SUNGRL

There was no walking involved on day five of our trip, just a boat cruise on the Milford Sound.  The glorious weather we had for the last day of the walk continued.  Everywhere you looked there were picture postcard opportunities – the Sound is stunning.  The downside to this awesome weather is that there are not so many waterfalls to see but we saw a couple.  We also saw some fur seals lying on the rocks.

We stood on the upper deck to start with taking in the breathtaking vistas.  Once we reached the Tasman Sea and turned around we were on the sheltered side of the Sound where the sun hadn’t managed to get to yet making it rather chilly.  We ended up going inside the boat but I went back up onto the deck a few times to take more photos – I couldn’t get enough of the scenery.

After our cruise we hopped onto the bus for our trip back to Queenstown – it was going to take four to five hours.  We dropped one of the guides, Mark, off in Te Anau Downs – he was off to meet the next group that were starting the track.  We then stopped in Te Anau for lunch before carrying onto Queenstown.  We got a got a good run and were back in town by about 3.30pm.

That night all sixteen of us enjoyed a meal together at The Public Kitchen in Queenstown.  It was a lovely evening in Queenstown and it was hard to beleive that Auckland was being tormented by the Tasman tempest.  Sheree had some funny prizes to give out to reward some of the shenanigans over the past few days.

It had been the most amazing trip.  It was so well organised and run by Ultimate Hikes.  The guides were all fantastic and shared their knowledge and passion for the outdoors with us enthusiastically.  The group of people we did the walk with were all friendly and as enamoured with the beauty of the place we call home, as much as we were.  I learnt a lot about a part of the country I had heard so much about but had never visited.  If the Milford Track is on your bucket list then I highly recommend putting it on the top – it was simply awesome.

Tourism on the Edge

Looking Back

Adventuresome and rich overseas tourists, crossing the Tasman from Australia with the Union Steamship Company, were visiting Milford as early as 1874. Word of the splendid isolation and grandeur of the place spread rapidly thereafter following European explorations of the late 1700s. Visitors arrived by sea, as land routes were first unknown. But despite being named on early maps as Milford Haven, no one was tempted to permanently settle at the head of the isolated sound until the 1880s.

“Ah, my Milford haven may never be the same…..” Donald Sutherland diary 1888, commenting on the international publicity Sutherland Falls was receiving.

One man who visited Milford and stayed to appreciate the area’s wild beauty was Donald Sutherland. He made Milford his home in 1877. In 1880, while searching for an inland route to Queenstown with Mackay, paid in part with government funds, he came across the falls that now carry his name.

Living here all year round, without the modern highway and facilities today’s visitors and temporary residents rely on, required exceptional skills which for many years, few had. Donald Sutherland utilised the natural resources around him and obtained supplies from the Government lighthouse steamer, which called occasionally.

Despite the isolation and hardships of living at Milford in the early days, the pull of the visually stunning and spiritually inspiring terrain was powerful. People kept arriving, especially after the opening of the Milford Track. Even the government recognised the importance of tourism to New Zealand’s economy and as early as the 1900s was subsidising private enterprise into tourism ventures. Immense physical hurdles were overcome with the formation of the Milford Road and Homer Tunnel, first started with pick and shovel as a Depression work scheme in the 1930’s and finally completed in 1991.

Now the isolated edge has been broken through and thousands of visitors a day are able to visit Milford all year round; future visitor numbers are expected to increase.

Looking Forward

As the flow of time continues to change this place from one of isolation to one of high visitation, the challenge is to retain the spectacular landscape spirit of Milford / Piopiotahi so the future generation can experience it as we have today.

Tangata whenua – people of the land

It was the koko-takiwai (pounamu) and kakapo which primarily attracted Ngati Tahu to Fiordland.  The koko-takiwai is favoured as a softer type of pounamu, more easily shaped into a finer quality of end product.  It was therefore particularly sought after for the making of ornaments, such as hei-tiki.  The area also offered many other mahinga kai to sustain parties on their arduous expeditions, including a range of Manu (birds), fish and kaimoana resources.

There are two principal trails linking the Fiordland coast with the rest of Te Wai Pounamu (the South Island).  A sea route around the fiords links Piopiotahi to Murihiku, and was the main route by which the koko-takiwai gathered from the end of the fiords was transported.  The inland route for transporting koko-takiwai by backpack lay over what is now known as the Milford Track.  In addition, a trail from Martins Bay, up the Hollyford Valley and over into the Routeburn Valley to the pounamu source at the head of Lake Whakatipu-wai-maori, was commonly used by Tai Poutini iwi, who regularly traveled south via this route to obtain koko-takiwai.

Tauranga waka (landing places) occur up and down the coast, and wherever a Tauranga waka is located there is also likely to have been a nohoanga (fishing ground or kaimoana resource) with the sea trail linked to a land trail or mahinga kai reserve.  Similarly, the lakes and the Waiau River were very important mahinga kai areas.  The tupuna had considerable knowledge of whakapapa (genealogical decent), traditional trails and Tauranga waka, places for gathering kai and other taonga, ways in which to use the resources of the lakes, rivers and coast and tikianga (protocols) for the proper and sustainable utilisation of resources.  All of these values remain important to Ngai Tahu today.

