Milford Track 5.06

4.9 star(s) from 90 votes
Te Anau Downs
Te Anau, 9600
New Zealand

About Milford Track

Contact Details & Working Hours

Details

The Milford Track is a widely known tramping (hiking) route in New Zealand - located amidst mountains and temperate rain forest in Fiordland National Park in the southwest of the South Island.The 53.5 km hike starts at Glade Wharf at the head of Lake Te Anau and finishes in Milford Sound at Sandfly Point, traversing rainforests, wetlands, and an alpine pass.The New Zealand Department of Conservation classifies this track as a Great Walk and maintains three huts along the track: Clinton Hut, Mintaro Hut and Dumpling Hut. There are also three private lodges and four day shelters available.The Fastest Known Time (FKT) is currently held by the American Brian Culmo in 6H55'HistoryThe native Māori people used the Milford Track for gathering and transporting valuable greenstone. There are many Māori legends about the track and the native species found in it.Coming in from the Milford end, Donald Sutherland and John Mackay were the first European explorers to see what are now known as Mackay Falls and Sutherland Falls, in 1880. At the Lake Te Anau end, Quintin McKinnon was employed to try to find an overland tourist route into Milford Sound, and in 1888 discovered was what is now named Mackinnon Pass; with his route becoming known as the Milford Track. He was the first guide to take walkers from Lake Te Anau to Milford Sound. McKinnon began by guiding tours himself and expanded with a marketing campaign from there. Many parts of the Milford Track are named for McKinnon, including Mackinnon Pass, the highest point of the track (although the spelling is slightly different). He also impressed with his "ability at cooking pompolonas, a type of scone from which one of the guided trip huts takes its name."