Monday 30th March: Sunny but cold all day 11°C to 12°C
Dumpling Hut to Milford Lodge: 18k: 8.25am to 1.25pm: 5hrs
Accommodation: Milford Lodge
The last day of the Milford Track
Arthur River
Gurgling Creek
Mackay Falls
Last mile post of Milford Track
Lunch in Sandfly Point shelter
Sandfly Point Shelter
Milford Track end of 33.5miles
Ferry from Sandfly Point
Ferry to Milford Sound. Man with black hat is 81. His pack was 5kg
Beautiful misty Milford Sound
Misty Milford Sound
Highlight of the day was finishing the Milford Track at Sandfly Point, then getting the ferry across to enter Milford Sound. A spectacular way to end our 4 days on the Milford Track.
It's dark when we awake at 6.40am. Most walkers are up before us as it's a long 18k walk and some of them need to get to Sandfly Point for the early 2pm ferry to catch the 2.30pm bus back to Queenstown. We've booked on the 4pm boat so there're no hurry, but the tickets are transferable to an earlier boat if we get there in time. It's not possible to sleep in with everyone up and rustling around.
The dining room is soon full and we're the last ones in. We put on a pot of boiling for a cup of tea, and cook our creamy porridge while we sip tea. I'm surprised how well our two el-cheapo K-Mart aluminium pots have lasted - I fully expected them to be black and burnt but they've been easy to keep clean.
At 8.25am we're the last to leave. There's patches of blue sky and mist. The track is mostly level and winds along the Arthur River. After 5k, there's a toilet stop but it's too soon and too stinky to stop. We've only been walking for an hour. A bit further on is The Boatshed where the guided walkers stop for a morning cuppa. It was originally the spot when the day trippers from Milford Sound would arrive by boat up the Arthur River, before hiking 7 to 8k along the track past Dumpling Hut to the Sutherland Falls. There's already a few guided walkers at The Boatshed, and they've had an extra hours walk from Quinton Lodge back near Sutherland Falls. We ask someone about the World Cup cricket score as their guides would have had Walkie Talkies. And we're told that Australia won by 7 wickets.
A tour guide rushes past us trying to catch up to the group we just met. He says he was delayed because one of his walkers decided he’d had enough and just paid NZ$10,000 for a helicopter out. He said some walkers on guided tours think the guide will walk it for them !!! Over the bridge and time for an apple on the run. The track passes over a rock cutting blasted out 100 years ago and soon we're at Bell Rock - a huge rock straddling two supporting rocks and looking like a bell. Behind it are the Mackay Falls.
It’s a beautiful day with blue skies visible through the misty canopy. It's still a cool 11°C and the track is relatively dry. They've said it's been a dry summer!. A bit further on, is a tin shelter where many walkers have stopped for lunch and another stinky toilet. A good place for us to rest and have two rice cakes with peanut paste and butter. It's 12.30pm when we leave and see a sign that says 45 minutes to Sandfly Point.
Past Lake Ada and then the last few miles along a wide track built by convicts 100 years ago. The last mile post shows 33miles, 53.1k. But there's still about 800metres to walk to the enclosed shelter where we find 20 other hikers already huddled away from the sandflies. It's 1.25pm and just enough time to have our left over mince before the 2pm ferry - our 4pm tickets are transferable.
The ferry is full and it only takes 15 minutes to cross the western end of misty Milford Sound and pull into the ferry terminal lined with cruise boats. Most hikers are catching the 2.30pm bus to Queenstown. Two other hikers from Switzerland are going to The Lodge, so together we trudge up the road in misty rain for 1.5k to the Milford Sound Lodge. We scored an upgrade for an extra $33, giving us a 2 person room instead of a 6 person dorm. There's communal showers and after unpacking and having a cup of tea in the Guests Kitchen we have a long hot shower and a relax in the guests lounge checking emails etc. There’s 3 more hikers in the lounge, a girl from Germany and two guys from Denmark who have booked a kayaking adventure in the morning, We'll be doing the cruise, thank you.
At 5pm, time for a drink from the bar and one bottle of Pinot Gris and a few hunks of cheese later and we don't need or want dinner. Off to our cosy room at 8.30pm