Milford Track (Day 4)

By Stephen M on April 16, 2014

Our final day on the Milford Track. We awoke and readied ourselves for the last stretch with mixed emotions. Our legs were aching from the punishing climb and descent from yesterday. Our boots and wet weather gear were still sopping wet which we would simply have to grin and bear it and get down to business. The thought of a hot shower or bath at the other end gave us hope along with a decent nights sleep (we won’t be missing the huts experience). But the thought that this was our final day on the finest track in the world along with a decent group of like minded trampers was a little sad…

True to form I held up Jenny again and finally got away at 8:10am. There would be no dawdling today as we had to be on that 2pm ferry! Whilst the weather forecast was for showers, there wasn’t any signs of it, so whilst we had dry socks and wet boots, we might be lucky and not get drenched for the second day in a row. This would be a long day! With a 6hr 18km walk to the ferry, followed by a 20min ferry crossing of Milford Sound and then a 3hr bus trip back to Te Anau to pick up our hire car and finally a 2hr drive from Te Anau back to Queenstown to check in to our Queenstown accommodation for a week of R&R!

Unfortunately my camera didn’t appreciate the abuse I gave the poor thing the day before, resulting in a fogged up lens (so hope you appreciate the pictures from the day before!). So no camera for capturing the beauty, particular of Milford Sound, so luckily my iPhone can take an ok photo and is particularly good for panoramas.

Another day of glorious scenery, you cannot fault the untouched beauty that this track offers. We took note, that not a single piece of litter was to be seen on the entire track. This is testament of the seriousness that the Kiwi’s have of protecting their natural environment. Hats off to them! Plenty of beautiful waterfalls and suspended bridge crossings made for some great scenery. The legs were sore and let us know they weren’t happy anytime they had to do some climbing or descending and that included simply stepping on or off any of the suspended bridges we came to!

Whilst we were still able to enjoy the landmarks along the way and squeeze in a short hot chocolate break along the way, we make it to Sandfly Point just as the 2pm ferry arrived!

We were spoilt with the sun shining on the Milford Sound as we crossed back to the harbour. What a magnificent sight! Words cannot describe it! It was a great finale to finish our walk with. Everyone’s spirits were high on a great achievement made by all and to cap it off with a relaxing ferry ride across the sound as we all took in the sights!

Yes, we did make it back to Queenstown where we got to appreciate the simple things in life. Like a hot shower. A bed that feels like sleeping in fluffy clouds. And food. Real food! Yum!

Time to sign off on this adventure and recharge the batteries for the next in a weeks time. The Routeburn Track! You will now all have to wait for the next instalment. Stay tuned!