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Published: March 25th 2007
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Lake Te Anau
The greatest Sunset over Te Anau before we left Today we set out to do the Milford Track rated as one of the best walks in the world! And something me and Rich had booked in December and got the next available slot to do it on March the 5th lol! We began our trip up to the start of the walk on a boat up the Northern Section of Lake Te Anau which revealed to us the coolest mountains. completely different to any Id seen anywhere. They were so wild and ruggid- really wierd and interesting. The weather also added to the effect, seeing the start of a rainbow appear and rays of sunlight shining through the clouds. It was a movie shot if Ive ever seen one lol!
Then we started the 1 and a half hour walk to our first Hut lol! where we passed along side the crazily clear waters of the clinton river. Which was nice.
The second day was abit more interestng where we left th river and walk up through the Wick Valley with Mountains on either side of us. However again the cloud prevented us of seeing far back but it was still really cool and I really enjoyed it with
Lake Te Anau
The greatest Sunset over Te Anau before we left the cloud as it adds to the view in my eyes (I like views that arent completely perfect anyway, they seem to look false when there like that. abit of imperfection to me adds realism to a pic - well theirs abit of philosophy for ya lol!) anyway...
The cloud cleared enough for a good shot back down the alley we came from. Then we reached the Hut.
Our Hut was positioned just below the major climb up to McKinnon Pass which is where the walk climaxes with sensational views over the Wick Mountains towards Milford sound and back to the end of Lake Te Anau. Most people went up to check out the views but came back revealing it to be too cloudy to see anything. However I just had a gut feeling I should go and check out the views anyway. I left the Hut at about 5 30pm at Dusk to try and catch sunset. It was a really steep climb and I was alittle late setting off. I was almost running up the mountain to try and get to the top before 6 40. When I eventually reached the top It was 6 30pm. I had
The Boat to the start
North up Lake Te Anau where not many are allowed to travel up. Look at that for a view... done what should of been a 2hr climb in one hour i was completely nackered! lol! but wow! I was the only one up there and I could the all the mountain peaks coming through the cloud. The sun was brightorange on the mountain sides and looked ace in the evening sun. When I left the mountain I began my descent that quickly turned into walking in the pitch dark - luckily I brought my head torch - thanks Mark for the tip lol. But nevertheless it was still really freaky as it was still very steep and involved alot of clambering over rocks with a stepp drop not far to the side of you. When I got back I had all the wardens waiting outside for me worried that something might of happened lol. What was even better was on returning the wrden began by apologizing for not advising me to go up however then I showed him the views I gotand he stood there flabbergasted! Yes!!! 1 - nil lol! It was a great view and it gave me and even bigger rush by doing it completely on my own. It was great to get that seclusion.
The
The Boat to the start
North up Lake Te Anau where not many are allowed to travel up. Look at that for a view... next day we began our walk in the dark with our head torches on, from one extreme to the next we began our walk at 5 30am to catch sunrise up the mountain. It was a beautiful morning with a low cloud but after a little while we were walking above it. Th sunrise was really impressive purple sky running through the mountain valley. Every time we saw a view point it impressed in fact each sighting of th same image got better and better as we continued to climb. When we reached the tops we saw perhaps the best views of my trip! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
At one side we saw the beautiful valley where we were to walk to complete the hike and the next.... I was speechless. I beautiful view of the Wick Mountains in there true glory leading on into the distance with a long sheet of cloud below the peaks. It was amazing!
We continued the hike walking down into the valley below with a steep descent. The views from the valley were also really good. Later in the day we did a side trip to Sutherland falls the 5th tallest waterfall in the world at 580m
high. It was ferocious! We then contiued through the valley to our last hut. Once arriving I cooled down by going for a swim in thr river which was borderline freezing. I lasted about 5 seconds lol!
The last day was a nice flat walk along the riverside to Milford Sound. It was a really nice day which added to the views but nothing compared to the views we got at McKinnon's Pass!
A great end to the walk getting a bus back to Te Anau through Milford Road for the last time.
A great Tramp!
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