New Zealand 2011 trip, Day 37, Feb 8th: Milford Track Day 4 - Dumpling Hut to Sandfly Point, back to Te Anau

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7:28am Dumpling Hut.

The rain has returned.

In the middle of the night, I felt a poke, and woke up to see Wendy hovering above. Must be a late night bathroom break opportunity to check out the stars. I got up, put on pants, put in contacts, and opened the fire door, to see Wendy staring up. I looked up, but there were no stars. All clouds. Bummer.

Made use of the restrooms since I was up, and tried to get back to sleep. Had an itchy foot, that only got worse if I itched it. Had weak sleep. Finally I got hit with a stuff sack, Wendy's wake up call…

The rain is noisy outside. Other's are already up in the room. We get up and cook breakfast in the busy lounge. Most people are leaving ~7:15am, for the 5-6hr hike today to catch the 2pm boat. We're fast, and plan to leave by 8:30am.

The warden says, "Cheer up. It might end soon." (rain).


A look towards the kitchen/lounge building at Dumpling Hut, in the morning drizzle. A look inside the restroom building, typical of all the Great Walk huts...

1:36pm Sandfly Point.

Reached the end of the Milford Track. The sandflys are terrible here…

We packed up, said good-bye, and were on the trail at 8:35am. The rain had let up, and we saw some views of pretty waterfalls. The river was gushing this morning.


We start the day heading down a partially forested valley, with water cascading down the steep mountains along side...





The mossy forest was very serene, and the finely manicured trail was a reminder that we were on the Milford Track, one of the finest in the world...


The photo-stitching messed up the fence, it was actually quite sturdy...


We checked out Bell Rock (1st pic), where we climbed underneath, and found a hollow cavity to stand up inside. There was an impressive Waterfall nearby too...

My trekking pole snapped in two early in the hike (I had accidently scissor kicked it yesterday while trying to swat flies on the back of my legs while walking, bending it severely). At least it happened on the last day, with a flat hike in store.

We don't see many people on the trail the 1st two hours. We drink from the streams, and stop at a few waterfalls.





The rain picked up as we reached Giant Gate Falls...

We're making great time, and decide to hang out at Giant Gate Falls for awhile, drawing circles in the sand to kill time, and admiring the view (probably better than waiting at Sandfly Point later). After 10-15 mintues, we decide to draw out a big heart, and write our names in the sand.


We hung out at this little beach, and ended up carving our names in the sand. It was a great way to pass the time, and keep moving to avoid sandflies...


Eventually, Kurt and Rebecca show up, and we show them our art work. We have a fun time chatting with them during the rest of the hike. A sign says Sandfly Point 1hr 45min, but we arrive in 75 min. Chatting makes the time fly, and there aren't many views on this last stretch of the hike.


Kurt took a pic of us. More gorgeous-enchanted forest...


We arrive at Sandfly Point shelter, which is packed with hikers waiting inside to avoid the ferocious sandflies outside. We join them.

Wendy eats some cheese, salami, carrots, and tomatos.

Everyone applauds at each new arrival to the shelter.

The sun just broke out. I can hear the sound of a motor boat getting louder. Time to get ready…


Fortunately, there is a shelter at Sandfly Point, to avoid the sandflies. They are ferocious here...

12:13am, Te Anau YHA

Back from an incredible tramp on the Milford, and already up late packing for the next (and final) one…

Everyone poured out of the shelter at Sandfly Point, and onto the 2pm boat. We waited several minutes on board, acting as meat for the sandflies, unable to move much in tight quarters to evade them. The rain stopped, and grand views of the towering mountains in Milford Sound were revealed as the boat began its 20 minute voyage to the Milford Sound terminal. Once moving, the sandflies were no longer an issue.


Looking out from near the dock at Sandfly Point...


Wendy's about to board...


We were glad to be moving, as the sandflies were attacking us while waiting to depart...


Mighty Mitre Peak was visible today, and infact, the entire sound was nearly cloud free. Our Milford experience had come full circle, returning to the Sound that we visited the day before the track started. After such an epic journey, where we experienced the wild wetness, exhilarating passes, and enchanting landscapes from the past few days, only the beauty of the majestic Milford Sound could cap the adventure with appropriate justice. The short boat ride was much more scenic than I anticipated, and I think the fairly tale vistas of Milford Sound resonated with all on board, as we triumphed over challenges together these last 4 days.


A look out towards Milford Sound. Mitre Peak is on the left...


The waterfall near Milford Sound was gushing...


We were lucky to catch 2 days of good views at Milford Sound (including our cruise 4 days ago, before the tramp)...

At the terminal, we boarded the 2:30pm bus back to Te Anau Downs. Kurt mentioned he found an extra pot holder in the kitchen when he left, and after a quick gear check, indeed it was ours that we had left behind accidentally. What fortune to have it returneded!

The ~1hr 45min bus ride out of Milford was incredibly scenic, with much more waterfalls streaming down the towering roadside cliffs than during our visit 5 days ago. The bus driver added some informational comments along the drive. We passed the Divide, where we popped out of the Routeburn track 6 days ago, and continued down to the Te Anua Downs carpark. The time had finally arrived to say good-bye to our brethren' on the trail. Kurt and Rebecca gave us trail names: Dehydrator (me) and Sapphire (Wendy). We wished Femke and Ivo good-byes, as they continued the ride into Te Anau, and gave Kurt and Rebecca a ride to their car at the Te Anua Downs Lodge. Our fellowship on the Milford was a major part of what made this adventure epic. We all exchanged emails, and I look forward to sharing this report with them, and welcoming them a visit to Colorado anytime. :-)

Wendy and I drove the 28km into town, stopping at the DOC to check out the weather for a tramp on the Hump Ridge Track in a few days. Excellent weather! Next we retrieved all our gear from the lockers at the holiday park ($10 for huge storage for both the Routeburn and Milford). Then we checked into our hostel in town, where we started some laundry after lengthy showers. We hung up the laundry outside in the evening sun and wind, then headed to the grocery store for salad supplies, and Watties tomato sauce for our fish n' chip dinner. I ran across the road to a Mobill Station, inquiring about a garage to get the windshield chip checked out. Apex said it would cost $350-$400 to replace (I didn't have insurance), so need to see if I can get it fixed before returning it. Found a garage that opens tomorrow at 8am…


Our locker storage at the Holiday Park across from the DOC in Te Anau was huge and cheap. All our huge bags fit in it. A look in our YHA hostel in Te Anau...

I dropped Wendy off to start making salad and cooking up some yams, then drove to our favorite fish n' chips place on the edge of town, and brought back 4 fish, and 1 chip. Dinner was excellent!


Mmm... Just looking at those fish n' chips makes my mouth water. They were SO good!

The weather started changing for the worse, so Wendy brought in the laundry, and hung it up in the room while I did dishes. Then we drove into town and found a Tomizone wi-fi spot, to use up some of our pre-paid funds.

It then came to the point of packing for the next 3 day tramp: the Hump Ridge. We still don't have reservations booked, since they never returned our call, but we're planning to head down tomorrow, and start the following day. We decided to haul in all the gear, and start packing our food tonight, to make it easier tomorrow. Our food supplies are finally starting to diminish, which is good, since we'll be done with NZ in 5 days.

Alarm set for 7:45am, so I can bring the car to the garage nice and early. I hear Wendy snoring lightly in the twin bed next to me, and others snoring through the walls, like a soft subwoofer. My legs and feet itch pretty bad from all the sandfly bites over the past 2 days.

Can't wait for the next tramp!

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