The Milford Track

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Milford Track 7th - 10th March 2009

This is definitely the best thing we have done in New Zealand! We set off for the Milford Track on the boat across Lake Te Anau. We were both really excited. It was raining lightly when we started to walk the track. The first day's walk was an easy 5 kms on a nice level track. The forest was beautiful, with moss hanging from the trees like some kind of film set. We did an extra little walk around a wetlands area which had strange orange moss covering the ground. Our first night was spent at the Clinton Hut, where we settled our stuff on our bunks and cooked dinner in the communal kitchen Everyone else was really friendly.

The second day was a much longer 16 1/2 kms walk through a valley with dramatic mountains to thesides of us which had waterfalls pouring down everywhere. It was some of the most beautiful scenery we had ever seen. Unfortunately, our camera had given up the ghost in the wet weather (it rained most ofthe second day), so we couldn't get any pctures. The last part of the walk was uphill which was a bit of a struggle with our heavy packs and it was a relief to finally get to Mintaro Hut.

The next day was our toughest walk. We had 14 kms of track up over the mountains, then a side track of about 4 kms to Sutherland Falls, NZ's highest waterfall. We were so lucky with the weather - it had snowed on the mountain tops overnight which looked stunning, and the sun shone brightly. The views from the top of MacKinnon's Pass were breathtaking - we could see for miles along the valleys. Walking down the other side, we saw powerful waterfalls and rivers. Sutherland Falls were great - we got a real soaking at the base of the falls - really wild!

The final day was an 18 kms walk where we got pretty wet both from the rain and from having to wade through streams which cut through or along the track. It was great fun though. It felt like a real achievement when we got to the end of the walk. 53 1/2 kms (plus side trips) in all. We're hooked on tramping now - bring it on!!!

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Photos

The start of the track
Rob and me just about to start our adventure

The Clinton Hut
Our first night's stop

Rob on the track
the moss was just beautiful everywhere

naughty keas
They woke us up early in the morning with their noisy squawking

The view at the top of MacKinnon Pass
You can see the macKinnon monument