The Milford Track

Alright, so I just bought 20MB of internet usage here at the Milford Sound Lodge..  That's right - they charge by the amount of data you transfer instead of charging by time..  which is good news for me and you, cause I've got a couple hours to kill..  meaning I can sit here and type away until it's time to go get a beer and a burger at the pub down the road.

The Milford Track might or might not be the "finest walk in the world", but it is spectacular and quite an amazing experience!  55km in length, it is walked from the Glade Wharf, over 4 days, to Sandfly point, through Fiordland National Park - a World Heritage area.  This is New Zealand's most popular hike, so it has to be booked months in advance.  It is also heavily regulated, so you *have to* spend your first night at Clinton hut, your second night at Mintaro hut, and your third night at Dumpling hut.  There is only room for 40 people at each of the huts, which basically means that the people that get off the boat with you at Glade Wharf are the same 39 people you are going to be walking with for the next 4 days, the same 39 people who are going to be sharing the huts with you, and the same 39 people who finish the walk with you on day 4. 

The huts are very simple - there is a kitchen, dorm rooms with bunk beds, a bathroom, and a private area for the ranger.  Each dorm room has anywhere between 4-10 bunk beds, so you can expect to not get much sleep - due to snoring..  and very squeaky mattresses..  which we all sleep on - in our sleeping bags.  The kitchen is basically just a couple sinks, stoves, and benches.  The bathrooms are co-ed - and are not lit.  This isn't an issue though, as the sun goes up really early here this time of year, and goes down fairly late (we're pretty far south).  If you have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, you bring a flashlight with you.  Oh yeah, there are also NO showers.

There are also 3 fancy lodges on the track for up to 50 hikers who opted to do a "guided hike" as opposed to hiking independently.  Their gear is provided for, as well as their food, they have a guide who walks with them and points out this and that, and they probably sleep in comfortable beds in private rooms.  They probably look down on us the same way we look down on them ;)  For some reason 90%+ of them are usually Japanese..  They also pay $1,300+ for all of this, while we paid $50 per hut, plus about $150 for transportation to the track and to Milford Sound at the end (20 minute boat ride from Sandfly Point)

On the issue of food - we had to bring our own.  I bought magical pouches that turn into wonderful dinners once you add hot water.  You basically need one of those per hut - even though the packet quite clearly states that it has "2 servings".  This lead to me not having enough food..  sort of.  I had to bring enough food for 2 hikes (Milford and Routeburn), and bought 4 of the pouches (5 huts = 5 dinners, plus 3 emergency rations).  Turns out I should have bought at least 5.  You also need something for breakfast - and Uncle Toby comes to the rescue here with amazing porridge pouches, which a lot of us ended up buying.  On top of all that you also need lunch, which is basically the food you're going to eat each time you stop for a break on the hike.  I brought a decently sized salami sausage, a couple mini smoked sausages (saved those for the Routeburn!), a bit of cheddar cheese (saved, too), 2 bars of chocolate (half of the big one survived), 2 pouches of dried fruit (good for hiking), a bunch of roasted almonds, and 3 soup pouches.  You might think that's a lot of food, but I had to bring enough for 7 days of hiking..  plus emergency rations.  All of that is HEAVY..  it really adds to the weight.  Maybe it's a psychological effect, I'm not sure, but my backpack felt lighter after each meal.

On to the actual hike.  The first day is fairly simple.  I woke up at 7:30am at Te Anau, got my backpack sorted out, ate a quick breakfast, and made my way to the DOC (dept. of conservation) office, where the bus was going to pick us up.  I picked up my hut tickets, asked about the weather for the next couple days, and bought a hiking stick made by some local Maori dude.  It has served me well so far!  The bus ride to Te Anau Downs was pretty short, a half an hour maybe..  From there we got on a boat, and half an hour later were at Glade Wharf - the beginning of the Milford Track!

Day 1

Like I said, the first day is very short.  It is only 5km to Clinton hut from Glade Wharf, so you get to the hut fairly quick (an hour and a half?).  The day was very nice though, so I took my time.  The Milford Track is located in a place that's supposed to be "one of the wettest on the planet", and here I was in shorts and a tshirt.  I obviously took my time.  At this point on the track you are basically walking through a jungle, at the bottom of a valley (carved out by glaciers), with high mountains on either side.  There wasn't much to look at for the first 45 minutes or so.  Every once in a while a mountain or two would peek out through the trees and you got a glimpse of the beautiful scenery you were walking through.  The vegetation was also something I wasn't used to (the place seemed a bit alien at first) - another reason I took my time, there was lots of stuff to look at.

