Milford Track

On the first day when I arrived at Te Anau, I went to check if there were any cancellations for the Milford Track. And luckily for me, there was one cancellation! It was kinda pricey though because it was very commercialised and the the route is fixed. But...this is the most popular track in NZ, and to confirm a place, you would normally have to make a booking 5 or 6 months in advanced one. And I thought making bookings for Kinabalu was difficult. So...I decided to just go for it!

Started off with a ferry ride to the start of the trip. First day was a very very short 1 hour walk only. No choice...its compulsory to stay at that hut there on the first day. Seriously....I see it as a means to squeeze more money out of us tourists.

Start of the track

One main difference I felt between this track and when I did the Routeburn track was that the people here are a lot more friendly. Also, the birds here are super tame! Some of them would even venture up to 20cm away from my feet before flying off.

Anyways, I made it to the highest point on the 3rd day. And the view there was spectacular man! This weather for this trip was totally different from the Routeburn. The west coast of the South Island sees about 180+ days of rain a year, which means you get rain in one out of 2 days. But for all 4 days of the trip, it was perfect weather for us man. So much so all the rangers were saying we are missing out, because the real beauty of the fiords are when it rains. Haha well they may think so, but I still prefer a good sunny day for trekking.

The last picture is actually a toilet. The ranger was telling us that this the best toilet on the track which everyone MUST use. In fact, the view at that spot is so good that they even built a window on the door for whoever is using it to look out. Haha talk about privacy man.

All of us gathering at night playing this Israel game called Yenni

guess what insect was rampant here?

After the track, a few of the people I got to know on the track and me met up for dinner and drinks at a bar. Overall, I didn't really find it as impressive as what I read it to be. I mean it was a fantastic walk, I took about 200 pictures just on this track alone. But, given the hassle and cost required to book the track, I would say might not be worth it. The South Island is a really beautiful place, and many other places have views that are just as good in my opinion. Oh and it rained just as we were boarding the ferry back to town. Haha...as a result, got a picture of this nice rainbow on the way back.