The Milford Track

The Milford Track is the most famous of New Zealand’s nine great walks. Only 40 people are allowed to start as independent walkers each day so to get on the track during the summer months you have to book well in advance. We booked the walk in early September when December and January were already full so we had to pick a date in February. If you book the walk through DOC, you must stay in the huts along the trail. There is no camping allowed within 500 meters of the trail. The valleys the Milford passes through are less than 1km wide so if you want to camp the only place available is the end of the Clinton Valley past where the trail goes up to the pass and you would have to walk the track in two days.

To get to the start of the Milford Track we took a water taxi from Te Anau Downs across Lake Te Anau to Glade Wharf. From there it is a short walk (around an hour) to the Clinton Hut. It was a beautiful day so we got some lovely views of the Clinton Valley as we went. The highlight of our day was the short nature walk that the hut warden, Ross, took us on at the end of the day. He provided us a wealth of information about the area and told us all of the things we needed to watch for on the rest of the walk.

On the second day it looked like we would be going up the north arm of the Clinton River, but we veered to the left and headed up the west arm. The valley that the north arm runs down is much wider, but Ross told us it ends with steep cliffs topped by ice fields that would be difficult to climb with our gear. The track goes through several open areas including the big slip of 1982 and the prairie so we got spectacular views of the valley and its waterfalls. The only disappointing thing about the day was that we had good weather. The Milford is one of the rainiest places in New Zealand (sustained rains of 150mm an hour can fall any time of the year) and when it rains the sides of the valley become shimmering sheets of water and an incredible roar fills the air. We still felt like we had seen some incredible things, but not the best the Clinton Valley has to offer. At the Mintaro Hut we took a swim in Lake Mintaro (really just a slow moving portion of the Clinton River west branch) and were breathless from the cold within a few seconds of jumping in.

The third day of the hike took us over the Mackinnon Pass. After leaving the Mintaro Hut we started up the side of the valley almost immediately. It was a steep climb up to the Mackinnon Pass Shelter at the top of the pass. This is the only day of the hike that you really want nice weather and it was the only day that we got bad weather. The toilet at the shelter is known as the loo with a view, but all we could see from its window was white. Coming down from the pass into the Arthur Valley we got to walk along the Roaring Burn and see the amazing formations that the water has carved into the rock. It is incredible that a trail has been put in so close to the cascades of water that you can feel the spray. The most spectacular part of the day was our side trip to Sutherland Falls. The falls drop 580 meters in three impressive steps. While we stood marveling at the last two steps of the falls the clouds finally parted and we got a view of the falls in all their glory. After the spectacle of the falls it was hard to concentrate on the rest of the walk to Dumpling Hut.

The final day of the hike is slightly downhill along the Arthur River. The boat pickup at Salndfly Point is at 2:00pm so many people hurry to make it there early. That is really not a good idea because Sandfly Point has that name for a reason. The earlier you get there, the more time you will spend being slowly eaten. There were two impressive waterfalls along the track, the MacKay Falls and Roaring Giant, and because the weather was nice again, beautiful views up and down the Arthur Valley.

The boat ride from Sandfly Point to Milford Sound township was short and gave us a very small taste of what a cruise would be like in Milford Sound. The bus ride from there back to Te Anau was one of the most beautiful stretches of road that we have ever been on. Make sure that you stay awake for at least the first hour of the bus ride if you ever do the walk. When we got back to town and were reflecting over a pizza we understood why some people call it “The finest walk in the world.”