There was a 15 minute side trip to a wetland area about a half an hour before Clinton hut, which I read about, and which was recommended, so I checked it out..  and WOW..  I came out onto a clearing, with amazing views of the mountains on all sides..  it was breathtaking.  The marsh looked a bit odd, maybe a bit alien, and really added to the scenery.  I wish I could show you guys pictures!  It will have to wait :/

I arrived at Clinton hut at around 2:30pm.  At that point in time I did not understand why the hut was built where it was..  what were we supposed to do for the next 8 or so hours?  Why couldn't the hut have been built further down the track?  The next day's walk covered 16.5km - going uphill, so it didn't seem to make sense at the time..  but in hindsight, that first day achieved several things: it introduced me to walking around with a big 17kg backpack on my back...  I didn't quite get used to that feeling that first day, but it gave me time to adjust the straps and gave me an idea of what to expect.  It also gave everyone time to meet their new hiking buddies - the people they were going to be hiking with for the next couple days.  Who was I hiking with, anyway?  There were 6 Czechs, at least 5 Canadians, 1 American, 6+ Germans, 4 Kiwis, 4 Aussies, and 2 Spaniards.  That doesn't quite add up to 40, but I did not talk to everyone.

At 5pm we met Peter the ranger.  He was hilarious..  and knew his stuff.  He took us on a VERY informative nature hike, which lasted about a half an hour.  I learned a lot about the history of the place (how it was carved by glaciers, the Maori aspect of it, European, etc.) and even more about the different forms of life found in the area.  At 8pm Peter the ranger had us gather in the kitchen/dining area and gave us a half an hour long speech about this and that, mostly what to expect on our next day, the weather forecast, more about the flora and fauna, and a LOT of jokes.  He also claimed that his last name was Jackson, but I really don't know if to believe that or not.

This Day 1 thing is getting pretty long, but I have time!..  and I have to mention this.  I met a couple from Australia, who were just way too nice.  Hearing that I might not have enough food for both hikes, they gave me most of the mashed potatoes they were eating that day.. (the magical just-add-water kind)..  Sure, they said they were full, but I think they are just really really nice..  or probably both.  On days 2 3 and 4 they also gave me a Lamb n Mashed Potatoes meal, and yet another pouch of mashed potatoes.. oh, and powdered milk, a soup, and trail mix.  The mashed potatoes were actually pretty good, considering that they came in a pouch.  So..Tristan and Kirst, thanks a lot!  I'll miss you guys.

I also met a German woman who came from..  ESENS..  which is very weird, because Esens is the closest town to the village we lived in 20+ years ago after we left Poland.  It's an obscure town, in an obscure part of Germany, so we were both kind of amazed that we both lived in the same area..  I was naming off other villages in the area, and her eyes were lighting up each time..  Utarp!  Schweindorf!  Westerholt!  Ahh, the memories..

Day 2

Did I forget to mention the sand flies?  They SUCK.  They are everywhere on the Milford Track, and they bite everyone..  everywhere..  even if you use bug spray.  I have a lot of bites all over my hands and legs.  Peter Jackson told us tha the Maori name for the buggers translates to "keep moving", which might very well be true..  (but probably isn't)

On day two of the hike you walk for 16.5km over less and less jungly landscape, slowly making your way from an elevation of 200m to 600m.  The brochure claims that this takes 6 hours, but that is a bunch of crap.  I woke up at 6:15am (due to the sun coming up, other people in the hut waking up and making lots of noise, etc.), had breakfast (thank you uncle Toby!), and left the Clinton Hut at 8:20am or so.  It was a bit cooler than the previous day, and the surrounding mountains had suspicious looking clouds around them, so I put on my merino wool base layer stuff, with polyester stuff on the outside..  which was a bit of a mistake, as a couple hours after I left it got VERY nice.  The sun came out, the clouds were gone, and..  well, I couldn't really believe it..  This was supposed to be "one of the wettest parts of the planet"..  200+ days of rain a year! 

