| After ten days in New Zealand our group of ten Ramblers had managed some great walks in good, but cold, weather. In fact the weather seemed to bear no relation to the dismal forecasts at all! Unfortunately, that was about to change...... |
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On the afternoon prior to starting on the Milford Track we had hardly got down from an icy cold walk up Ben Lomond when the rain, as forecast, started to fall heavily. Above 800m it was falling as snow...... |
| Having travelled from Queenstown by coach, and joined the rest of the guided walkers for lunch, we boarded the boat at Te Anau Downs that would take us to the start of the track. It was overcast, the tops of the mountains were in cloud and there were frequent showers. The wind was whipping up waves on Lake Te Anau - a great start! However, the showers were quite light and we were hardly dampened on our short walk to Glade House. Small patches of blue sky even appeared from time to time, between showers. We got wetter on the two hour nature walks that were offered after our arrival, but that was more from brushing through the luxuriant vegetation than from the rain. |
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The forest may have been fern-filled, moss encrusted and primeval, but the sounds of helicopters filled the air (along with the occasional tui and bell bird). Apparently Wednesday is re-supply day, and goods were being lowered in, and rubbish being hauled back out. Little did we know that the sound of helicopters would become so familiar to us during the walk. | |
| Calm descended in the evening, and the skies cleared, and the temperature fell. The hills had been dusted with a fresh covering of snow, making the views from Glade House spectacular. The cold meant that the most popular after-dinner activity was the filling of hot-water bottles. The rhythm of the trek was established - endless coffee & tea, drinks from the bar, briefing and dinner (or dinner and then briefing), socializing, hot-water bottles, then generator off at 22.00. |
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It was a dry start to the day as we set off from Glade House in small groups. The forest bordering the Clinton River was bursting with new fern growth, whilst the trees were dripping with old-mans beard and goblin moss. It stayed dry until late morning, but by the time we reached the Hirere Falls Lunch Hut it was raining properly, and full waterproofs were on. The snow-covered hill tops had disappeared in the clouds, and at the point beyond the lunch hut, where a first view of the Mackinnon is possible, only a mist and rain-filled valley could be seen. | |
| It was at this point that we became aware of the number of walkers
coming in the opposite direction to us. Wasn't the Milford Track a
one-way trail? Few of them greeted us, but it wasn't until we got near
Hidden Lake that we met a group sitting by the trail deep in discussion.
Gently butting in (!) we discovered that all independent hikers had been
turned back from the Mintaro Hut.
Further on we were questioned by a Department of Conservation (DOC) ranger who was checking that anyone continuing was part of the guided walk party. Apparently it was snowing big flakes at the Mintaro Hut, and the track was closed for safety reasons. Where we were, however, it was only a steady drizzle (again) - enough to fuel thin waterfalls cascading down the bare rock of the winter avalanche paths. |
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On arrival at Pompalona House I suppose it wasn't much of a surprise to find
the lounge full
with the previous day's walkers, who had also been turned back from the
Mintaro Hut area. They had clearly been there some time; some were
asleep, others were reading, playing chess or scrabble, but many were
just waiting. It became clear that the hut staff were providing a
conveyer-belt of scones and jam whilst the warden was on the walky-talky
discussing 'Plan D'. We had visions of very crowded bunkrooms that
night.........
However, plan D worked! A helicopter arrived through the mist and landed on the wooden platform in the forest clearing beside the house. The group was then ferried, six by six, into the evening sodden air, and over to Quinton Lodge. A calm returned to the Pompalona lounge, and the evening's programme of food, talk, and hot-water-bottle carried on as normal. Except...we were informed that due to the avalanche risk we too would have to be helicoptered over the pass the following morning Except.....it continued to rain, very heavily Except.....many of us were awoken in the night by the thunderous sound of an avalanche, not so very far away from the hut! |
| The rain was still falling heavily as we dashed between our bunkrooms,
the toilets and the main building - for some reason not all the steps
and verandas were roofed. Entertainment early in the morning was
provided by a number of sodden keas - one skulking hopefully by a
bunkroom door, whilst another attacked an old boot fixed to a stand by
the lounge window. We were a nervous group, awaiting the arrival of a
helicopter whilst looking out at the falling rain and the cloud-filled
forest. Despite the low visibility eventually we heard the helicopter
and watched it swoop down into the clearing by Pompalona House.