Particular stretches of the coastline have their own traditions.  For example, the visit of Tamaahua to Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) in search of Poutini, who had absconded with his wife Waitaiki, is linked to the creation of pounamu further north on Te Tai Poutini (the West Coast).  The koko-takiwai which is found in Piopiotahi has its basis in a visit to Piopiotahi by the waka Tairea.  A woman, koko-takiwai, and her children, known as Matakirikiri, were left behind by the Tairea and were turned into Pounamu.

Maori legends about Milford Sound

Milford Sound was known to the Maori, who named it Piopiotahi – for the single piopio, a now extinct bird.  The name derives from a legend about the last endeavour of Maui-tikitiki-a-Taranga, the great Polynesian demi-god.  Maui set off from Hawaiki accompanied by a piopio, in an attempt to gain immortality for mankind.  To acheive this goal, he had to enter the womb of Hinenui-te-Po (the goddess of death), travel through her body and emerge from her mouth.  After Maui’s failure and death, the piopio who had witnessed the tragedy, fled south to Milford Sound to mourn for the death of its mate.

Landscapes

New Zealand is not known as ‘the shaky isles’ for nothing.  Every year thousands of earthquakes, most not felt, occur as the massive Pacific plate and the Indo-Australian plate jostle against each other.  Stressed to breaking point, rocks within the plates eventually give way with a jolt, relieving the stress but making the earth shake, with occasionally catastrophic effects.

New Zealand earthquakes are caused in a more complex fashion than in many other parts of the world.  There are two processes at work: one of the plates sinking under the other (subduction); and the plates sliding sideways past each other.  The Alpine Fault results from the latter process.  In New Zealand’s main seismic region, the Indo-Australian plate rides over the Pacific plate, but from Fiordland south the reverse happens.

A shock of magnitude 6 or above occurs on average once a year in New Zealand, magnitude 7 once in a decade, and magnitude 8 only once a century.

On average Fiordland experiences one earthquake a day, sometimes more, and most we cannot feel.

Earthquakes are caused when the movement of the plates builds up tension, which on release causes a shock wave or jolt.

The Alpine Fault

The Alpine Fault, which runs for 600km down the spine of the South Island, entering the Tasman sea at the mouth of Milford Sound, is one of the world’s major geological features.  It’s the “on-land” boundary of the Pacific and Australian Plates.

This fault has ruptured four times in the past 1000 years, each time producing an earthquake of about magnitude 8.  Approximate rupture dates are 1717 AD, 1620 AD, 1450 AD and 1100 AD.  Horizontal movement of the Alpine Fault is about 30 metres per 1000 years – very fast by global standards.  Each time it has ruptured, it has also moved vertically, lifting the Southern Alps in the process.  In the last 12 million years the Southern Alps have been uplifted by an amazing 20 kilometres, and it is only the fast pace of erosion that has kept their highest point below 4000 metres.  The glaciers and rivers have removed the rest of the material and spread it out across the lowland plains or onto the sea floor.

Ecology

The high rainfall experienced in Fiordland helps to create a unique marine environment.  In this high rainfall zone, a large volume of freshwater flows in to meet up with the saltwater in Milford Sound.

Being less dense, fresh water forms a 5 centimetre to 10 metre layer of fresh water on the surface of the saltwater.  Tannins, washed out of the vegetation on land, stain the water the colour of weekly brewed tea.  This creates a dark layer on the surface that cuts down the amount of light entering the sea water, restricting most of the marine life to the top 40 metres (light levels at 10 metres in the fiords are equivalent to those at about 70 metres in the open sea).  This band (below the freshwater layer) is calm, clear and relatively warm and is home to sponges, corals and fish of sub-tropical, cool water and deep water varieties.

Certain animals found on the continental shelf at depths of 100 to 200 metres turn up commonly in the fiords in the water less than 30 metres.  They include red and white hydrocorals, shrimps, sponges, sea pens starfish and orange line perch.

The fiords support one of the world’s largest populations of black coral trees (about 7 million colonies), with some of them up to 200 years old.

The fiords are also home to Branchiopoda; clam-like animals that have remained relatively unchanged for over 300 million years.

Although the fiords extend to depths of over 400 metres, life peters out quickly in the gloomy depths.

Bottlenose dolphins (aihe), New Zealand fur seals (kekeno), Fiordland crested penguins (tawaki) and little blue penguins (korora) are resident in the fiords.

Dolphins

You may see different species of Dolphin in Milford Sound.  Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) are the most common dolphin seen.  The smaller Dusky Dolphin (Lagenorhychus obscurus) are sometimes seen as well.

