Tramping the Milford Track
Danny (Danielle) Bernstein

The Milford Track in Fiordland National Park, a four-day tramp (hike) in a remote part of the South Island of New Zealand, has been billed as the finest walk in the world. The heavy rainfall creates magnificent waterfalls, streams and fern-carpeted valleys. The 33.5 miles track (trail) is certainly the world's most organized. Since the number of walkers is controlled by reservations and the track is only walked in one direction, trampers can walk all day without seeing anyone. With only one side trail, it is difficult to get lost. Until 1966, when a party of New Zealand "freedom" walkers hiked the track in protest, trampers had to sign up with a guided, commercial group. But now 40 independent (that's us) and 40 guided walkers tramp the same track but stay at separate huts, miles apart. The independents carry sleeping bags, food and cooking utensils. No need for a tent, stove, pad or water filter.

Day One. The trip starts in Te Anau, a small town in the South West corner of the South Island. The morning is leisurely. We have time to pack, leave our extra clothes in the hostel, have an early lunch and see the Visitor Centre where we will start our journey. Promptly at one o'clock, the bus takes us to Te Anau Downs to connect with the boat crossing Lake Te Anau. Since everyone on the boat is going to be walking together for the next four days, we introduce ourselves. It is easy to distinguish the guided from the independent walkers; the guided ones have rented yellow slickers and carry too much camera equipment.

Today's walk is just two hours in a green rainforest by a river. It is drizzling but all that water creates dramatic waterfalls. We arrive at Clinton Hut, our stop for the night, in time to cook dinner. Two huts contain rows of bunk beds. Another hut houses the dining and cooking quarters with gas cookers, sinks, and a wood stove in the drying corner. The flush toilets and wash basins are within dashing distance of the sleeping quarters. The warden (caretaker) lives in a small bunk around the corner. After most of us have cooked supper and cleaned up, the warden announces the weather forecast, outlines the next day's walk and gives a few rules and regs. These are the universal rules of "Pack it in, pack it out" and "Stay on the track".

Day Two. Water, water everywhere - rain, waterfalls, drips, rivers and lakes - and all of it fit to drink. The landscape has been shaped by huge glaciers. Beech trees, ferns and mosses produce a very diverse forest. At an open rocky spot, keas (large, curious New Zealand parrots) are waiting for us. We have been warned to not leave anything soft or eatable around keas, as they will steal anything.

Reaching Mintaro Hut at 2 P.M., we have a second lunch with a hot drink. Since the weather has cleared, some people decide to go to the pass today to take a look. Although we will do the same section tomorrow, who knows what the weather will be then! But I spend the afternoon exploring the lake and socializing. Many people are walking the track as part of a yearlong trip around the world. The pros and cons of dropping everything in life to travel occupies the conversation much of the four days. In the evening, there is a kea alert. "Keas on the porch! Get your clothes and boots inside if you don't want them to disappear."

Day Three. Today we climb the famous MacKinnon Pass at 3,500 ft. Several people leave very early; some to show that they are serious trampers and others because they are concerned about the climb. But the well-maintained switchbacks make the climb easy. At the memorial honoring Quinton MacKinnon who found the pass, we hear bagpipes in the mist. A Kiwi (New Zealander) couple take turns playing the bagpipes. He had been secretly carrying these bagpipes in his pack for his wife. She mutters "Another one of life's little dreams realized." She has always wanted to play the bagpipes on MacKinnon Pass and her husband helped her out by carrying them.

We stop at an enclosed shelter for a snack. Shelters have been built at strategic places on the track, as emergency shelters or lunch spots for the guided walkers. Then it's down, down, down on an "Emergency Track" which has been the main track for many years. We visit Quinton Hut, a hut for guided walkers, which have sex-segregated dormitories, showers and a large dining room. We drop our packs and take the one sidetrail of the trip to Sutherland Falls, the highest falls in New Zealand and the third highest in the world, which plunges 1,914 ft. in three leaps. But no parking lot, no snack stand, you must either walk in or take a helicopter ride over it. Back to Quinton hut to pick up our packs and another hour to our hut, Dumpling Hut, for the night.

Day Four. Everyone is up early so that we can enjoy the last day without rushing and still catch the boat back. This section is flat all the way. A large bird waddles across the track. Can that be a chicken? It is a weka, a flightless bird, rare but not as hard to spot as a kiwi. We seem to walk alone but meet again in Mackay Falls. Two explorers, Sutherland and Mackay, traveled together from Milford Sound in 1880. First, they found Mackay Falls. The two men flipped a coin to see who was going to name these falls. Mackay won the toss and Sutherland said "All right, but the next one's mine, mate." The next falls turned out to be the highest in New Zealand, which goes to show that being first is not always best. But the smaller Mackay Falls are more beautiful and intricate than Sutherland Falls and it is right on the track.

Sandfly Point, the end of the track, which lives up to its name, has two shelters in which to wait for the launch. On a wooden sign at the launch point, several pairs of old, retired, boots hang. The boat takes us to Milford Sound, a crowded tourist spot by New Zealand standards. In typical Kiwi efficiency, a bus is waiting to take us back to Te Anau.

Danny Bernstein is the director of Hiker to Hiker, a non-profit hiking organization. She leads trips to New Zealand and to the Smokies and Blue Ridge Mountains. For more details, see the Hiker to Hiker website.