November 10th – November 16th
QUEENSTOWN/MILFORD SOUND
November 10th and 11th
After making it from Wanaka to Queenstown, we checked into the Black Sheep Lodge. After getting a few things figured out, we picked up Stew and Casey from the Queenstown airport in the afternoon. We caught up over lunch and spent the rest of the day checking out Queenstown. It is a very touristy spot, which is not surprising because this is the adrenaline center of New Zealand. But overall, a pretty cool spot. It is a small adventurous town set along a lake in a valley with some massive mountains surrounding it (kind of reminds us a little bit of Banff).
We spent most of the next day preparing for our Milford Sound Track, which we were to start the next day. We figured out how to pack enough food for the four of us for a 4-day trek (which shouldn’t be so difficult except that it is the Wilson brothers that needed to be fed... so it becomes more like packing food for at least 6). Anyways, we packed up all our bags and were ready to go for the morning.
November 12th
We woke up bright and early, jumped into Bertie (yes, all 4 of us squished in), and made our way to Te Anau by 9:30am. We were supposed to catch a bus at 9:45am, but when we got there, we were changed to a bus that left at 1:45pm. So we had some time to grab some breakfast and chill out for a few hours in the kind of sleepy town. We ended up reading/napping in Bertie for a while.
At 1:45pm, we caught the bus to Te Anau Downs, where we caught a boat which took us across Lake Te Anua (the second largest lake in NZ) to the start of the Milford Track, which is apparently known as the “Finest walk in the world”.
Washing off the Dydimo from our shoes before starting the track
Here we go!
Day 1 Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut (5km in just over 1 hour)
The hike to the first hut was very short, only just over 1 hour through very easy, flat terrain in a beech forest along the Clinton River.
Stew and Nikki starting out on Day 1
Quick side trip along the way to the wetland area.
Giant beech tree
We arrived at the hut at about 3:30pm. Played some card games until we were hungry for dinner. We warmed up the very spicy chilli for dinner and played some more games after dinner until calling it a night and heading to bed.
Clinton Hut
November 13th
Day 2 Clinton Hut to Mintaro Hut (16.5km in 6 hours)
The track continues along Clinton River, which has some of the clearest water we’ve seen (it is so clean they actually use it as drinking water in the huts, unfiltered).
Clinton River
We stopped at Dead Lake for some lunch. It was located just at the base of a steep mountain side that had some beautiful waterfalls streaming down its face.
Quick stop for lunch, after loading on the bug spray.
Dead Lake
Scott and Stew
Enjoying the views. We were lucky to have beautiful weather so far.
We then crossed an open prairie area where we climbed slowly up to Marlene’s Creek, which in heavy rainfall can apparently be impassable (luckily, we didn’t have that issue). This area gets about 9m of rainfall per year, and in heavy rain, the water levels can rise 1m/hr. It hadn’t rained much recently, and as you can see, there is very little water here now. It’s hard to imagine this creek rising higher than the bridge, making it impassable in heavy rain.
Scott shouldn't have much difficulty crossing the creek.
Another creek along the way
One of many waterfalls
We continued along the track, slowly gaining a little elevation, until we came to Mintaro Hut, where we would spend the night.
Mintaro Hut
November 14th
Day 3 Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut/MacKinnon Pass (14km in 8 hours)
The track got straight to business today, quickly turning into well-graded zig-zag switchbacks which continued along for about 2 hours, slowly making our way up MacKinnon Pass.
Zig-Zag, Zig-Zag, Zig-Zag
Almost there! (So tired of zig-zags)
First spotting of snow along the way at about 1000m
We made it to the top and were rewarded with some of the most stunning views any of us have seen.
View from MacKinnon Pass
Way to go team
Scott dangling his feet off the cliff
We were warned by the hut wardens about the Kea birds in the area. We had seen them earlier in the track, but this was our first real experience with them. They are a very clever type of parrot native to NZ. They have been known to steal anything they can get their beaks on, and can even open up zippers on the backpacks. One sneaky little Kea came along and decided to check our bags out, with us standing right there.
We all stood close by watching to see what he could do. And yes, he can open zippers. He was quickly shooed away, and flew over to the next group of backpacks to see what he could get away with.
Just when we thought we were done with the climbing, we found out we had just a little more to go. We continued upward for about another 20 minutes to the highest point on the track (1154m).
At the highest point there is an outhouse. It is a famous outhouse. Only because it has one of the best views in the area.
Loo with a view
After checking out the view, we started our way back down the mountain, knowing we had about 900m of elevation to loose.
Crossing over some snow
We came across some massive snow caves along the way
The descent was brutal. The regular track was closed because of avalanche damage to the track, so we were detoured along the emergency track. Instead of the track falling gently downwards, it zig-zagged steeply down, making it really hard on our knees and feet.