I REALLY enjoyed day two - the sights of the surrounding mountains were just amazing.  We were still walking in that valley (carved out by glaciers) I described earlier, making our way up (slowly but surely) in preparation for the crazyness of day 3 - an alpine pass.  I enjoyed the hike, but for the last 2 hours or so my body started really complaining.  The slope was getting steeper and steeper, and I was taking a lot of breaks.  At one point I put my pack on some moss, whipped out some snacks, and lied down beside my pack for 10-15 minutes while I munched on some nuts and dried fruit.  I believe there is a video of this event..  I'll have to post it later.

In any case, I arrived at Mintaro hut at 3:40pm or so..  and it was STILL really nice.  The sun was shining, it was beautiful, etc.  According to the brochure everyone got before the trek began, if it ever IS that nice on day two and you get to Mintaro hut early enough, it makes sense to make your way up to the MacKinnon Pass (which you walk up to on day 3 - Mintaro Hut is just at the base)  That's because the weather in the area is very unpredictable..  and it tends to rain a LOT..  So if the weather is nice, get the hell up there, because the view is spectacular, and if it's cloudy the next day, you won't see a thing.  My back was hurting though..  and my feet were complaining..  I didn't go.  Charlie and a bunch of the others did and returned several hours later with tales of awesomeness.  I was too tired to care ;)  I hung out with Tristan and Kirsty, ate dinner (beef curry and soup!) and read some of my book (Winds of Dune).  Went to bed early again, bit worried about the next morning's alpine pass.

Day 3

Day three began at roughly the same time as day two.  When the sun comes up (6:30ish?) everyone starts waking up (there are no blinds on the windows) and you are pretty much forced to wake up.  By the time you finally get out of your sleeping bag, eat breakfast (thank you uncle toby!), do your morning stuff, re-pack your backpack, and get everything ready for the day ahead, it ends up being around 8 or 8:30, and 8:30am is a good time to leave because that's when the hut ranger posts the weather forecast for the day on the blackboard in the dining area.  Day 3 was supposed to bring light rain coming in from the west (where we were headed) at some point, which was then supposed to turn into really annoying rain. :(

Naturally I was not expecting a very pleasant day and wanted to get up to the pass (brochure estimate - 2 hours) as soon as possible...  before the rainclouds..  so that I could get *some* decent pictures of the sights.  Mintaro hut is situated at around 600 metres while MacKinnon pass is at 1069m, so it's not an incredibly crazy climb, but I HATE going up, so I wasn't looking forward to it.  I was told by the ranger that the climb down was much worse than the climb up, but I just did not listen to her..  More on the dreadful climb down later...

Somehow I was able to get up to the pass in an hour and 45 minutes.  It could have something to do with my awesome new expedition style watch (thanks Mom!  thanks Dad!), which has a nifty 'altitude' button.  I was pressing that thing way too much..  but it kept me motivated.  By the time I got up to the pass, it got REALLY windy..  and cold.  I put on my jacket, merino wool hat, and gloves..  and took a lot of pictures, because it was really not that bad.  It was actually pretty awesome!  Almost NO clouds..  maybe some in the distance.  I had lunch in the MacKinnon pass hut, took some more pictures, and started the descent.

Now, the brochure claims that the hike from Mintaro hut to Dumpling hut (14km) should take 6-7 hours.  As I was making my descent, I knew that I still had at least 4-5 hours of hiking ahead of me..  and most of it was downhill.  At first I didn't think that it would be so bad, but soon enough all the downhill walking took its toll on my legs.  On one hand I wanted to get to the hut before the rain reached me (I had all my waterproof gear near the top of my pack and ready, but still), but no the other I couldn't exactly speed up..  I was slowing down and taking a lot of breaks.  The descent was pretty spectacular sight-wise, though.  There were a lot of picture opportunities.

