Milford Road Tripping

Sunday 8 February

Sometimes you don’t need to go to Milford Sound - you just need to take a road trip along the Milford Road on a beautiful (if chilly day) and enjoy the amazing sights in the sunshine.

So much to see - we packed a picnic and set off at 8am, with clouds low and drifting up out of the valleys.

Te Anau Downs, where Nickie & Russ will catch a boat to start their Milford Track walk next month, was the first stop, then on via a few small DOC camps, pausing at Totara Camp for river & mountain views as the sun broke through. At Eglington Valley we joined the coach throngs to marvel at the vast glacial valley ahead of us, before heading on to the stunning Mirror Lakes which were a tad restless and less reflective than usual.

However we loved watching the dishevelled baby bellbird waiting for mum to feed it and the pāpango duck diving & resurfacing constantly. As he popped up like a cork from under the lake, he emerged in a kind of umbilical sack of water, and the droplets just rolled off his feathers, exactly like water off a duck's back!

At Cascade Creek DOC camp we needed to stretch our legs so strolled round the Lake Gunn loop through damp, mossy, ancient rainforest, serenaded by birds galore and visited by a friendly kakaruai (South Island robin). The Lake Gunn Loop winds 1.4km through a magical, ancient rainforest loaded with mosses, lichens, ferns, burls and so many birds - we heard kaka and kākāriki & saw them fly overhead 💚 The DOC sign says it takes 45 minutes, but that did not factor in an extra 45 minutes spent taking photos of nature's beauty like a rainbow spider's web (did not translate to screen), steam rising off the damp mossy knolls as the sun shone through the canopy and the stunning tranquility of Lake Gunn itself as we stood there at the outlet and admired the reflection of the northern mountains around it.

Another major delay was the appearance of a fluffy kakaruwai, a South Island robin who just hung out on the path in front of us, waiting for our shoes to scuff up some tasty titbits from the leafy forest floor. Eventually the others moved on and I stayed, trying to capture some good images, when the wee fella hopped onto my trainers and pulled at the aiglets on my shoelaces, obviously hoping they might be tasty worms! Back at the carpark, another kakaruwai hopped onto a pair of trainers left outside a camper and had a good check around for tasty morsels! 🩶

After a picnic lunch back at the campsite (with added bell bird entertainment as a koramiko helped itself to harakeke flower pollen up and down each stem - wearing a good deal of the golden pollen on its head!) we headed to the northern end of the lake - just glorious!

Heading out of the valleys and up into the mountains, we checked out Pop’s Lookout, overlooking the Hollyford Valley and end of the Routeburn track that Nickie had walked previously.

Approaching Falls Creek there was an abundance of tall thin waterfalls streaming down the sheer mountainsides around us, but none as stunning as the main Christie Falls, nor the Hollyford River tumbling through the valley. We took time to enjoy the stunning waters of the Hollyford River (Whakatipu Kā Tuka) before marvelling at the churning waters of Christie Falls, thundering from pool to pool through the chasm; in one section just above the bottom cascade of the fall was the most rich glassy green 💚

Our final stop for the day was Monkey Creek where kea had been sighted half an hour earlier, but no sign of them when we arrived - but the view from here is spectacular enough to make up for that disappointment! Not sure what was up at Monkey Creek - but there was a policeman who seemed to be enjoying this call out as a tractor was brought in to take a fishing boat over to Milford Sound, while one of the guys BBQed burgers on the back of the work Ute! Only in New Zealand... 😉

We turned back here and drove back to Manapouri to meet Abby Fernandes who had arrived from Dunedin to join Nickie & Russ on their Kepler Track Great Walk.

Dinner at The Church (well, it was Sunday) - carb loading for the big walk ( even if Louis and I are only doing 10kms!) Then time to try out a flying fox (Russ and I declined as we were too full!) followed by a lakeside stroll before bed. Fernandi checked out the route of the Kepler Track along the far side of the lake, as they begin walking it tomorrow. Big day, bigger day for those three tomorrow!

Louis & I walked back to the NZMCA and stopped to smell the fabulous lilies at the campsite - absolutely stunning 💛