At the very base of the mountain, there was a short 1 and a half hour side trip where you could drop your bags and walk up to Sutherland Falls, the 4th highest waterfall in the world. We were tired and sore, but we toughed it out and took advantage of the break from carrying our bags.
Stew and Casey at Sutherland Falls
With our packs back on, we had another hour and a half until we reached Dumpling Hut. We made some delicious pasta for dinner, which was well-deserved after such a tough long day of hiking (with the extra hike to the falls, we were hiking for 9 and a half hours today). It was a good thing the views were spectacular making it very worth the effort.
After dinner we were all beat and headed straight for bed.
November 15th
Day 4 Dumpling Hut to Sandfly Point (18km in 6 hours)
We had to wake up early this morning because we had a boat to catch at 2pm. With 18km to hike, we left at about 7:30am. It was overcast and a little chilly, but not raining yet.
The track follows along Arthur River, another perfectly clear water source.
Another waterfall along the way
It started raining a couple hours later, so we got all dressed up in our rain gear and kept on truckin. We have heard many times that this track is most beautiful when it is raining, as it makes the waterfalls even more pronounced. Even though we may have missed out on that aspect of it, we were all grateful to have had beautiful warm sunny days for the past three days. One day of rain was not so bad.
Bell Rock from the outside
Bell Rock from the inside. A bell shaped rock, hollow enough inside for us to stand up in it.
The track then reached Lake Ada and climbed up along the rock cuttings, which were blasted and hand cut when the track was first made.
Making our way up along the rock cuttings above Lake Ada.
We made it to Sandfly Point with just 15 minutes to spare before we needed to board the boat. The Sandflies were horrendous, as the name implies, but luckily there was a shelter we could sit in for the few minutes we had to wait.
We just hiked 55km! I think we are all feeling a little stunned still at this point (Scott especially)
We took the boat across to Milford Sound. It was pouring rain and the visibility wasn’t great, but the Fiords that we could see were absolutely amazing. Great big mountains shooting straight up from the water.
Milford Sound Fiords
Milford Sound Waterfall
If it had been nice out, we were planning on going on a cruise on Milford Sound, but since it was yucky out, we decided to catch the earlier bus to Te Anua instead. When we arrived there, we were all hurting, tired, and hungry. We grabbed some greasy food at a pub in town, meeting up with Robert and Doris there as well. Then we drove back to Queenstown and made our way back to the Black Sheep Lodge, looking forward to a nice hot shower and a comfy bed.
November 16th
After a glorious hot shower in the morning (because Stew and Casey beat us to the showers last night and took all the hot water) we booked our adventure for the day. We spent the rest of the morning trying not to think too much about what we were about to do.
At 12:20pm, we walked downtown to the NZONE office. We signed our life away, and then all jumped into a van and drove us 20 minutes outside of town.
Getting psyched to go
Who looks more nervous?
We got all geared up in our suits, helmet, goggles, and harnesses. Then we were given a super quick safety briefing and away we went to board the plane...
Casey and Nikki were at the back of the plane, and Scott and Stew were near the front (It didn’t take us too long to figure out what that meant for Casey and Nikki).
Anticipation at its finest
The plane took off and we started climbing higher and higher. Once at 12000 ft, the door opened and people very quickly started disappearing from the plane!
SKYDIVING!
Amazing!
Sorry Moms, we weren’t about to tell you about this one before it happened.
You are strapped to a skydiver who has jumped over 1000 times in his life, with another skydiver with a camera strapped to his helmet that jumps with you as well.
That first feeling when you are basically hanging out of the plane just before you jump is unreal. Then the guy you are attached to sways back and forth three times and you are all the sudden free falling 12000 ft above ground.
Nikki’s skydiver was quite adventurous and did a little flip just after jumping out of the plane. Eeeek!
Yes... that is a real smile!
We were falling at a speed of 200km/hr which lasted for about 45 seconds, and then the chute opened when we were around 6000 ft.
We glided, swirled, twisted and floated our way down to the landing area, enjoying the absolutely stunning views of the mountains, the lake, and Queenstown.
Beautiful views
The landing was surprisingly smooth.
WE JUST JUMPED OUT OF A PLANE!
Once the slight feeling of nausea subsided, we were taken back to the town where we continued to come down from the adrenaline.
The only effect that anyone had was that Nikki’s ears would not re-pressurize for a couple hours. So she walked around downtown for a while not being able to hear much at all. Then finally her ears popped and she could hear again.
Don’t worry Mom, Scott is still without hospital visit this trip. (Knock on wood).
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