The Milford Track is New Zealand’s most popular Great Walk. There are 9 Great Walks and the Milford can be fully booked up to a year in advance. I was lucky enough to pick up a cancellation and have spent the last four days hiking this amazing 53 km (33 miles) trek.

Fiordland, home of the Milford Track, is well known for its weather. The area gets around 9 meters (30 feet) of rain per year, needless to say I was prepared to get wet.

The beginning of the hike is reached by a 2 hour boat ride via Te Anau Lake. A short 5k walk from the boat ramp put me at the first hut for the trip.

The huts are basic shelters with bunks and a shared kitchen facility consisting of a few wash basins and gas cookers. Every hiker is required to stay at the designated hut each night and there is space for 40 people at each hut.

The second day started off very cloudy but as I exited the low elevation rainforest the sky began to clear and I caught some of the amazing views the track is famous for.

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Just to give you and idea of how rare it is for the sun to shine here, the warden at the first hut has walked the track over a dozen different times and has only had one clear day where the Mackinnon Pass was visible.

The remainder of the hike was accompanied by lots of rainy and windy weather. A couple of dozen impressive waterfalls rush violently as the fresh rainfall escapes to the valley floors.