We had already been sorted into groups of six, and the first group were ushered rapidly into the helicopter, with rucsacs being placed in an external carrier. The helicopter rose abruptly and disappeared in the direction of the Mackinnon Pass. Then it went quiet as people returned to their books, games and waited. After 20 minutes we heard over the radio that they had been unable to penetrate the clouds to land at Quinton Lodge, and were returning..... The helicopter landed and the rotors came to a halt; the walkers descended, some rather green and others jubilant at their exciting flight! Time to wait for a break in the clouds. |
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After an hour the pilot tried again, this time with a lighter load of only three walkers. After fifteen minutes the helicopter was back, this time empty - a cheer went up, and the original six were rapidly shepherded back in to the helicopter. This pattern was repeated over the next hour or so as the remaining trekkers were flown over to Quinton Lodge. Quite how the pilot found his way through the clouds was a bit of a mystery. We caught glimpses of the hut on the pass, then cloud, then a ridge appeared, more cloud and no sign of Quinton Lodge in the valley. In fact, no valley! A sudden rise and turn, and we were looking at the Sutherland Falls, another turn & a drop and we had dodged another cloud, and were descending onto the former airstrip by the Lodge. Astonishing flight! | |
| By midday we were all over the pass, and ready to walk to the Sutherland Falls, in normal conditions a pleasant stroll up the valley. After 24 hours of steady rain not only were the mountainsides streaming with water, not only was the river a foaming mass, but the path was frequently inundated. There was little chance of keeping boots dry, as the water was too deep in several stream crossings. There was also little chance of approaching the Sutherland Falls either, as the volume of water, spray and the strength of the accompanying wind was too great to get nearer than 100m from them. No chance of walking behind the falls this time! |
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Back at the Lodge for lunch most people decided to remain in the warm
and dry. However a few of us walked back up the track towards the
Mackinnon Pass to view the cascades on Roaring Burn from the
platform section of the track. Roaring Burn certainly lived up to its
name, evident from the moment we approached the suspension bridge from
the Lodge. There was no sign of any boulders in the river, just masses
of white foaming water. Every few metres up the trail there would be a
jet of water pouring off the hillside and over the path. Once or twice
it took a spot of group work to get across these torrents safely.
The cascades were an incredible sight, water crashing into rocks and being squirted metres into the air to fall back into the frothing mass. Memorable if not photographable as I hadn't dared take my camera back out into the rain. Back at the Lodge the drying room was full, again, but there was little hope that our boots would dry overnight..... |
| We awoke to find that it was still raining, if not quite so hard as the previous day. The guides had consulted DOC and their HQ staff and decided that we could probably walk out safely, but probably not comfortably! It didn't take long along the track to refill our boots with cold water, as water was pouring off the hillside in torrents. By the time we reached the refreshment stop at The Boatshed our feet were naturally completely soaked, but the rain had eased off somewhat. Whilst supping hot soup or tea the news filtered through that after crossing the Arthur River we would have a slightly deeper flooded section to negotiate. Oh joy! |
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Now having long legs can sometimes be a big advantage - so the water
only reached just above my knees - provided I waded at a moderate pace.
Others were not so lucky!
Having navigated water that deep the subsequent stretches of flooded, and sometimes muddy, path gave us no trouble. The Mackay Falls and the Giant's Gate Falls, whilst spectacularly full of water, seemed less impressive as water was streaming off every hillside, down gullies, through the trees, everywhere. |
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| Given that it was raining almost continuously (and had been for 48 hours), it was hardly surprising that everyone walked with hoods up and heads down, and kept up a fast 'let's-get-it-over-with' pace. That meant an early arrival at Sandfly Point, before even the sandflies had time to gather! Mysteriously the clouds began to lift, the rain stopped, and patches of blue sky began to appear. With all but two of the walkers having arrived by the 15.00 ferry the Anita Bay was chock-a-block as it pulled out into the fast flowing waters of the Arthur River and brought us across the Sound to Milford. |
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From the picture window of Mitre Peak Lodge bar we could see Milford Sound bathed in sunshine, a fitting but surprising end to a most eventful Milford Track experience. The spray blowing across the Sound from the engorged Bowen Falls reminding us of the past days of rain that had led to the wettest crossing that our three guides had experienced. Thanks to them, and the organisation behind them, we had had an exciting, safe and enjoyable time on the unforgettable Milford Track. |