Eventually I made it to a place I totally forgot about..  Quintin public shelter (right by the fancy lodge that all the Japanese hikers stay at), a place where you leave your backpack and make a 1.5 hour long side-hike to the highest waterfall in New Zealand - Sutherland Falls.  CRAP!  I did not have much energy left and I really wanted to make it to Dumpling hut before the rain got to me!  But..  I also wanted to see the falls!  I went inside the shelter and found it PACKED with backpacks and several of my independent hiker friends.  There was very little room to move around..  and..  a big container with hot water..  and tea pouches..  and sugar!  NICE!  I sat down, got out my cup, and made myself a nice hot cup of tea.  It was delicious.  It seemed to give me the motivation required to walk to the falls..  so I did!  I got there in a half an hour - 15 minutes earlier than the estimated time.  The hike was worth it - the falls are spectacular..  I hung around for 5 minutes and made my way back to the shelter, where I had another cup of tea...  Then I grabbed my backpack and powered ahead to Dumpling hut, which was supposed to be an hour away.  I got there in just under an hour..  changed into dry clothes (I sweat a LOT), tended to my blisters (good thing I brought that blister kit!), made some soup, read a bit, then had some lamb and veggies from a magical pouch (that I got from Tristan and Kirsty).  Boy were they annoyed when there was a surprise mashed potato pouch inside ;)  I didn't sleep well that night at all - my room had 2 snorers and a stupid bitch right above me who moved around WAY TOO MUCH..  that mattress is sooo squeaky..  seriously.  I hope you're reading this.  I'm glad I didn't get your name, cause you suck.

Day 4

The thing about day 4 is that you have to make it to Sandfly point by 2pm or 3:15pm, depending on which boat you booked.  Most people had booked the 2pm boat, because of a connecting bus ride to Queenstown (or Te Anau) that they wouldn't have been able to catch otherwise.  The hike for day 4 is 18km long - estimated by the brochure at 5.5 - 6 hours.  We all of course knew by that point that the estimate was a bunch of crap.  As such, people were waking up as early as 5:30am..  including me..  just because it was impossible not to wake up when everybody else was.

I took my time though, and ended up leaving the hut at 8:30am.  Oh yeah, did I mention that it was raining?  The first rain on the Milford Track!  Quite amazing that it took until day 4, but there it was..  I put on my waterproof gear (or as Peter Jackson from day 1called it "what you THINK is your waterproof gear") and headed off towards Sandfly point.  After 2 hours or so the rain stopped and I was able to take off my waterproof pants and jacket..  the result of walking in that stuff for 2 hours?  LOTS of sweat..  which made its way into my boots..  Fortunately I had merino wool socks on, which are very good for that sort of thing..  but it wasn't really that pleasant either.

Once the rain clouds cleared up it actually got quite nice.  THe sun was shining again, it was warm, and every once in a while  I got nice views of the mountains around me.  (We were back in a valley again, carved by glaciers, etc.  Actually, aside from the MacKinnon pass, the entire Milford Track is in a valley)  I arrived at Sandfly point at 2:45, a half an hour before the boat was to depart.  Man..  did that ever feel good!  It felt AMAZING.  You know why it's called the Sandfly Point though?  Yeah, lots of sand flies..  but I did not really care.

The boat took us to Milford Sound (8th wonder of the world, world heritage area, etc.), which took about 20 minutes. Milford Sound itself is a pretty small town, if you can call it that.  There is a visitor centre, which is basically where all the boats dock.  There is also a pub/cafe, an airport, and a lodge.  That's it.  Up until 1991 the only way to get to Milford sound was via the Milford Track, via boat, or via plane/helicopter.  Then they built the Homer tunnel and a road to Te Anau.  Hooray! 

A free shuttle took me to the lodge, which I had a reservation at (for 2 nights).  The lodge is basically part hostel, part hotel, part whatever.  There is a kitchen, the town's only mini-store (with overpriced fanta and white chocolate and such), a laundry room, a drying room (for sweaty hiking gear) - VERY useful, a lounge, and hmm..  I think that's about it.  It's a pretty cool place, really, and only a 20 minute walk or so from the pub (which is close to all the sights.  plus it has beer!)

I got set up in my room, which was empty at the time..  but soon enough 3 German girls arrived and we got acquainted (yeah, there are a LOT of Germans here).  I took a well deserved shower, threw some stuff into the drying room, and ran into a couple people from the hike!  A couple from Montreal.  We made plans to have dinner together @ the pub later on.  We were joined by another couple from the hike - from the Czech republic.  It was a pretty fun night, with lots of jokes, accents, and conversations about the Milford Track and New Zealand in general.  The beer was very good by the way!