NEW ZEALAND's FIORDLAND: Part 2, Milford Track and Routeburn Track, Guest Post by Owen Floody

Milford Sound, New Zealand, South Island

Our friend Owen Floody did a trekking and photo tour of New Zealand's South Island this past fall (the Southern Hemisphere spring.)  Owen recently retired from a career of teaching and research at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. He has always been an avid photographer and in his retirement has taken numerous trips that allow him to pursue his passion. Here is the second part of a short reflection on his trip to New Zealand and some of his excellent photographs.
 
From Dunedin, I drove west to Queenstown, and there the real fun began.  The next week I spent under the wings of Ultimate Hikes, pursuing a Classic package of treks including the Milford and Routeburn Tracks.  A central fact regarding Fiordland is that this is a very wet place.  For example, rain can fall at Milford Sound on 200 days a year, depositing up to 10 inches of rain per fall and as much as 23 feet over the course of a year.  To hike in this environment, you must be prepared for rain.  In addition, it's nice to have a support team that knows how to deal with rain, flooded trails, and wet hikers.  Ultimate Hikes managed all of this wonderfully.  For example, all of their lodges are equipped with facilities for the hand-washing of one's clothes immediately after a hike, eliminating any need to deal with the wet by hauling pounds of clothing.  The lodges combined this feature with the availability of large drying rooms, permitting a single change of clothing to be used repeatedly.  In these and other respects, I thought that the support of my treks by Ultimate Hikes was exemplary and well worth the cost.

The Milford Track is one of the world's most famous treks.  It extends over five days, though most of the hiking is concentrated in the middle three.  On each of these, one must be able to hike for 10-13 miles in 4-10 hours.  There are some elevation changes, but nothing extreme.  Most of these are concentrated on the approach to and descent from Mackinnon Pass, at approximately 3500 feet.

A large fraction of the trek passes through beech-dominated rainforests.  At times, you break out of the forest into a clearing, where you can be confronted with 4000 foot tall rock walls, often covered by an intricate pattern of waterfalls.  

The most expansive views, however, are those from Mackinnon Pass.  It was never possible to take in such a view without being amazed at the number, depth and beauty of the glacial valleys that dominate this landscape.  Nevertheless, I think that I most enjoyed the opportunity to walk for hours through forests of a sort that would be nearly impossible to see anywhere else.

Considering our ultimate destination, it's fitting that my first trek ended with a cruise on famous Milford Sound.  And before that, we had the opportunity to view Sutherland Falls, the fifth tallest falls in the world at 1904 feet.  It creates an impressive multi-sensory experience, combining powerful blasts of water and air (alas, too much for photos), a volume of sound like that of nearby jet engines, and the sight of the falls disappearing into the mist above your head.  

After completing the Milford Track, I moved on to the Routeburn Track.  This is a shorter trek, extending over three days, each involving a hike 6-9 miles over 3-8 hours.  Whereas the Milford most impressed me with its rainforests, the Routeburn earned points for its varied landscapes.  It, too, takes you through some beautiful beech-dominated rainforests, especially on the first and third days.   

But nearly all of the second day is spent above the tree line, crossing the Hollyford Face on the way to the Harris Saddle.  This traverse offered some spectacular mountain views.  It also exposed us to some interesting weather, with one day divided into periods of clear, rain, sleet, hail, and snow.  Fortunately, we had been warned that Fiordland weather is changeable and wet!  My other highpoint on the Routeburn was a similar, but small, part of the first day's hike.  This took us to and around a nature trail on Key Summit.  Again, we enjoyed the winning combination of attractive rocks, vegetation and ponds in the foreground with beautiful views of more distant mountains and valleys. 

(Continued  next week: Part 3: Cruise on Milford Sound)