Two Years in KiwiLand: The Milford Track (Day 1)

I flew down to Queenstown on the 2nd of December to meet up with my Parents as they continued their tour of New Zealand. Thus began my 5 week holiday!

They met me at the airport and we proceded to hit the road on the way to Te Anao Downs (about 3 hours away)where we would spend the night before embarking on the infamous Milford Track the following day.

We spend the night in a hotel in order to get a good night sleep before the hike. We were meant to pick up our track tickets (yes, you need tickets as only 40 people are allowed to start the track each day and the tickets sell out almost immediately when they go on sale annually in July) in Te Anao at the DOC center but of course they forgot to leave them for us. This meant we had to drive 40 minutes from Te Anao Downs back to Te Anao to pick up our tickets the next morning. It actually worked out for the best as the next day was beautiful so we changed our boat to the later one (there are two boats per day that take you to the start of the track) giving us time to go explore Milford Sound and take advantage of the good weather as the area is notoriously unpredictable with lots of rain.

Milford Sound was about an hour and a half drive from Te Anao Downs and did not disappoint. The drive was very scenic with snow capped mountains and colorful wild flowers (Lupines) covering the country-sides. Milford Sound would also be the location where our hike would end in a few days. It is regularly ranked as New Zealand's most beautiful location and I can see why (although I would find the hike itself to be even prettier).

After spending some time at the Sound and taking a bunch of pictures, we headed back to Te Anao Downs to catch our 2:30 boat to the start of the track. The boat took about an hour across Lake Te Anao, and the journey was also full of beautiful scenery.

The first day on the Milford Track is a very easy 5 Km to the first hut (another advantage of taking the later boat). Apparently the original first hut was ruined in an avalanche so this one was built instead. The hike was pretty and wound along a beautiful clear blue-tinged river (the Clinton River) with large trout visible from the water's edge.

The hut itself was nice and had two separate bunkrooms with approx. 20 beds in each and a large common room for cooking and eating. We spent the evening cooking food, exploring the area, reading, and avoiding the sandflies. The sandflies are the only problem with the area as they are EVERYWHERE and attack as soon as you stand still. As long as you keep moving they leave you alone but if you forget your bugspray on this trip, you will be in trouble!