivers here are safe to drink from, as there are no animals to foul the water.  There is also little soil and no clay to muddy the waters, so it all runs crystal clear.  We tested this theory by drinking from the river running away from the falls.  In the good old days of course we often drank from the rivers and streams when out tramping, but I thought that years ago they had all become contaminated.  This water tasted great!

Sue sampling the clear waters of Staircase Creek

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Milford Track Day 3

Wake up time is 6:15 am, with 45 minutes to get ready, make your lunch, and eat breakfast before setting off at 7:30 am.  This is hardest day, the day we climb over the MacKinnon Pass.  We felt very lucky that the forecast rain did not seem to have come, and we could see patches of clear sky.  It was a far cry from the heavy rain we had been expecting.

Lunch-making in full swing

Glimpses of peaks and blue sky

We were converted to using walking poles by this trip

Peaks 1,000 metres above

As we progressed and started to climb the sky cleared above us, and we could see the towering peaks around us.  The valley walls are so steep that the peaks seem to overhang the valley, giving a sense of vertigo when you look up.  The sheer rock rises 1,000 metres above you on each side.

Tree mosses

Part way up the zig-zag to the pass.  Sunshine!

Out of the trees

The memorial just before the pass.

We puffed on up the zig-zag path leading to the pass, with frequent stops to catch our breath and to admire the landscape.  Eventually came out on top, where (guide) Richie was waiting by the MacKinnon Memorial cairn with hot drinks or cordial to resuscitate us.  We were very pleased to have completed the hardest part of the track (...or had we?).

On the other (north) side there is a sheer drop for hundreds of metres - the guides said it is called the "12 second drop", and recommended walking down the track instead!  Looking over the edge we could see our next hut (Quintin Lodge) far below, 900 metres down.  Many had said that going down the track from here is harder than the climb up, but that seemed hard to believe....

The next hut in the distance (bottom centre), 900 metres below us.

The highest point on MacKinnon Pass is 1,154 metres.

Scenic shot - mountains reflected in a tarn

Looking back down the way we had come, back towards Pompolona.

The shelter on the pass.

The "loo with a view".

Everyone enjoyed lunch in the sunshine beside the shelter a short walk from the memorial.  The loo was also popular, with its spectacular views back the way we had come.  Then it was time to start down towards our next shelter for the night.

The first part of the descent.

Sue with Tom and Carol (Montana).  Lots of loose rock here.

Particularly steep parts have steps.

The walking poles really came into their own as we worked our way down, because the way is often over slippery rock or loose boulders, and the poles provide great support in those situations.  We were soon back into the bush, and carried on down beside "Roaring Burn" which plunges down a series of waterfalls and clefts.  I started expecting the Quintin Lodge to be around each turn, but instead the track kept on endlessly plunging steeply down hill.  My legs eventually reached a jelly-like state, and the poles became essential in avoiding a fall as I stumbled on.  Of course we did make it in the end, but it will be some time before my legs forgive me for that day.

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Milford Track Day 2

Day two was our first day of serious walking - about 16 km from Glade House to Pompolona Lodge.  The track is periodically marked by mile posts, as it has been since the old times, so we started thinking in miles too.  Sixteen km is ten miles.  Having not done any serious tramping for at least thirty years, this was to be a test of our aging legs and bodies, and of our shiny new boots and socks and other outdoor gear.

Crossing our first swing bridge - the first of many

The track is under constant attack from slips and erosion

A waterfall at Prairie Lake

Around noon, and the sun is out

Pausing beside the river.  The water is crystal clear, and safe to drink

The 6 mile marker, beside the Clinton River

A bush robin attacked my socks

A weka eyeing me suspiciously

Track markers used when this section is under water!

Pompolona!

The weather was much better than expected, with just light rain at times.  We could see the peaks towering overhead on both sides of the valley, and could even glimpse the high pass ahead which we will be climbing tomorrow.  Our expenditure on decent boots and high-tech "Smartwool" socks seemed to pay off, as we did not get blisters.  I had a sore back and feet, but overall we held up fairly well.  We were just satisfied not to be the slowest walkers!

Welcoming food and drink when we reached Pompolona.

Sue takes the load off her feet.

The hand-washing laundry facilities.

 Each hut has a powerful drying room where you can dry wet clothes and laundry.  It is a large room full of wooden racks blasted with hot air by an industrial-scale heating system.  The lodges use gas for cooking and fuel oil to power the generators.  The generators stop at 10 pm each night, which means the lights go out.  We were told to leave our lights turned on, so that when the generator starts up again at 6:15 am, the lights come on and wake everyone up!  In practice I don't think I ever managed to stay awake until 10 pm.

Looking out from the lodge at the peaks over 1,000 metres above.

This is what keas do to your boots if you leave them outside!

The famous Newey sisters Jean and Margaret walked the Milford Track about 22 years ago, when they were in their sixties.  I searched the old visitors' books still stacked in the lounge area, and found Jean's entry:

Jean's entry in the Pompolona visitors' book, February 1994

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