The Milford Track is 33.5 miles long and crosses McKinnon Pass (1000 meters, or 3000 feet). It requires four days of tramping with three nights spent in the large and well-equipped huts. We had a bit of rain, but luckily the bad weather seemed to arrive in the evenings when we were safely in the huts, and ended by morning departure.

Day two, as we walked up the splendid Clinton River valley, was a beautiful, blue sky day. But that night, as we slept in Mintaro Hut, an unusually powerful front came though, bringing winds over the pass of 150 kph (100 mph). It slammed the hut so hard that a glass window was shattered, and we were quite anxious about our prospects for crossing the pass. In the morning we were told to remain in the hut till things quieted down, and indeed by noon when we left the hut the front had passed on leaving only light winds and a bit of drizzle.

It was a fabulous trip !

Mike Savage

mlsavage@paradise.net.nz