Milford Track, Day 1

The seed of an idea for hiking Milford Track, on the south island of New Zealand, was planted with a pretty picture and brief trail description that Jim read in Backpacker Magazine. The article consisted of the top 10 "classic" hikes in the world, which included Milford. After we learned we would be moving to Australia, he went back and clipped cut out the small blurp about the vague wheres, whens and hows. See the lure here.
The Logistics:
Milford Track consists of a 33.5 mile hike spread out over 4 days and 3 nights. As one of the best hikes in the world, it is very popular. About 14,000 people complete the track every year. To accommodate that many folks, it has to be regulated and organized.
For summer season, (Nov-April) you must register for your space. Only 40-44 trampers (the NZ term for hiker, bushwalker etc.) start off every day. You take a boat from Te Anau Downs to Glad Warf, the start of the track. You tramp a specified amount of miles every day to to a Hut Camp. You stay at 3 different huts, costing a total of $135 per person. The Track is one-way, so at the end you are picked up by boat at Sandfly Point, you cross Milford Sound to Milford and hop on a bus back to where you came from. Thanks for visiting, come again.
At the end of the day, having a flushing toilet is awesome:
Now this might sound a little cushy, but this hut thing is a fabulous idea. 14,000 people would have quite an impact on the pristine environment. By supplying the trampers with a place to sleep, a place to cook, and a place to do their business, the Department of Conservation is helping to do just that; conserve. And making some good money. Your other option is a guided tour. This tour costs WAY more. Guests stay in better lodging, do not have to carry food, and have their meals prepared for them. That's cushy.

We took a 2hr bus ride from Queenstown to Te Anau Downs. Then a 1 hr boat ride to the start of the Track.

Even though we picked the month with the least days of rain, typically only 12, it rained 2 of our 4 days of hiking. Day 1 no biggie, only 2hrs of walking.

First glimpse of the Clinton River.The soggy trampers arrive at the first hut, Clinton Hut.
It's just like summer camp, only unisex.

The rain stopped, yeah! This is the beautiful view of the valley from the helicopter pad.
Hut entertainment: Warden Ross leads us on a nature walk. His bird call skills were impressive.
The sun on the river.