Stroke in New Zealand May 2002

TRAMPING ON MILFORD TRACK IN

NEW ZEALAND

By David Ray

May 2002

Reading the E-mails, stroke people and their caregivers are looking forward to spring. In New Zealand we are experiencing the season of autumn as we call it or "Fall" as named in America. This term seems to me to be more appropriate as the leaves on our fruit and other trees are falling to the ground. It is however, still warm here, which is perhaps, more evidence of global warming. In fact the weather forecasters say we are experiencing temperatures a few degrees higher that normal.

Our Stroke Club has not met over the last month because of illness of our nominated speaker. So there is little to write about on this topic. I thought I would write about some walks my wife and I completed before I had my stroke. This month I will cover our experience of the Milford Track.

The Milford Track is a tramp of four days through some very beautiful mountain country and native bush. It is in the South Island, in the Fiordland region of New Zealand. There are two ways of completing the walk, either as guided trackwalkers or freedom walkers. Guided walkers pay a premium for having to carry only their clothing. Accommodation and meals are included in the cost. Freedom walkers sleep in huts but must carry all their own bedding, food and cooking utensils. We traveled as freedom walkers and therefore we had to plan vary carefully what we carried in our backpacks.

The first day consisted of first a bus ride to Te Anau Downs, about halfway up Lake Te Anau. From there we were taken by launch to the head of the lake where Milford Track starts. This place is very aptly called Sandfly Point because the small creatures have a very nasty bite. Sandfly repellant is a must here and in fact everywhere in Fiordland. The walk on this first day takes about 2 hours along the banks of the picturesque Clinton River (which was not named for a previous US President). This is an easy tramp along a bush-clad track with views of the clear Clinton River where we quite often saw large trout. Above us were Fantails and other birds singing and chirping, competing with the sounds of the bubbling river.

The second day consisted of a steady climb over 12 miles to the second night's hut at the foot of the Mackinnon Pass. The walk was through the Clinton Valley, sometimes bush clad, sometimes over stony remnants of landslides, sometimes through cold (and I mean cold) streams or over narrow bridges but always though the scenery sometimes called "The most beautiful walk in the world.

The third day saw us climbed over the Mackinnon Pass, a steep pass 3400 feet above sea level. At the top is a hut where we had a welcome cup of coffee. The views of the surrounding mountains on both the upward and downward journeys were again spectacular. At the foot of the pass we left our backpacks in a hut while we walked on a sidetrack to view the Sutherland Falls, at 1094 feet high it is among the highest waterfalls in the world. We were very tired when we tucked into our sleeping bags that night.

The fourth and last day was an 18-mile walk mostly downhill to the shores of Milford Sound. Although the longest day in terms of miles the downhill terrain made it light work. As usual the scenery was magnificent with towering waterfalls, bubbling streams and the singing of the birds. It is really an idyllic walk. The end of the track brought us in view of Mitre Peak, which, as its name suggests, is a tall mountain shaped like a bishop's mitre. A launch met us at the end of the walk and took us to the settlement of Milford Sound where we spent one last night before returning by bus to Te Anau. But that is another story.

Sadly I am no longer able to go on these walks but I can go to the general area. I have walked the Milford Track twice and my wife three times - I did not walk the track the third time on the advice of my doctor. However I did travel to Sandfly Point with my wife and her party and returned in the launch. Four days later I drove to Milford Sound, went out in the boat to the end of the track and met the party there. However I guess I still have the memories and photographs. Before I had my stroke we tramped other tracks, which I will cover in future newsletters. More information on the Milford Track is available on the web.

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