After hiking the Kepler and Routeburn tracks in New Zealand back in 2023 it had been on my bucket list to hike the Milford track. The NZ great walks are some of the best multi-day hikes in the world, drawing in hikers and travellers from all around the world to New Zealand each year. The Milford track is the most popular of the NZ great walks, and regularly books out within hours, requiring hikers to track when bookings open and dive in for their preferred dates. It is not uncommon to miss out on bookings if you aren’t fast enough!
I had saved the bookings opening date on my calendar, and one morning I was eagerly awaiting for 10am for bookings to open. Unfortunately, I had mis-calculated the time difference between Australia and New Zealand and by the time I realised it had already been an hour! Most of the bookings were already taken and I only managed to book one spot in late April which was already pretty late in the season. I was hoping to book for Luke and I, so I wondered if I could squeeze both of us into one booking. The booking system is to book the huts that can only sleep a certain number of people a night, wild camping is not allowed on the Milford track.
A few seconds later after refreshing the page two more spots became available on the same dates and they were swiftly booked! Many of the bookings seem to get stuck in people’s checkouts before they decide on the dates they want, which can make the process a little stressful!
Alas, we finally had enough bookings for Jess, Luke and I to finally undertake the Milford track!
Day 1
Glade Wharf to Clinton Hut – 5km
The best type of hikes start with a boat ride! The official start of the hike is at Glade Wharf, which is reached by a ferry ride across Lake Te Anau. The unofficial start of the hike actually commences at Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre, where a shuttle service transfers hikers to the Te Anau Downs Boat Launch, ready for the ferry across the lake to the hike start!
There is a morning ferry and an afternoon ferry, we opted for the 2pm ferry as we only had 5km to hike on the first day and didn’t particularly fancy spending most of the day hanging out at Clinton Hut. I imagine super keen hikers would take the morning ferry and potentially hike all the way to Mintaro Hut, skipping Clinton Hut altogether.
Warm tea and map checking on the ferry!
The compulsory photo at the track head entry sign!
It helps to get a photo where you can read the track sign, too!
Some mushies on the first few kilometres of the track! I LOVE bright yellow mushies.
The track briefly leaves the forest and crosses a beautiful open meadow. We pass the first hut which is used by hiking tours, which is a more glamorous version of the main hiking huts.
One of many classic New Zealand swing bridges!
I love New Zealand forests. After no time at all we made it to Clinton Hut. It was still quite early in the day so we set up our bunks and went for a little explore down to the Clinton River, which had heaps of mushies along the way!
Apparently black mushrooms are quite rare! After dinner we headed back down towards the river to a little den that was known for having glow worms!
These photos are only taken on my smartphone, so aren’t anything too special but there they are!
Day 2
Clinton Hut to Mintaro Hut – 17.5km
The first section of Day 2 followed along the Clinton River, which meant more mushies and epic river views!
The morning started off a little overcast with a light fog, which made for very moody and eerie views over the River. Luckily, we didn’t get any rain on the entire hike – which is very rare for the Milford Track!
Look at this stunning forest! The mountain views started coming in and getting more dramatic as we made our way up to Prairie Lake and falls, which surprisingly didn’t have much flow.
I love the mysterious mountain appearing in the background.
The trail then slowly starts making its way out of the forest and up through the valley. The skies had started clearing but a low hanging fog stuck around for a while longer.
Hidden Lake! I believe the lake got its name for the fact you can’t see it until you are standing right in front of it! If you didn’t know it was there it would be all too easy to walk straight past along the Milford Track without any idea!
I can’t get over these valley views!
It’s not an actual bus stop, but the name of a day-use shelter along the track, I can’t help but giggle at the name. It was the perfect place to stop for some lunch.
From this point the hike starts to get a lot more dramatic! It has been pretty easy hiking so far, especially in comparison with the Kepler and Routeburn tracks.
Looking back down the valley at where we have hiked from.