Seals

Once hunted to near extinction, the New Zealand Fur Seal (Arctocephalus forsteri) can now be found along most rocky coastlines in southern New Zealand and can usually be seen in Milford Sound.  It is thought that many of the seals at Milford are young males.

Penguins

The Fiordland Crested Penguin (Eudptyes pachyrhynchus) or Tawaki is only found along the Fiordland coastline, it is one of the rarest penguins in the world.  They are recognised by a sulphur yellow eyebrow which extends over the eye to the back of the head where it develops into a plume.  At times of the year they are seen for short periods in Milford Sound.

Black Coral

Black Coral (Antipathes fiordensis) is endemic to Fiordland and grows at depths as shallow as 5 metres, but grows especially well at depths of about 15 metres where it crowds the near vertical walls.  It forms colonies that in places resemble small to medium sized trees.  Black coral grows less than 20 millimetres a year so trees over five metres tall are estimated to be over 300 years old.  Black corals are actually misnamed being neither black nor true coral.  Living trees may be yellow, orange, green or white. Only dead skeletons are black.

Milford Road

The Milford Road eventuated as one of the unemployment schemes set up by the government during the depression years of the 1920s.  Beginning in 1929, 200 men with picks, shovels and wheelbarrows formed a new road to Te Anau Downs Station from the small town of Te Anau.

Workers carried their gear and straw mattresses up to the road workers camps.  “The only tools the road gangs had were picks, shovels and crowbars.  While four of the gang did the picking and shovelling into wheelbarrows, the other two wheeled the spoil away to build up the foundations of the road.  Extra barrows were provided so that there was no standing around waiting for your barrow to be filled.”  The workers were paid 14 shillings a day for six days of the week, but if it was wet there was no pay at all!

The roadmen continued the road through to reach the Divide at the head of the Eglinton Valley in 1934.  In October 1933 engineer John Christie, an experienced climber, was chosen to lead a party of ten men to carry out a reconnaissance survey of the Hollyford and Cleddau Valleys and survey the proposed Homer Tunnel.  The reconnaissance survey had been completed in the remarkable time of only seven months (from October 1933 to April 1934).  Christie remarked later that “it was really a two year job.  But you know how it is, the politicians think about it for a long time and then want it done yesterday.  So we did it.”

In November 1934 engineer Harold Smith (Smithy) was sent with a party of 25 men to begin work at the Milford end of the road. Because there was no accomodation at Milford, Smithy and ten men walked the Milford Track beforehand to put up tents prior to the arrival of the others by sea.  There was still no wharf at Milford so the party set about building one, also a wharf shed, a water reservoir and an access road to the hotel.  They then carried out a systematic survey of the road right up to the future tunnel, pegging out the road and the bridge crossings all the way.  This job took until January 1935 to complete and during this time rats got into their precious flour supply.

Road construction continued and the Milford crew met up with the Homer crew in 1940 when the tunnel had been pierced by the tunnellers working from the Homer End.

The Homer camp for the construction of the tunnel was in the “safe area”, out of reach of avalanches, about 500 metres short of the tunnel.  Winters were particularly harsh with snow, ice and avalanches and the men living in only tent style huts.  The standard hut had a wooden floor and wooden boarding halfway up the wall.  The remainder including the roof was just canvas, or if you were lucky it was topped with corrugated iron.

Homer Tunnel

A tunnel beneath the Homer Saddle was proposed as early as 1889 by William Henry Homer, the discoverer of the saddle.  In January, Homer and his mate George Barber explored the upper Hollyford Valley and camped beside the Hollyford River, where Homer prophesied that some day a road, or possibly even a railway, would come via the Eglinton and Hollyford Valleys.

It took nearly half a century before the decision was finally made to proceed with “Homer’s Tunnel”.

On 4th July 1935 Martin (“Digger”) Scully and a party of seven men trundled their heavy wooden wheelbarrows up the valley.  Then, armed with only picks and shovels they began cutting their way through 100 metres of loose scree to approach the solid rock wall, shoring up the scree sides with timber on the way.  It was slow, tedious work under wet, cold conditions with the ever present threat of an avalanche from above.  But by early 1936 they reached the cliff face and went underground.

Initially the tunnel was excavated “24 feet wide by 17 feet high” with an arched roof and a steep 1 in 10 gradient towards Milford.  Then they struck an unexpected problem.  Water was pouring through the roof and this had to be pumped out as fast as it came in, otherwise the downward trending tunnel would fill up.  So the dimensions were reduced considerably to “14 feet by 9 feet”, with the idea of punching a smaller tunnel through more quickly and getting the water to drain out the far end.  The enlarging could come later.

Drills, operated by compressed air, were used to bore the holes in the rock for the gelignite.  Then after the drill holes were loaded with explosive the charges were fired electrically from a remote control panel.

A light railway was built into the tunnel and after dynamiting, the shattered rock was scraped up into buckets and loaded into dump trucks that were pulled uphill to the entrance by an electric winch.  A diesel locomotive then took the trucks to be tipped for the foundations of the approach to the tunnel.

