Anyway, the past few days have been spent in one of New Zealand’s most beautiful areas. The Fiordland, which is the majority of the island’s south west corner, is home to the tail end of the rugged Southern Alps and loads of mist-covered sounds. We drove over there on the last day of September, intent on walking the Milford Track, which has been noted as one of the most amazing hikes in the world.
Sights on the scenic drive from Winton to Te Anau.
Our first day in the Fiordland was a rough one. Just before we drove into Te Anau, David got pulled for speeding down the road, which resulted in a slightly pricey ticket. Then we got to the DOC office (which is the organization here in New Zealand that runs the national parks, etc) to see that the advisory for the Milford Track had a moderate avalanche warning. This took us off guard a bit, and we second guessed our decision to start on the track. Not only was there the threat of possible avalanches, but a number of the track’s bridges had been taken out for the winter, meaning we would have to ford the streams ourselves. Our uncertainty didn’t clear in time for the 4:30 closing of the DOC office, and we weren’t able to commit to buying hut tickets. On top of all that, when we went back out to the car to go to a place to sleep, the battery had died because the lights had been left on! I was a bit upset by this point. The Milford Track was one of the big things I’d been looking forward to for my time here in the country. It was a bit crushing to think that it might not be something we would be able to do. In the end, we fixed the car and David called the guy who was going to ferry us out there the next morning (the only way to reach the track is by boat). The skipper told reassured us that he wouldn’t take us out to the track unless it was safe. He told us that the avalanche risk was low and we could cross the rivers with relative ease (his exact words were, “Those bridges are for rich people who don’t want to get their feet wet!”). David and I decided to go ahead and do it.
We got on the ferry the next morning. It was a smaller boat known as the “Carousel.” There were four other hikers who were going to be out on the trail with us. Apparently we were the first trampers out on the trail in two whole weeks (there had been a massive snowstorm about a week back which kept people away). There were 3 Kiwis (New Zealanders) who were forging ahead of us to the second hut on the first day and one Aussie guy who was sticking on the trail with us. The boat dropped us off on the dock and we walked to the Clinton hut. It was only an hour and a half down the trail, so we reached it just a bit past noon. Even just the short walk there was breathtaking. We started through woodlands that were completely coated in bright green moss. I’ve never seen so much moss in my life. It was everywhere. It literally took over the woodlands, crawling over roots, logs, stumps and tree trunks. The day was a bit overcast, so it really set the mood for a slightly creepy look. About a mile or so in, the track met up with the gorgeous Clinton River. In Korea, I saw a lot of rivers which were a very clear light blue color. This river was different. It had a strange deep green color too it. It was clear, at times even luminescent. Together with the mossy trees, the landscape really did feel otherworldly. I came across a quote in the first hut we stayed in that expressed the feelings of walking through this landscape much more eloquently than I could:
“It was difficult to realize that we were merely passing through a piece of New Zealand bush, and not a specially-prepared corner of fairy land.” William McHutcheson 1892
Preparing to set off on the hike.
The Ferry that took us to the dock!
After 6 hours of hiking you can get a little grouchy.
We stayed the first night in the Clinton hut. It rained a lot throughout the first afternoon. At times it was literally pouring. We were glad to sit inside the hut and listen to the raindrops patter against the tin roof. Because there were only three of us at the hut, we decided to sleep in the common room where the fire was. It was nice and warm for the first few hours of the evening, but of course is ended up getting cold by morning.
Nighttime in the wilderness.
The next day we had a 6 hour hike ahead of us to the Mintaro hut. We departed later in the morning, passing a lot of the same landscape we’d seen the morning before. About four miles in we started passing the avalanche zones. You could tell when you got to one because all of the trees disappeared, giving way to yellowed, flattened grass, small rocks and other debris. The first two days of the track took us through Clinton Valley, which is surrounded by white-capped alpine peaks. You could see the trails down the mountains where tons of snow had plowed their own path. We even saw piles of old avalanches at the base of the mountain. A few times we heard avalanches in other places in the valley. They sounded like gunshots, roaring and tearing through the air. We never saw any though, which is just as well!
There were signs in front of the avalanche zones warning hikers to keep moving and not stop. This was difficult at times because there was almost always a stream or a gorge in the area, and the bridges had been removed for the winter, so we’d have to find ways across them on our own. Usually there were stepping stones readily available in the water. Other times we had to throw our own stones in. Sometimes the riverbed was about 10 feet deep and we’d have to climb in with our packs. In any case, we managed to get through without getting our feet too wet!
Some wildlife we saw on the trail.
The remains of an avalanche.
By the time we reached the Mintaro hut at 400 meters above sea level, the mountains surrounding the valley had become even grander. You literally had to crane your neck back to see the summit of the snowy crags above. There was also a good deal of leftover snow on the ground and it was much noticeably colder. We got to the hut and our hearts fell when we saw the three Kiwis who’d gone ahead of us the day before. They told us that they’d tried to get through the mountain pass, but the snow was just too overwhelmingly deep to try. At times it came up to their waists. Plowing through it was both time and energy draining. Not only that, but the path up near the pass wasn’t marked, so it was impossible to see where to go and there was avalanche debris to deal with as well. David was really torn, but in the end we decided that it wasn’t worth it. (The Australian who was with us went ahead for an hour or two to scout out the path and just affirmed what the Kiwis had told us.) The Kiwis radioed the skipper who’d brought us out and asked him to come pick us up at the dock the next day.
The weather was so much colder that night. We slept in the common room again, but I had to curl in the fetal position all night to stay warm. There were rats too. Big things that scurried around the kitchen area hunting for leftover crumbs. They didn’t bother me too much, thanks to the fact that my little brother owned a rat for quite a few years.
We left before dawn in order to get the 7.5 hour hike out of the way before 2:30, when the skipper was supposed to pick us up. We hiked in the darkness for about twenty minutes before the sunrise hit the valley. Most of the forested area was covered in a coat of ethereal mist and the peaks were rosy with the morning light. The day turned out to be crystal clear. We got an amazing view of the peaks that had hidden behind the clouds when we passed that way the day before. It was a little bit annoying to retrace the steps we’d made the day before… but oh well. When we got back to the boat the skipper informed us that we’d experienced the best portion of the hike—twice!!
After we got back to our car in Te Anau, we decided to drive to Milford sound and see what we missed out on. The two-hour drive itself was actually more scenic and thrilling than the actual sound (which was very beautiful, it’s more of a compliment to the drive than a knock on the sound). The road wound through the heart of towering alpine giants. There were huge avalanche scars on the mountainside and across the roads. There was even a tiny tunnel that spit us out to where the sound was. Sometimes in the winter, the road has to close and the people in the Milford Sound area can be stuck there for days, even weeks (there’s only a lodge there, not even a town!). How miserable!
The fabled Milford Sound.
We stayed the night in Milford Sound and drove back to Winton today. An overall beautiful and awing experience. The most amazing landscape I’ve ever seen. Period.
Less than a week left here in NZ. Africa, here we come!!
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