New Zealand's Greatest Hike - Milford Track Part 1

a landscape tucked away in one of the remote corners of this planet it's one of the most beautiful places on Earth that's over 80 million years old and practically untouched towering waterfalls of mountain peaks Majestic fjords almost 5,000 square miles of endless breathtaking Vistas this is theide iconic landscape of New Zealand welcome to fjordland National Park whoa whoa whoa wait a second furland National Park is one of the wetest most rugged most isolated places on this planet it can chew you up and spit you out if you are not ready for the torrential rainfalls avalanches and epic terrain that you have to cross in order to experience this land good [Music] morning this whole place has totally come alive with [Applause] waterfalls this place will make you cry from the Beauty and ache from the pain and I'm a sucker for it which is why I'm embarking on the 5day for night 54 km 33.5 mile Milford track known as one of the greatest if not the greatest walk in the world this is fand National Park this is this is south island of New Zealand let's [Music] [Applause] [Music] go the Milford track has been on my list to do is a multi-day hike very very high up on the bucket list since 2006 when I first went to New Zealand and the Country Store a piece of my heart I call it my soul home a part of me is there and it will always be there so it is such an honor for me to be able to do one of the greatest walks of the world and share this journey with you and why this journey is not only so beautiful but also so epic so profound and Incredibly challenging the journey that we're going to go on together it's going to cover all of the emotions we're going to start with the beautiful heart of what it's like to be in the rainforest of fjordland and getting initially started on the Milford track this is also an incredibly challenging track when you go over the highest point known as the McKinnon pass because that is where the weather can change in a matter of minutes and then we're going to Traverse towards a very Bittersweet very beautiful and very satisfying end when we get to Sandfly point and have achieved 33.5 miles covering some of the most beautiful terrain I have ever seen to this day in my life now let's talk about what's absolutely critical to make the Milford track not only a success but keeping us safe there are only three designated lodges where you can stay overnight with a bed with proper accommodations and food over the course of 33.5 miles which means this isn't the type of multi-day expedition that you can just pitch a tent whenever you want to take a break no it's quite different we absolutely have to get to every single checkpoint every single day starting on day one when we take the boat from Glade Warf to Glade house so my journey begins at ultimate hikes headquarters in the heart of Queenstown New Zealand and then we do a very brief pre- chip briefing making sure everyone has all of the gear that they need and then this eager hiker who cannot wait to get the journey started gets to the bus a little bit earlier before everyone else to get my seat and then sit back for an hour and enjoy the beautiful ride from Queenstown to Glade Warf the bus ride in and of itself was awesome you get to go past the remarkables mountain range of Queenstown you get to drive past beautiful Farms where there are deer and sheep as far as the eye can see and then all of a sudden we see this beautiful boat w waiting for us to take us on the 1hour journey from Glade Warf to Glade house which traverses a beautiful sound in fjordland National Park and I will tell you one may think that a lovely boat ride sounds very comfortable and nice to experience which it is especially if you choose to stay inside and tucked away from the elements but I would highly recommend that you go to the outdoor seating be on the top of the boat feel what it feels like to be in this raw and rugged terrain because because part of what makes New Zealand so rugged and so epic is that you have these epic currents that come from the north of Australia to the south of Antarctica and they meet at the intersection where New Zealand sits so you are in an incredibly windy part of this planet and I will tell you as beautiful as it was to see the fjords to be able to look out in the distance with this awe and wonder of where will the track begin when will we turn that corner and see the spot where the boat's going to land where we can walk to our first Lodge for the night there's this anticipation and there's a nervousness too because the skies are ominous they're dark they're stormy and the wind is like nothing else I've experienced I couldn't even talk on the boat ride because the wind literally took my breath away all of a sudden we come around this Bend we could see the final docking area and all of a sudden it starts to feel real as we get off the boat and make our way and our first steps to see the site of the Glade house and also that sign showing the Milford track for the duration of this video it is highly likely that I will get bitten by several sandflies but I don't care because what's behind me is that kind of awesome I am surrounded by 360° of phenomenal fs and waterfalls everywhere that I have just found out app apparently change all the time based on rainfall and snow melt and they're always in different locations and it is so peaceful here there is no Wi-fi there's no cell phone reception it's just being out in nature and there's my bed for the night most importantly though what really matters it's not any of that stuff but what really matters is what's right here waking up on day two all of a sudden it hits and this is when our 33.5 mile hiking Journey officially begins we will be traversing 16 km or 10 miles from the Glade house to pomp palona Lodge that is our next checkpoint and the reason why getting to pompona Lodge is so important is because that is the closest Stop where you can rest your head for the night before tackling the biggest challenge of the Milford track on day three which is the McKinnon