By 1940 the tunnel had been pierced by the tunnellers working from the Homer end.  The problem now was how to remove the rock debris from the Milford end.  A huge bulldozer was brought by boat to Milford.

Work on the tunnel ceased in 1942 due to World War II.  The unfinished tunnel was opened up to Milford Track walkers in 1947 to enable a round trip back to Te Anau.  Work on the tunnel was not recommenced until 1951.  The tunnel was finished in 1953 and opened officially to traffic in 1954.

During the construction of the tunnel there were three fatalities due to avalanches.

On 6th July 1936 Leigh Overton was in the crib house at the entrance to the tunnel when without warning at all the wind blast of an avalanche hit the hut.  It took over an hour before the men found Overton’s badly mutilated body pinned under the remains of the crib house.

On 4th May 1937 Donald Hulse, the engineer in charge and Thomas Smith, the tunnel overseer were killed by an avalanche that swept away the building they were in.

After the double tragedies a concrete shelter extension was built straight out from the tunnel.  Although the new tunnel portal was made of heavily reinforced concrete, it was crushed completely flat by an avalanche in 1945.
 

The sun was shining right from the get go on day four so we knew we were in for a stunner.  We began descending a rocky hill known as Gentle Annie before passing an old slip where the track flattens and we entered lush rainforest. We could see Sutherland Falls in the distance.  The track condition was excellent which made for easy walking.

We stopped at Boatshed for morning tea.  Boastshed was built in 1928 and housed the boats that used to move supplies from Lake Ada.  Nowadays there is a swing bridge that crosses the Arthur River.  It was such a gorgeous morning and the vistas were amazing.

Today I walked with Sheree and Karen and we pretty much chatted the whole way – no surprises there!  It certainly made the day go fast.  

Our next stop was Mackay Falls named after John Mackay one of the pioneers of the track along with Donald Sutherland.  Apparently they are among the most photographed waterfalls in the world.  

Next to Mackay Falls was Bell Rock.  The story of Bell Rock is that over millions of years the water eroded the inside of this rock and then in an earthquake many years ago the rock was moved to it’s current position.  You can actually stand up inside it and Mark told us that on a guide training walk they managed to fit 28 guides in there.  Karen & I hopped in there and both commented that we’re not sure we would be too happy to be in there with 26 other people!

We carried on to our lunch stop which was at another waterfall called Giants Gate Falls.  We all climbed down and sat on the rocks to eat our lunch – it was like eating lunch in paradise.  The water was unbelievably clear but wow it was cold.  I put my hand in and it felt a lot colder than the water at Sutherland Falls had felt.  A couple of the guys took their boots off and put their feet in the water – they went numb pretty quickly.

After lunch we only had about 4 kilometres to go to get to Sandfly Point.  The flat and wide track skirts Lake Ada and was built by 45 convicts in 1890.

As promised the sandflies greeted us with enthusiasm when we arrived at Sandfly Hut.  I had actually taken all my layers off so lathered myself in insect repellant.  They hovered but didn’t land.  Steve had got to Sandfly Point before me and had put every item of clothing on – there was no way those sandflies were going to get him!  We had to put our name down on the boat list and fortunately we made it into the first group of 18.

Today’s 21km would have to be the best half marathon distance I have ever walked – good company, fabulous vistas, a great track and sunshine to boot.  How lucky are we!

We had the obligatory photos at the 33.5 mile marker, Steve’s photo being taken under duress again : 0. 

We then had about a ten minute boat trip around to Milford Sound where we got our first glimpse of Mitre Peak.  Everything looked so impressive basking in the sunshine.

We got bussed to Mitre Peak Lodge where we got settled into our rooms – talk about a room with a view.

Across the road there is a foreshore walk so I decided to do that while I still had my boots on – the tide was out so I walked right out to the foreshore.

The second boat took quite a bit longer to come in so by that time we were all enjoying the bar offerings.

After dinner we were all presented with a Certificate of Achievement to say we had successfully completed the Milford Track.  It had been thoroughly enjoyable and we got incredibly lucky with the weather.  We also made some new friends along the way – the group had been great providing lots of laughs and encouragement.

Mitre Peak Lodge History

Donald Sutherland initiated the modern history of Milford when he became the first European to take up residence at Milford Sound.  In 1878 he built a simple slab hut with a thatched roof that sat just above the shore line.  To this modest home he gave the grand title of “Esperance Chalet”.

By 1880 he had two neighbours: a prospector from Big Bay named John McKay and James Malcolm.  Sutherland named this collection of three huts “The City of Milford”.

In 1890 Sutherland married Mrs Elizabeth Samuel of Dunedin and the couple started development at Milford Sound by building and operating an accomodation house.  This remained in business for several decades, as long as the Sutherland’s were alive.

When Donald died in 1919, Elizabeth continued to run “The Chalet”.  In 1922 it was purchased by the government Tourist Department and demolished shortly after Elizabeth Sutherland’s death in 1924.

