The Classic

The Milford and Routeburn Tracks (part one)

Tony last did the Routeburn Track in 1971, possibly in Flipflops over 2 days. So it seemed timely to repeat the experience.

This time we chose the slightly more upmarket option of a guided walk with Ultimate Hikes and added the famous Milford to the Routeburn.

The initial Milford track group comprised of 48 fellow walkers (including a group of Japanese, South Koreans, Americans, New Zealanders and Australians) and 4 guides. Most remarkable was the 82 South Korean man who was walking with his teenage grandson. Seven of us continued to do the Routeburn Track and not surprisingly we became quite close during our week of walking.

We stayed in wonderfully comfortable huts with double beds and showers and 3 course meals in the evening. We had to carry our own clothes and lunch in our backpacks.

After a boat transfer across lake Te Anau

we started the Milford track from Glade House, where we had a briefing from our guides.

On 17 October 1888 the route from Lake Te Anau to Milford Sound now famous as the Milford Track was discovered by Quintin McKinnon and Ernest Mitchell.

Here a bit of background to the Fiordland National Park.

The view from our bedroom window was stunning.

That afternoon we did a short walk to a waterfall accompanied by robins.

On Saturday the 10th we walked for 10 miles gently uphill towards the Mackinnon Pass along the Clinton river valley.

We saw native eels and rainbow trout.

The next day we crossed the Mackinnon Pass in pouring rain and walked 700m uphill.

But we were rewarded by beautiful alpine flowers and a great sense of achievement.

After a hearty lunch on top of the mountain and a change of clothes the skies cleared.

and we got a glimpse of the mountains, Mount Hart in the background.

The descent of 900m over rocky terrain was hard and very steep, but stunning

The rainforest was magical

As if walking 9 miles up and down was not enough we did a 3 mile side trip to the Sutherland falls which drop down 580m and are truly spectacular!

We also saw the famous and rare blue duck.

On the last day of the Milford track we walked 13 miles thankfully mostly on flat terrain along the Arthur River valley.

The tree ferns created a wonderful cathedral effect along the track

The track ends at ‘ Sandfly Point’. Sandflies are nasty flies and their bites itch for days.

From Sandfly point we got transferred by boat to the Milford Sound, which is a drowned glacial valley open to the sea surrounded by the most spectacular mountains.

On our final night we celebrated the end of our walk in another nice lodge, followed by a cruise on the Milford sound the next morning and a bus transfer to Te Anau for 24 hours rest before we started the Routeburn track

To be continued and more pictures when I have better internet connection