Milford Track

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We survived the Milford Track! We woke up bright and early to catch our bus from Queenstown to Te Anau. It was pouring the whole ride their and the weather forcast posted at the Fiordland National Park visitor center predicted rain for the next several days. Yuck. We knew it rained a lot in this part of the country (the average annual rainfall in Milford is 276 inches), but it had actually been a pretty dry summer in this part of the country and we were hoping for at least 1 nice day out of the 4 that we were hiking. The trailhead is not accessible by road, so we had to take a boat across Lake Te Anau. By the time we got off the boat the rain had eased up a bit and we began our hike. The first day was a pretty short distance, only 3-ish miles, but it felt like more with the rain and a heavy pack😊 We kept reminding ourselves that at least this trip we didn't have to worry about bears or setting up a tent in the rain like we did in Alaska😊 They don't allow camping along the Milford Track, so they provide huts with bunk beds, toilets, and a kitchen with gas stoves and cold water sinks for the 40 people that are allowed to go at a time. Fancy:P

We spent the next 3 days hiking through a glacial river valley, up over McKinnon Pass, and down to Milford sound. Luckily for us the weather wasn't as terrible as predicted. It rained off and on, but definitely not the entire time. We even got some sunshine. The one good thing about the rain was that it made the hundreds of waterfalls even more impressive and the lush green rainforest was glistening. Many of the mountains are quite steep, so vegetation has a hard time sticking to the moutainsides and water just rushes right down- hence all of the waterfalls. We were able to see many different species of birds, including the endangered blue duck. Each night there was a park ranger staying near our hut to provide us with some information, and we learned about the local plants, animals, and weather. Day 3 was by far the hardest, with a steep climb up and a loooong (1700 meter elevation change total) climb down, but the views were fantastic. All in all it was a great experience, though when we were finished we were very glad to have hot showers, a comfy bed, "real" food, and not be required to carry all of our gear on our back anymore😊

Our last day in Queenstown was pretty uneventful, oh except we went bungy jumping. Briana was originally pretty terrified to try bungy jumping, but it was invented in New Zealand and the experience came highly recommended. Brian had already been jumping in Africa but wanted to try it again. We decided not to do the original bungy jump because it was "only" 43 meters off a bridge. Instead we were crazy enough to ride out to a cable car suspended 134 meters/ 440 feet over a gorge. The staff was really great and did their best to make sure we had a good time. It was really the weirdest experience ever. We don't really remember jumping, and at first you can't scream at all. The first freefall was 6 seconds, then we rebounded and were able to collect our thoughts a bit, then another few seconds of freefall. In addition to the cord at our ankles they also had a cord at our waist attached to our harness, so we didn't have to be raised all the way back up upside-down. The rest of our time in Queenstown was pretty lazy, just wandering around and enjoying the sunny day by the lake. We met up with some of the people who hiked the Milford Track and had a great last night out at "Fergburger." We were sad to leave New Zealand, but hey- we have another whole vacation coming up in Australia!



Love,

Briana and Brian

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