After this, the only accomodation of track walkers was at Sandfly Point.

When the Sandfly Lodge burned down in 1926, tent accomodation was offered to walkers until 1928, when the new Milford Hotel opened.

In 1950, the Tourist Hotel Corporation was established and took over operation of the Te Anau and Milford hotels from the Tourist Department.  In February of that year the east wing of the Milford Hotel caught fire and was destroyed.  Because the hotel was such a vital link to the track in the days before Milford Road opened, the track was closed for two years while the hotel was being rebuilt.

Fire struck again in October 1959, gutting the kitchen and administration block at Milford Hotel.  It was rebuilt in time for the following season and caused less disruption to the track operation that the 1950 fire because the Milford Road was now open.

Te Paepae Tirohanga o Piopiotahi – Milford Foreshore Walk

The foreshore walk allows you to step out on a short journey around the edge of the Cleddau River delta, the only easily accessible coastal river delta in Fiordland.  Maori call the river Te Awa Piopiotahi.

Places on the edge, where rivers meet sea, undergo constant physical changes that we can observe from clues that are around us.  This is evident from the regular rhythm of the salty, twice daily tides; the irregular pounding of storm strewn driftwood; the continuous flow of fresh mountain water and the gushing rage of silt laden floods.  Within this intermittently changing place, plant and animal edge dwellers adapt and survive.

The delta and nearby flat land adjoining Fresh Water Basin has attracted people over the centuries, those with resourcefulness and fortitude to adapt and survive.  

The maori of Milford Sound or Piopiotahi represents the essence that binds the physical and spiritual elements of all things together, generating and upholding life.  All elements of the natural environment possess a life force, and all forms of life are related.  Maori is a critical element of the spiritual relationship of Ngati Tahu Whanui with this area.

Piopiotahi was first visited by Maori more than 1000 years ago.  They were drawn to the area in search of resources including its magnificent stone – pounamu – which they carried out over the ‘inland route’.  The stone was worked ‘back home’ during the winter months, fashioned into various forms of treasured adornment and sometimes minor tools.

Maori travelled the ‘inland route’ from Lake Te Anau-au, along Te Wai-Tawai (Clinton River), over Omani (MacKinnon Pass), along Te Awa-O-Hire (Arthur River) to Piopiotahi – the same route that is now the Milford Track.  Then via the ocean pathway of the fiord they accessed a special form of translucent ponamu (or bowenite) known as takiwai, found at Hopokeka (Anita Bay).

Nohoanga (seasonal camps) here on the Cleddau River delta were welcomed for mahingakai (food gathering) and resting places between mountain and sea, and were rich in natural resources which generation after generation of Ngati Tahu whanui knew how to utilise for survival.

Kaimoana, food from the sea, was the Maori staple, supplemented with foods from the forest.  Hunting, gathering and preserving were vital tasks.  Upon leaving the nohoanga here on the delta, the people walked back over Omani and beyond Te Anau-au to their kainga (settlement) on the lower Waiau and along the southern coast.  On their backs they carried young children, preserved birds, seal skins, unworked takiwai and enough flax to repair and replace sandals as they negotiated the mountain terrain.

Day three was the day we were most anxious about – at the previous evening’s briefing we were told that we would climb 700 metres over 6 miles and descend 900 metres over 3.5 miles.  There are 11 switchbacks going up and one of the switchbacks has 7 mini switchbacks on it!

Start time was 7.30am and Steve and I got on the track early. The tracks were in good condition and we made good progress. Steve stopped to take a few layers off and I kept moving hooking up with Matthew. We started the switchbacks but I didn’t count them so didn’t really know where we were at when one of the guides, Hannah, went by and said you’re on switchback number 9, not far to go now. The sign at Mintaro Hut said it would take us two and a half hours to the Memorial Cairn and we did it in one hour and twenty minutes!

The boys looking hopefully at the Heli pad sign

The temperature had dropped and the wind was blowing about 55 kilometres per hour when we reached the Memorial Cairn.  It was freezing.  Hannah had hot drinks available which I took advantage of.  Matthew decided to keep going up to Pass Hut which was our lunch stop.  I waited for Steve.  I found a little spot behind the Memorial to shelter in.  The clouds were passing overhead pretty quickly and every now and then you would get a glimpse of the mountains but they didn’t clear altogether.

Steve wasn’t too far behind but he was frozen so I managed to get a quick photo of the two of us at the Memorial Cairn. As you can see from his face it really was the last thing he wanted to be doing.  He certainly wasn’t interested in a re take!

We carried on past the highest point on the pass and then up to Pass Hut – I gave Steve one of my gloves but then decided to stop and get out a pair of socks.  We ended up with one glove and one sock on each.