From this point we were only around the corner from Mintaro Hut. After a much longer 17.5km day we were considerably more tired! Even so, we still made our way down to the Clinton River West Branch for a quick dip. And by a quick dip I mean Luke went for a quick dip and I dipped my feet! But I always get excited about spotting a few mushies.
Day 3
Mintaro Hut to Dumpling Hut – 13km
Day 3 is by far the most scenic day of the hike, as you pass over the top of Mackinnon Pass! It also passes by a toilet with one of the best views there is!
It is a bit of a slog up to Mackinnon Pass, but it is well worth it!
Getting close to the top now! Mount Balloon soon came into view, and was deliciously layered with some perfect placed fog which got highlighted by the sun behind.
The best photo I had taken on the hike, one of the other hikers were just up ahead and had timed walking into the shot perfectly. I love seeing the scale of the hiker compared to the scale of the mountains!
Finally made it to the top of the pass! The views were oh so stunning.
All smiles at the top of the pass! It was extremely cold at the top! So after some quick photos we were keen to head into Mackinnon Pass Shelter to warm up and have some lunch.
There is something magical about alpine lakes.
I honestly couldn’t stop taking photos of the views from the top of the pass.
The view looking down towards Mackinnon Pass Shelter, dwarfed by the surrounding mountains.
Unfortunately after a really nice stop warming and fuelling up it was time to head back down the other side towards Sutherland Falls.
The first view of Sutherland Falls! At 580m it is the highest waterfall in New Zealand! Which is only visible and accessible from the Milford Track, which is a huge treat.
But first we pass by the beautiful Anderson Cascades.
Maureen Falls. Seeing these waterfalls reminded me so much of my canyoning trip through New Zealand back in 2023, with the smooth granite rock and clear bright blue glacial water.
Lindsey Falls.
I will never get tired of swing bridges. I was also stoked to come across this little blue puffball!
Even better views of Sutherland Falls! You can hike all the way up to the base of the falls, but I was starting to feel unwell and keen to make it to Dumpling Hut, which unfortunately I do regret not making the quick side trip.
It was nice to be back down at water level. Long descents are not my favourite, as much as ascends can be hard slogs, I find them a lot easier on the body. I’d rather my muscles hurt than my joints!
It was a beautiful evening at Dumpling Hut, with beautiful mountain and waterfall views.
Day 4
Dumpling Hut to Sandfly Point – 18km
The last day on trail! Unlike many other hikes, this last day on trail had the highest mileage (By 500m, mind you), but it was pretty flat the entire way.
We started the day VERY early, as we were keen to get back to Sandfly point early enough to catch the early ferry and bus back to Te Anau.
It was beautiful starting the trail in the dark and watching the forests and mountains wake up.
Try and spot the tiny Luke hiding in this image! At the stunning Arthur River Swing Bridge with the majestic Steep Hill mountain (what a funny name for a mountain peak) in the background. I can’t believe how clear the water is!
The most scenic swing bridge on this trail, in my opinion.
The stunning Arthur River with a side treat of mushies!
A short distance from the Arthur River is the stunning Mackay Falls. At this point I was starting to feel the fatigue of the hike – can you tell?!
Giant Gate Falls! Which means we are getting closer to the end of the track! At this point we were starting to cross paths with fresh looking day hikers who hike in from Sandfly Point to visit the waterfalls. It’s a strange feeling being 4 days into a multi day hike and passing fresh day hikers!
I can confirm with this trail marker, it appears the Milford Track is incorrectly advertised as 53.5km! At this point, we certainly had longer than 400m to reach Sandfly Point. We covered at least another 2 or so km, which means the actual hike is more likely 55km, unless this trail marker is in the wrong spot!
We finally made it to Sandfly Point! Which has got to be one of the most scenic ends to a multi-day hike, with the towering mountains of Milford Sound in the background.
The ferry ride back through Milford Sound was just as scenic as the whole hike! We made it back to Milford Sound with enough time to get some lunch before catching our bus back to Te Anau. 10/10 hike!
Rachmartee 
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