New Zealand Odyssey: Week 29, The Milford Track

Day 1: I write from our hut on night 1 of the Milford Track. After our two-night backpack in Abel-Tasman back in October, I was skeptical about huts, but this is much better; there's room to breathe, even if we're all staying in two rooms (40 bunks total).

To get to the start of the hike, we took a boat about one hour to the end of Lake Te Anau. The first day's walk was only 5 kilometers, but from here on out it's 16-19 kilometers per day, so we're in for a haul. And the weather is forecasted to be rainy. Oh well, par for the course on the Milford Track is what I understand.

The pictures and captions below are all by Jen. See her awesome film at www.adventurebardsley.blogspot.com/



Jen at beginning of the track

  

 

Alex and Ellie ready to Tramp!

gorgous green



 

Day 2: Just back from a dip in the local lake at the end of day 2 (11 miles). We made it without difficulty. Alex is strong and is carrying a decent pack, and Ellie is just carrying a camelback with water, which means she's the pace setter, a position she enjoys.

I was expecting worse weather than we had. It's been rainy, but just a little -- no need for rain coats, even. I hope it stays that way. Tomorrow is the hardest day, and I'd hate to do it in a downpour.

The landscape here is like a fantasy land. The steep rock canyon walls have only shallow top soil, and hence, the occasional tree slide occurs, leaving long strips of bare stone on the mountainsides. The primary tree species looks something like a big banzai tree from a distance, which makes for exotic scenery. Tonight, across the valley from the hut, is a rock face rising 1000 feet or more.  Somehow, even with the rain and clouds, it's an incredible place and trip.

Eel swimming in crystal clear river

Day 3: It looked like rain this morning, but it turned out pretty nice. Things cleared and we had big views of the peaks from McKinnon Pass. It was awesome up there. They have a hut on top with a burner for making tea or coffee, which we did, and then a massive walk down to near seal level again. On the downhill, we started above tree line, with big views and waterfalls all around from the rain, passed through some awesome forest along a torrential stream with a bunch of board walk and steps to ease the steep descent, to a hut on the valley floor for guided walkers (i.e. those willing to pay $500/night), where a side trip to Sutherland Falls begins. We hiked to the falls -- the tallest in NZ and 2nd in the southern hemisphere -- and took a shower under the spray. The kids swam in the pool too. On the walk over the last few miles, the rain picked up, with heavy rain forecasted for the final day. The last night in the kitchen mess hall was festive, even while it was dumping rain outside, and there was talk of being prevented walking out in the morning because of flooding.

This trip makes me keen to do another with the family while we're here. The kids are enjoying it too -- light packs makes a big difference.

Unsafe areas, Avalanche

 John showing the U-shape left by Glaciers.  

Day 4: It absolutely dumped rain for the five hours of our walk today. The forecast was for 8-10 inches in a 24-hour period! I don't know if that's what we got, but I've not seen it rain like that before.  We were soaked to the bone, but it was awesome. First, having the ranger walk us the first several miles (he needed to check the stream levels before letting us go) gave an aura of seriousness to the walk. He let us go, deciding that the water level wasn't too high. But later on there were a couple of stream crossings that were sketchy with Ellie. We hauled ass to beat the rising water: 11+ miles in 5 hours.

The amazing thing about the Milford Track and surroundings is that when it rains hard, the water ALL comes down to the river on the valley floor, as there's no soil to soak it up. And the canyon walls are near-vertical, so the water falls are tremendous, especially when it's dumping rain. Just huge falls, and countless of them, some of which cascade for 1000 feet and more. It was an incredible day, an incredible trip, and the kids were up to the challenge, which was cool. It was also great to share the experience with a group of other people, from various countries and walks of life. 

The camera got drenched in the rain and broke, so no pictures of the last day, which is a real bummer because it was gorgeous.

This is a spectacular place, like nothing I've seen. Imagine extremely rugged Rocky Mountain terrain with the effects of the 6-9 meters of rain they get per year.