We got into Pass Hut and Kelly told us to take any wet layers off and get dry and warm again.  Kelly also told us this was a pretty calm day with 55 kilometre per hour winds.  I braved the toilet which was out on the cliff edge but didn’t hang around too long to take any pictures – it really was a room with a view though.  Standing in the hut eating my lunch I could feel the cold draft seeping up my legs.  I decided to put my leggings on and then we started our descent.

The timing for the descent was three hours but we thought given we had blitzed the climb we would blitz that.  Within ten minutes of leaving the Hut all the clouds had cleared and the sun had come out – we felt instantly warm – it was such a nice feeling.  The vistas were amazing.  There were a few helicopters buzzing around overhead as Wednesday is supply restocking day for all the huts.

We made good progress zig zagging down the hill and a few of the others caught us at Cascades Shelter.  The waterfall and rock pools were stunning and the colour of the water was beautiful.  From memory we thought we only had about a mile to go after the shelter.  That mile turned out to be one of the longest miles – the track had got quite rocky and we just kept descending.  I thought I saw the Hut at one stage but was obviously seeing things.  Matthew then thought he saw something but again he was seeing things.  We were very quickly getting over this descent.  We then passed the twenty mile marker but still continued on for quite a way eventually crossing the Roaring Burn swingbridge to find Quintin Hut.  It was a welcome sight.

It had taken us three hours so they were not wrong on the timing of the descent.  Looking at the walk notes afterwards it does say that the descent is some of the hardest walking and it was.

After a little bit of sustenance we (minus Steve) then decided to do the highly recomended walk to Sutherland Falls – New Zealand’s highest waterfall at 580 metres high.  The walk was noted as being one and a half hours return but we did it in just over an hours return.  It was definitley worth it – the Falls are impressive and the volume of water coming down and the force of it is quite incredible.  A few of the freedom walkers were having a swim and Matthew and I had decided we would have one too.

The spray from the waterfall was intense and you got quite wet just getting to it.  Walking over the rocks just to get to the waters edge was also a challenge and I eventually fell over hurting both a toe and my little pinky which remained sore for some days afterwards!  I didn’t find the water that cold although I wouldn’t have wanted to wallow in it for too long.  I lay back and put my head under – you can’t beat fresh alpine water on your skin and hair.

I was amazed how warm I felt when I got out – the further away you got from the spray the warmer you got.  I then enjoyed the walk back to the hut in my wet clothes : ). Luckily the sun was shining and it had turned into quite a warm day.

We were served up another delicious meal and retired to bed reasonably early in preparation for the 21 kilometres that lay ahead the next day.

Pass Hut History

The walk from the memorial cairn to the Pass Hut is the most exposed and dangerous stretch of the Milford Track.

On a calm day it’s difficult to beleive that up here winds can reach frightening speeds, often requiring walkers to hang onto the snow grass to stop themselves being blown off the edge!  These regular gusts have spelt doom for many of the previous Pass Huts.

Built in 1928 the first Pass Hut was prefabricated in Invercargill and packed up to the pass by horses.  Along the way they packers had much difficulty with the heavy curved roofing iron and ended up axing it in half before reaching the site!  Although small, it became a haven and a welcome addition to the tracks comforts.

It was blown down three times during its 40 year service on the pass.  When it was flattened for the second time in 1947, many years passed before its reconstruction.  Thankfully Bill Anderson, hut keeper at Quintin during the 1950s and 60s gave up on waiting for a replacement and laboriously carted box wood lining, and bits of iron up to the pass week after week from Quintin.  He recycled the old foundations, the original door and roof, and parts of the walls found near the site.

At the beginning of the 1958 / 59 season a new “A” frame hut replaced the 1928 version.  This time all the building material was air-dropped in making much lighter work of it.  While this hut made the first one seem like a match box, the numbers of walkers requiring shelter at the Pass continued to increase and a larger addition was soon added.

In late 1967 the first National Parks Board hut was built on the pass to provide shelter for the new ‘freedom’ or ‘independent’ walkers.  This was to relieve the obvious pressure on the guided walks THC hut which was by now catering for up to 60 walkers.  IT had not long been in place when a huge gale lifted it from its foundations and disposed of it in 1968.  At the same time, the original 1928 hut rebuilt by Bill Anderson was finally blown off the pass and the second THC hut was also crumpled!

The force of the winds brought the THC and Parks Board together to build a new hut – another “A” frame hut that was in use through the 1970s.  In the early 1980s it was replaced again before being replaced once more in 2010 by the one that exists today (the sixth version).  So far it has managed to stand strong against the fierce winds crossing the pass at phenomenal rates – but for how long?  

Today, constructions workers encounter the same testing conditions but also face a different set of challenges with modern building requirements!

Using existing concrete foundations laid in 1982, the current hut’s construction began in February 2010.  With winter conditions approaching, workers had a small window of opportunity to complete construction.  The installation of temporary waorkers quarters airlifted in by helicopter (and secured with sacks filled with rocks!) enabled construction all day through most types of weather.  Even minor setbacks from one specific storm could not hold construction despite pushing the workers quarters a few feet off their foundations!  The hut was completed in May 2010. 

