1-5 April 2022

Leader: Glenda Robb

There was a fast turnaround for the seven of us who had tramped out from the Kepler Track the day before.

With washing done, extra food supplies bought, and Chris’s boot fixed (with the aid of Paul Michl and a large amount of silicon sealant) – we adjourned to the local pub for dinner.

There we were joined by Tony who made a last-minute dash to arrive in time after fog delayed planes from Wellington.

Fly Fiordland were providing the mini bus and plane transport to and from Te Anau and a call to them the evening before we left, reversed our trip. The weather forecast was better for flying the next day, so we were going to be walking out, not walking in – a great decision as it turned out.

At 8.30 am the next day we were in a minibus heading for Milford Sound. At Milford Sound Airport four of us plus packs headed to the plane while the other four had coffee and some photo time while awaiting the return of the plane for the second flight.

The flight was awesome! Out through a tranquil Milford Sound, up the wild, west coastline where the bush meets the sea, and a sharp turn down to a small grass airstrip at Martins Bay. From there it was little over an hour through the bush - where the bellbirds sang loud enough to make our ears ring - to the 24 bunk Martins Bay Hut.

The second half of our group arrived an hour later and after lunch we wandered up toward Big Bay, stopping to watch a large colony of seals and pups lounging on the rocks at Long Reef Point. Later there was time for a swim and a long lazy stroll around the lagoon and over the dunes to the sea. There is something magic in leaving your footprints in such a wide expanse of pristine sand and having time to enjoy such a special place.

It was down to business next day with a backtrack through the bush, up another grassy airstrip and past the Ngai Tahu-run “Hollyford Guided Walk” lodge, then through beautiful Fiordland forest before emerging onto the shore at Lake McKerrow. A long walk around the lake edge followed, with some time to explore the old settlement of Jamestown on the way. A boulder scramble on the track followed, through forest and gullies eventually leading to Hokuri Hut in time for a mid-afternoon swim.

Day three’s tramp was on the Demon Trail – and there is a reason it’s called that! Here the track was rough in patches, with slippery rocks and tree roots, some scrambling up and down, and numerous but well constructed three wire bridges. Fortunately for us, water levels in the creeks were low: Fiordland was in drought. We arrived at the Demon Trail Hut in time for a swim and later to greet three hunters returning after an unsuccessful day hunting – although much to their amusement Rob had photographed a stag 100 meters from the hut that afternoon. However, venison was produced for the meat eaters in our group so they must have had some success the previous day.

The next day a couple of hours walking lead us to the southern end of Lake McKerrow, skirting around the lake edge before a morning tea stop at the McKerrow Island Hut.

We watched a guided group flying in by helicopter and boarding a jet boat on the lake, but hey, we were enjoying our trip, the sun was shining, the scenery was magnificent and we were happy trampers. A few more hours walking over rocky terrain lead eventually to the long Pike River swing bridge and a bit further on, to the large Lake Alabaster Hut. It rained in the night and poured down at times next morning – just in time to make the waterfalls spectacular for our last day.

We were pretty wet on arrival at Hidden Falls Hut but the track was Great Walk standard on this section and easy tramping. We had time for early lunch and a brew. Another two hours on and more rain, and we were crossing the Humboldt Creek and out to the road end where we squeezed ourselves under a smallish shelter to put on dry clothes and wait for the mini bus back to Te Anau.

Those on the trip were:

Chris Keating, Glenda Robb, John Sturgess, Matt Freeland, Rob Dey, Sue Pate, Sue Sparkes, Tony Quayle