Milford Track, New Zealand Day 1 and 2 Nov. 2013

The Milford Track is located in Fiordland National Park in the very southern tip of the South Island of New Zealand. It is listed as one of the 9 Great Walks. To walk it you have to make reservations with the DOC months in advance as only 40 independent walkers are allowed to start each day during season. Avalanches are a real danger and hikers need to be fit enough to ford rivers and climb over debris while carrying a pack. To start the track you first have to take a boat ride from Te Anau Downs to the beginning of the trail.

The boat ride is beautiful even in cloudy weather. First the packs need adjusting, then you can start walking.

 The swing bridges are easier to walk over when done one at a time so they don't sway all over the place.

 The views are fabulous every direction you look.

Day one is a shorter hike in and we arrived at Clinton Hut after taking our time. We selected our bunks and aired the sleeping bags before wandering off to explore the area.

The surrounding area was beautiful of course.

 Day 2 we knew was going to be rougher than day 1 because the rain had started during the night and kept up through out the entire day. We piled on the rain gear, covered our packs and took off.

i've never seen so many waterfalls...i counted up to 50 and then stopped...there were 100"s of them pouring off the mountains all around us.

 The trail got more hazardous because of the avalanches but with a little help we all made it through.

This little traxcavator was fixing the trail.

We finally made it to Mintaro Hut after a long wet, soggy day.

Days 3 and 4 to come.