Milford Sound, Great Walk

I booked my hut passes, boat rides and bus transfer for the Milford Spund several months ago and I was so excited when I started out on my trip.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/fiordland/northern-fiordland/milford-track/
I was a little worried that it might be a hard hike but it turned out to be fairly east and nice.
I got on a boat at Te Anu Downs for an hour long trip across Te Anu lake.

I'm on a boat

 Where I was dropped off at the tracks beginning.

The first day was an easy 3 mile mosey to Clinton hut. The track was flat and through some meadows and mossy jungle forest.

All the huts were really nice, with a ranger stationed at each one. Every evening the hut rangers would regale us with some stories, a description of the next days tracks and bird calls.
The second day took me through Clinton valley, past gorgeous mountains and lots of waterfalls.
The weather was nice my whole trip. Four days without rain is almost unheard of in Fiordland. Apparently, the best time to see the area is during a downpour. That's when the valley is turned into nothing but cascading waterfalls. I'm definitely going back for a rainy day trip or two.

It's almost winter

There were birds everywhere and it was so peaceful walking all day and just listening to the different birdsongs.

Friendly little guy

I took a side trip up to the base of a waterfall.

Side trip with a trail buddy. 

Even prettier up-close

After 10.25 miles I made it to Mintaro hut where I was spending the night. I was pretty knackered. And starving, and I realized I had under packed my food supply. So a little rationing was necessary for the rest of the trip.

The third day was an 8.7 mile hike up and over McKinnon pass and back down into Arthur Valley. The highest point was 3,786 ft. I got to the summit around 11:30 in the morning but there was mist and clouds everywhere.....no view!

A the highest point of the trail. And the height of fashion- check out those fushia socks!

I decided to hunker down in the shelter for a few hours in the hopes that the weather would clear up.
By about 1:30 my patience was rewarded and I saw the mountains and valleys surrounding me. They were gorgeous!

View from the shelter

Hooray!

Alpine pond

The rest of the days hiking was a steep descent.

On my way down. The rail is a rarely seen Kiwi  safety measure.

 Past more rivers and waterfalls.
Sutherland Falls is also on this hike. It's the biggest waterfall in NZ. Unfortunately, the trail to the base of the falls is closed so to an ongoing rock slide.
 But I was able to view them from a distance and they were still amazing. The view reminded me a little of Yosemite valley.

The last night I holed up in Dumpling hut and a generous fellow hiker gave me some of his extra food. Nomnomnom. Ever notice how delicious everything is when you're starving? Haha

The last day was an easy but long 11+ miles by some pretty lakes and rivers and more gorgeous waterfalls.

The water is an unreal turquoise 

Giant Gates Falls

When I arrived at the end of the trail at Sandfly point, I felt like turning around and continue hiking.
Well, my mind did. My body was so excited to stop walking and grub down.
A short boat ride took me from the end of the trail to Milford sound.

I'm so happy I got to do this hike. It was completely awe inspiring and I really enjoyed every single mile.