We were talking with Simon and Nan in the morning and Susanne was describing her bad night sleep the night before the McKinnon Pass hike and how the stress of a leaky raincoat had kept her up all night. Turns out Simon was suffering the same fate with his rain coat. They also had spent the night fretting about what to do. I had given Susanne my wool top just in case. Nan had given Simon her wool top just in case. It was kind of funny we were living dual experiences. Probably the only difference is that I slept pretty well; not sure what that says about me.

MILFORD DAY 4: Quintin Lodge TO Sand Fly Point (22 KM)

I thought the sandflies would be hellish on this section, but they weren’t bad at all. Evidently there has been a big drought in Fiordland and that has really kept the sandfly population down a bit.

We ate lunch on the rocks of a river next to a big waterfall. It was nice because the spray of the waterfall kept the bugs to a minimum, but this did not dissuade the cheeky wekas from trying every which way to steal your lunch. Susanne whacked one with her pole to scare it away; not even that was enough. Hang on to your food or be sorry!

We got to Sandfly Point at about 2:40 pm and put our name on the whiteboard as having arrived. They shuttle you from here back to Milford Sound where you stay in the Mitre Peak Lodge where we would spend the night. Thankfully we got there just in time to make the first boat back to the lodge.

We got to the hotel/lodge and settled into the room. The weather was clear, so I took a quick run out to the point to take a few pics of Mitre Peak. It is pretty spectacular. People climb it, but when I look at it, it just gives me the hebby gebbies to think about how exposed it is. One slip and you end looking like the spider in the MacPac store.

Susanne and I were both a bit tired and ready to just chill, so after dinner we were super exciting and just hung in our room looking at the beautiful view.

MILFORD FINAL DAY: Boat Trip on Milford Sound and Bus

The last day of the tramp is truly not a tramp…unless you count walking from the bus to boat and back. But, to be honest, I think that would be stretching the meaning of tramping a bit too far.

We packed our stuff and put it in the appropriate place, had coffee and then piled on the bus. It was supposed to rain, but it was just cloudy. The boat was pretty empty with mostly just our group, so there was lots of room to move around and enjoy the views. It was a pleasant cruise and the view of the mountains and waterfalls was definitely worth it.

After the cruise, we piled on the bus and drove up and through the Homer tunnel and back to Te Anau to the Alpine Cafe. We said goodbye, piled into the car and drove to Frankton. No, I know what you are thinking, it was not to check on the status of the MacPac staff and how they were dealing with the spider trauma. Rather, Rob and Mindy (two of the folks who had visited us in Mapua) wanted to meet for a coffee on their way to Te Anau. Two ships passing in the night.

Anyway, we had coffee and chatted. They have been a real pleasure to get to know and I hope we will see them again soon.

We finished off the drive to Lake Tekapo where we were stopping for the night. Once again, Susanne had used points and had managed to get us a pretty nice place to stay. She also discovered there was a lunar eclipse that we could see, so at 8:20 pm we went out and saw it just after full. That was pretty cool. Sadly, Susanne came down with a cold, so the next day we just boogied home and skipped Hanmer Springs.

SUMMARY: The Milford Track

I liked the Milford Track and it was great to do it swanky style. I do think it is a bit over-rated. Although in bad weather it is a good choice as the waterfalls are pretty freakin’ cool! The logistics eat up a lot of time and to call this 5 days/4 nights is a bit of stretch. Two of those days are mostly moving around.

Two of the tramping days are pretty easy and one is pretty hard. If you get views on McKinnon Pass it makes the whole effort totally worth it. If it is pissing with rain, it can’t be all that fun on that crossing.

The lodges were super nice and comfy. The sandflies were nothing compared to what I have experienced on the West Coast doing Heaphy.

I don’t think I would do it again, but it is definitely worth doing once. Make no mistake, it is a world-class hike.

I debate with myself about my camera every time I do a tramp. The thing is a big giant brick; it can get annoying to carry and be a bit distracting. That said, every time I get back home and I think I am never taking it with me again, I look at the pictures and go, well…..

So maybe I need one of those light weight Sonys 😉