The Milford Track: “The finest walk in the world!”

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In the heart of Fiordland, lies a trail that has been described as the ‘Finest Walk in the world!’.

Part of a 2.6 million hectare UNESCO Heritage wilderness area, we venture in to this rugged and untamed wilderness to explore a journey so reputable that its capped numbers sell out within moments of their annual release.

The most well known and arguably rewarding of New Zealand’s great walks, the one and only Milford Track!

Chapters:

Introduction 0:00

Te Anau Downs - Mintaro Hut via Glade Wharf 1:57

We depart early from Te Anau downs with Fiordland Putdoors water taxi 🚤, a 1.5hr journey along half the length of NZ’s second largest lake, Lake Te Anau 💦. From our arrival at Glade wharf we start our 22.5km journey to the Mintaro Hut. Our hike begins in thick mossy forest 🌳, being greeted by Faintails (Piwakawaka), Tomtits and South Island Robins, some of which are a little too comfortable to approach us (especially when eating) 🐦. We spotted Kakariki, Kea’s overhead 🦜 and the occasional Weka hiking 🥾 along the Clinton River in the Clinton Valley, a significant glacial carved valley lined with towering peaks and cascading waterfalls. We arrive at the Mintaro Hut around sunset 🌄.

Mintaro Hut - Dumpling Hut via Sutherland Falls 18:51

We are awoken at the Mintaro Hut by the sound of a bunch of noisy Kea’s calling us out for playtime 🦜 at sunrise 🌄. After leaving the hut we make our steep 500m ascent to the highest point of the Milford Track at the McKinnon Pass which sits at just over 1,100m. At this stage we are in the clouds ☁️ so we take advantage of the McKinnon Pass Shelter to have lunch and wait 1.5hrs for the clouds to lift. The views are absolutely phenomenal! ⛰🙌🏻 we have full visibility down the Arthur Valley and the Clinton valley we came from looked like a sea of clouds ☁️ below us. We descend down into the Arthur Valley, spotting a Kaka 🦜 along the way. Passing countless amazing waterfalls and gorges we take the detour to Sutherland Falls, at 580m it is the highest in Australasia and one of the highest in the world! 💦 it is spectacular in the fading sunlight as we make our way down to the Dumpling Hut.

Dumpling Hut - Milford Sound via Sandfly Bay 33:33

Departing before sunrise 🌄 we head out in the dark with the hopes of potentially spotting Kiwi along the way. We continue along our path in the glacial carved Arthur Valley via the Boatshed shelter and the stunning Giants Gate Falls 💦. We follow Lake Arda to our final destination, Sandfly bay/mile 33.5. The end of our 3 day 58km journey (including 5km to Sutherland Falls). After a short water taxi ride 🚤 with Fiordland Outdoors we check out the wonder of Milford Sound returning back to Queenstown with Cheeky Kiwi Travel. The Milford Track, a walk declared as “the finest walk in the world!” by poet Blanche Baughan and we can certainly agree!