Cutting a track up the Clinton

On September 7th 1888, Quinton MacKinnon and mate Ernest Mitchell, left for the head of Lake Te Anau and set up base camp on the bank of the Clinton River.  As they blazed their track up the Clinton Valley they shifted their camp forward each day.

“It was fearful work,” wrote Mitchell afterwards, “through ‘lawyers’ (a prickly plant) and over rocks, the ground getting worse as we got higher”.  It rained continually for several days and everything in the tent got soaking wet.  Then the sun came out and their blankets became “a moving mass of blowflies”.  Mitchell’s dog raided two blue duck nests sucking all 14 eggs dry and doing the explorers out of a feed of pancakes.  But they were both arriving guns and they shot five kakapo for tucker instread.  They also tried kiwi, but found the “flesh far too rank for eating”.

As they approached the pass at the head of the valley they came to a pretty little lake which they named “Lake Beautiful” (later named Lake Mintaro).  “It was the loveliest lake I have ever seen” wrote Mitchell, “with bush on one side and tussocky slopes on the other.  Surrounded by a great amphitheatre of mountains it lay at the foot of the saddle, with lots of paradise ducks on it.”

On October 16th 1888 they hauled themselves up through the scrub and snow grass onto the top of the pass.  Unfortunately it was raining and the visibility was poor, but they groped their way along the pass toward Mt Balloon and descended about halfway down the far side where they camped for the night, fireless and supper less.  The next morning they scrambled down to the bushline and followed the left bank of the Roaring Burn down to a shingle beach where they killed and grilled a blue duck.  Continuing along the bank of the Roaring Burn they then intercepted Sutherland’s track close to his slab Beech but and left a message set on a stick.  The next day they continued out to Milford Sound.

MacKinnon wrote in Sutherland’s visitors book: “October 21st 1888.  Found good available track from Te Anau to connect with Sutherland’s Track at Beech Hut.  Found government maps very much out and the Hermit’s (Donald Sutherland) explorations very much in.”

Memorial Cairn

Today, a rough hewn cairn stands strong in the memory of their achievement.  The memorial is one of the most historical features remaining on the Milford Track.  After Mackinnon’s drowning in Lake Te Anau in 1892, the idea of building a memorial in his honour was raised by the Gaelic Society.  They raised funds over the next twenty years and with government assistance and also funds from the Otago Rugby Football Union, they were ready to have a memorial built.  The Gaelic Society called upon well known Dunedin stone mason, James Robertson, to undertake the task.  James, a Scotsman aged 67, was in two minds about accepting the challenging but prestigious task on top of the exposed MacKinnon Pass.  However he finally gave in and proceeded to Pompolona Hut in December 1914, accompanied by a labourer.  Here they based themselves, walking up the pass every day.  They collected blocks of stone from near the site, then dressed and fitted them using a limestone mortar.  The circular corn was created with a space left for the final Celtic cross and sandstone inscription plaque, which were added later.  The stone work was completed on April 25th 1915.  The rigours of the climate at an altitude of 1100 metres took its toll on James’ health and in July of that year he passed away.

Donald Sutherland

In 1888, Donald Sutherland cut a track to the Sutherland Falls and built a simple slab hut.  He had been commissioned to do so by Cheif Surveyor of Otago C. W. Adams, who was bringing a team of surveyors to map the Arthur Valley, measure the height of Sutherland Falls and hopefully find a route through to Lake Te Anau.  Sutherland’s slab hut was built to accomodate the surveyors, who moved it closer to the river.  It became known as Beech Hut.

In 1897, two corrugated iron huts were built on the present site and collectively they became known as Quintin Huts, named after Quintin MacKinnon, the first guide and discoverer of the MacKinnon Pass.

The lodge has been developed on the same site ever since and remains the only main lodge on the Milford Track not to have been destroyed by fire or avalanche.

Sutherland Falls

On 10th November 1880, Donald Sutherland and John Mackay obtained their first view of a high waterfall cascading down a sheer face of rock in three great leaps.  Naming it the Sutherland Falls, Sutherland estimated that it was between 3,000 to 4,000 feet high.  A generous figure which he later increased to 5,700 feet, but which surveyor C.W. Adams eventually cut back to 1,904 feet (580 metres).On this same trip they had discovered the Mackay Falls, naming it after John Mackay.

William (Bill) Anderson

Bill and his wife May were employed by the Tourist Hotel Corporation (THC) as hut managers at Quintin Hut in 1950.  This was the start for Bill of a 30 year relationship with the Milford Track.  In 1973, Bill built a replica of Sutherland’s original Beech Hut on the same site as the original.  He used hand-pit-sawn timber and traditional methods in its construction.  His most famous exploits were in the exploration and creation of the Anderson Track, a loop track on the true left bank of the Staircase creek, from which a person could obtain a full length 35mm photograph of the Sutherland Falls.