pass that is the highest and the most treacherous point on the trail but for right now we have our first mission to tackle for today and this early bird is ready to get the journey going this is the problem with being an early bird is that you're ready to go hours before I just wanted to get a sneak peek while there's no one else out it's a very rare opportunity to just enjoy the track by myself and to share with you so the first fun Crossing is going to be a series of Swain Bridges across the [Music] river just in the second mile of this track and already experiencing views like this that are phenomenal I have been walking the majority of today completely by myself I have somewhat strategically placed myself in between the fastest and theow lest group taking my time Meandering through the forests of the Milford track just be and it's the most beautiful thing so peaceful so quiet all you hear are water birs this track is one of the most fascinating places I have been in so all behind me you have this beautiful temperate rainforest filled with Ferns and Moss and lyan and trees just covered everything is so Lush and so green and then behind me you have this amazing Alpine environment where there is waterfall after waterfall after waterfall and these massive Peaks way way up here and then just this beautiful snow melt so it's really wild because you're seeing this rainforest climate and then Alpine climate at the same time it's such a strange and rare thing to experience it's probably part of what makes this place um so wet but most importantly so special and unlike really any other place you can see why this whole area is called Eighth Wonder of the [Applause] world all right just to give you a sneak peek of what day three is all about it is going over the highest part of the Milford track which is the McKinnon pass and that is what you see way way way way way in the distance covered in clouds right now and just popping out as a silhouette we have been very highly forewarned that the McKinnon pass will instantly become Alpine like conditions because of the 2,000t elevation gain I believe is what we're taking tomorrow and call me crazy but that stuff gets me super excited that's going to be like the best part of the trail you never know what kind of conditions are going to happen it could be total white out we can't see anything or could be phenomenal blue clear skies and it could do both in like 10 minutes so who knows but want to give you a sneak peek of what that is happening tomorrow you know it's really cute and true how excited I am on this day and this part of the track when I can see way way in the distance where the high point of the McKinnon pass is even though it's all covered in these dark and ominous clouds but I will tell you too that underneath that layer of excitement there's trepidation too you start to see the danger signs and the Avalanche signs and it starts to get really really real very easy to get comfortable as you're walking through the rainforest it's very comfortable it's relatively flat it's very peaceful you hear birds everywhere and you got everything that you need on your backpack but it's really important to not get too comfortable because as you're going to see in day three this train is going to challenge me and it's going to challenge me very very quickly because the weather and how quickly it turns it's a rude awakening I have no idea where the bus actually goes from here because it has been nothing but Trail for hours that's what they mean by the bus stop all right now that makes sense going to the right tonight and to the left tomorrow and that is the wrap for day two very excited for a hot shower I hope you enjoyed this nice comfortable ride through the 16 km of rainforest taking us to the pompona lodge where we successfully arrived at this checkpoint I will tell you that the dry rooms in each of these lodges were so critically necessary because there is nothing worse than waking up and putting on wet clothes that have not dried throughout the night so I will tell you this drying room literally took care of my clothes in about 30 minutes and it was essential because when you're about to wake up the next day and know that you're going into terrain wearing wet clothes can not only be dangerous it can actually be deadly it can cause hypothermia so this place while it's gentle and beautiful and gorgeous today it's no joke so you have to make sure that you take this really seriously as you can hear the buckets of torrential rain hitting the metal roofs silently not so silently teasing us throughout the night which is what we're going to wake up to on day three and that will not stop for several hours so I hope you enjoyed this nice little comfortable first step of our 33.5 milei Journey on the Milford track because buckle up it's about to get really uncomfortable really wet and really cold and I will tell you what's about to happen is one of the most difficult days of hiking I have ever had in my life and I loved every single minute of it on the next episode of explore this just walked in water that was up to my calves my feet are completely soaked [Applause] hey thanks so much for watching today's episode take a second and like this video then subscribe to explore this so you can get notified and when the next episodes come out where we're going to be seeking Adventure tasting the world and discovering everything so excited to have you with me I'm your host jenah Hana and I will see you next time

Channel: Explore This

Views: 839

Keywords: Travel, traveltips, topdestinations, travelvlog, travelblogger, traveladventures, exploretheworld, jenahana, explorethis, new zealand, hiking new zealand, best hikes in new zealand, new zealand travel, tramping new zealand, new zealand great walks, new zealand hiking, hiking in new zealand, new zealand hikes, new zealand south island, new zealand travel vlog, great walks new zealand, milford track new zealand, top hikes new zealand, best hikes new zealand, sutherland falls

Id: -A9_AfCGVm8

Length: 14min 28sec (868 seconds)

Published: Wed May 15 2024