November 28, 2022

November 28, 2022

We arose early in our Queenstown, New Zealand hotel and double checked our packing from last night. We need to be prepared for the extreme elements the weather forecasters are predicting for our next excursion. We checked out and left our luggage with the hotel. We donned our boots and hoisted our backpacks and hiked into downtown. It is a beautiful day. We are praying it lasts.

At the assembly point, we meet our hiking guides. All four are ladies and three are young enough to be our granddaughters. After loading onto the bus at 9:30AM we began the drive to Fiordland National Park. We stopped in Te Anau for a simple but tasty lunch. Since we missed Thanksgiving, we had the Pumpkin Soup. Afterwards we drove the thirty minutes to Te Anau Downs where we boarded a boat. The Milford Track is unusual in that the beginning and end require water transport making it difficult to do day hikes on any of it. It takes an hour to reach the far tip of Lake Te Anau and the mouth of the looming Clinton River valley.

Disembarking we gather our packs and begin the 33.5 mile Milford Track. This trail was first blazed in 1888. For almost a century before the Homer Tunnel was cut, this was the only way to get to Milford Sound, outside sailing around New Zealand. It is still very popular and access is limited. You have to sign up far in advance to get a spot. It is an easy one mile walk to our first lodge at Glade House, where we are given afternoon tea, cookies and orange wedges, and then shown to our room. It has a view, and the weather is still good!

Since it is early we do a nature walk around the area with one of the guides. The walk is only mildly interesting. It is actually a quite difficult hike through the forest over a tangle of rocks and exposed roots. I am hoping neither of us twists an ankle. On the plus side we saw the huge New Zealand Pigeon and a Bush Robin.

For being off the grid, our backcountry lodge is very nice with running water and electricity, at least until the generator stops at 10PM. We had a drink in the bar and then a three-course dinner. I had the Fiorldand Venison in a red wine and cranberry gravy. Aimee had baked salmon. It was delicious. We may freeze and get soaked on the trail but we won’t starve.

It was announced that one of our young guides tested positive for Covid and is out. New Zealand closed their border through most of the pandemic and still has to go through the process of everyone getting Covid and developing natural immunity. They just delayed the inevitable.

After dinner we all got up as countries and introduced ourselves. It is a very international group. There are more than a dozen each of Aussies, Kiwis, and Koreans. The rest are couples from Japan, Ireland, England, Canada, and of course us lone Americans. Almost everyone said the Milford Track was on their bucket list. Most Americans have never heard of it.