Airstrip

Machinery for construction of an airstrip at Quintin Lodge was airlifted to the site by helicopter in May 1968.  Be February 1969, the airstrip had been completed.  This brought an end to the delivery of supplies by tractor, boat and packhorse.
These were now brought in. by light aircraft.  By the late 1990s, helicopter resupply had completely taken over from that of fixed-wing aircraft and the airstrip was left to be reclaimed by the native forest.

Ecology

Kiwi

There are resident Kiwi still found along the Milford Track and they can be heard calling at night.

There is debate about whether Kiwi evolved from a flightless ancestor, or lost its ability to fly.  But it does have a very small vestigial wing, with a tiny cat-like claw on the end.  This stumpy wing gave rise to the species’ name – Apteryx – meaning ‘wingless’.

Kiwi have evolved quite differently to other birds.

• They burrow like some mammals, and their body temperature is lower than most birds, between 37 and 38 degrees Celsius, just like a mammal.
• The kiwi’s powerful legs are heavy and marrow filled, like a mammal.  They make up a third of the bird’s weight.  The skeletons of most birds are light and filled with air sacs to enable flight.
• While most birds depend on sight, the kiwi relies on a highly developed sense of smell and touch.  The kiwi’s sense of hearing is also well developed.  It’s ear openings are large and visible, and it will cock its head to direct its ear toward soft or distant noises.
• A female has two ovaries – like a mammal, unlike most birds, which have one.  The chick emerges from it’s enormous egg, fully feathered and able to feed itself – which is very unusual for a bird.
• Kiwi plumage is hair-like, and it has cat like whiskers on its face and around the base of its beak.  These whiskers are likely to have evolved to help the bird feel its way through the dark.

Kakapo

While no longer found on mainland New Zealand, Fiordland was the last stronghold for the Kakapo.  The species has declined drastically since the introduction of mammalian predators.  The surviving individuals were all taken to predator free offshore islands in an attempt to bring them back from the brink of extinction.  Early Maori and European explorers in the Milford area relied on this unique bird as a source of food.

Like the Kiwi, the Kakapo has evolved in a very unique way.

• The Kakapo is the heaviest parrot in the world.
• It is possibly the longest-lived bird species in the world; the low adult mortality rate suggests a mean life expectancy of 90 years.
• It is flightless.
• It is the only parrot that has a ‘lek’ breeding system.  Kākāpō don’t breed every year – that depends on whether there’s enough rimu fruit around for them to eat.  But when they do breed, they do it different to most!  In the breeding season, the male kākāpō can inflate like a balloon and emit a low ‘sonic’ boom which, in mountainous terrain, can be heard up to five kilometres away.  Breeding activity usually starts in about December, when male kākāpō take to prominent ridges, rocks or hilltops with low-growing vegetation and begin a courtship competition for female attention. This is known as ‘lek’ breeding, and is not known from any other parrot species in the world – or from any other New Zealand bird.  From its prominent bowl site, each bird inflates a thoracic air sac and emits a deep resonant non-directional ‘boom’ from its swollen body, announcing to any females in the area that he is ready to mate. After 20-30 booms they then make a high-pitched metallic call, or ‘ching’.  This pinpoints the male’s position, to direct the females to him. The booming and chinging serenade can last for eight hours without break, every night for 2-3 months in the breeding seasons when nesting occurs.  The males compete against each other, and can release thousands of ‘booms’ a night.

The kakapo is the heavyweight of the parrot world, with smaller females weighing 1.4kg and the males 2.2kg.  Fat reserves of a kilogram or more can be added prior to a breeding season.

It is thought that, many hundreds of thousands of years ago, the kakapo was probably a typical, lightweight parrot that flew through the air to travel and gather its food.  But the process of evolution without the presence and effect of mammals in New Zealand saw the bird give away its flying skills, put on weight, and become a good hiker and climber instead, with powerful claws.

Kakapo also have very strong legs, allowing them to walk several kilometres at a time.  Their wings are still large, but now have little more use than to slow it down when it leaps from the top of low trees and help kakapo maintain their balance while running or climbing.

Another peculiar habit of the kakapo is to freeze when disturbed, keeping absolutely still and hoping to blend into the background.  Most animals have evolved more useful forms of defence, such as taking flight; but the kakapo obviously did not need this behaviour in the days when New Zealand’s predators were birds.

New Zealand has more species of flightless birds – both living and extinct – than any other country.  They include kiwi, kakapo, takahe, weka, Moa, three flightless wrens and two adzebills.

One reason New Zealand has so many flightless birds is that, before humans arrived about 1000 years ago, there were no land mammals that preyed on birds.  Predators were other birds, such as laughing owl, eagle, goshawk and falcon.  With no predators sniffing them out, flightless birds could safely forage from the forest floor, living and nesting on the ground.

Flying takes a lot of energy.  With the ground being so safe, birds could save energy by walking.

Since people arrived in New Zealand, the forest floor has become a place of threat and peril for all New Zealand’s flightless birds.