New Trip Report - Milford Track
Saturday 13 September 2025 
Milford Track
Milford Track
Fiordland National Park
24 - 27 May 2024
I decided to check out another great walk. I was joined by Kirsty W, Tim F and Chris L. We are doing this outside of the great walks season, which requires extra planning.
Itinerary
| Day 1 | Glade Wharf - Clinton Hut Milford Great Walk Track | 2.5 Hours 6 km |
| Day 2 | Clinton Hut - Mintaro Hut Milford Great Walk Track | 8 Hours 20.7 km |
| Day 3 | Mintaro Hut - Dumpling Hut Via McKinnon Pass, side trip to Sutherland Falls Milford Great Walk Track | 9.75 Hours 17 km |
| Day 4 | Dumping Hut - Sandfly Point / Milford Sound Milford Great Walk Track | 6 Hours 18 km |
Track Profile
Day 1 (Friday):
Today we got picked up from our accommodation in Te Anau (after arriving from Queenstown the previous day) and headed to Te Anau Downs for Fiordland Outdoors water taxi to the start of the track at Glade Wharf. The morning was cloudy and a bit of wind to make Lake Te Anau a little choppy for our boat ride.
Arrived at Glade Wharf after about an hour and immediately felt the cold wind starting to bite, so extra layers were immediately put on. After the start of the track photo, got our packs on and headed off on the track. The first part of about 20 minutes was easy going through the beech forest along the shores of Lake Te Anau / Clinton River to Glade House.
At this point it had started raining, with rain coats put on we continued on at a rather leisurely pace. We stopped several times to admire the views along the Clinton River and the wetland area.
We finally reached Clinton Hut after 2.5 hours, where we chilled out inside the hut and had a hot drink to warm ourselves up.
The weather since closed in, so eventually we ate lunch and had good chats around the table. Later in the afternoon the weather started to clear up, which we went outside. Noticed that it had snowed on the top of the mountains.
Afterwards we put on the fire and then cooked dinner. We had the whole hut so ourselves, so we moved the matressses to be infront of the fire.
After we went to bed, some more people arrived at the hut after taking the Dore Pass Route (why would you do it in that weather). They made a fair bit of noise and a couple of them had got injuries.
View looking up Clinton Valley from Clinton Hut | Photo Credit: Chris Foster
Day 2 (Saturday):
We got up to a bit of a cloudy morning. Had breakfast and then packed up ready to head up alongside the Clinton River. We kept stopping quite often to admire the amazing views of looking up the river valley with the snow capped mountains and the amazingly clear water in the river.
View of Clinton Valley and Hidden Lake | Photo Credit: Chris Foster
In the mid-late afternoon the weather started to change to rain, as we got closer to the hut, the heavier it got. There is new Mintaro Hut, so it is a bit further along the track. Once at the hut we got some wood in for the fire before changing into warm dry clothes. There were quite a few people at the hut tonight. Had dinner and then went to bed.
Day 3 (Sunday):
Woke up to a perfect blue sky day to tackle the McKinnon Pass. It is going to be a big day so we left as soon as we were ready at 9.15am. It was a climb to the top that involved a number of switchbacks at an easy gradient. The views down the Clinton valley were amazing.
Once we got to the top of the pass, the views have surpassed anything else we have seen. We spent quite a fair bit of time admiring the views. Then we continued to Mackinnon Shelter for a short bit, before starting the head down the otherside.
The downhill was long which involved going down one side before crossing to the other side at the head of the valley to continue down in the opposite direction. We passed several waterfalls along the way. We stopped for a late lunch at one of the shelters before continuing on.
Reached the track junction to head to Sutherland Falls, after much debate we decided to head to Sutherland Falls (highest waterfall in New Zealand at 580m). So we dropped our packs off at Quintin Shelter and did quick paced walk due to fading sunlight to the falls. It was amazing to view close up. Once back from the side trip, it had now turned dark, so headlamps were put on so we could see where we were going. After an hour, at 7pm we reached Dumpling Hut. Cooked dinner and then headed to bed.
View of Sutherland Falls | Photo Credit: Chris Foster
Day 4 (Monday):
Early start to the day, had breakfast and started getting going while it was still dark, to ensure we could reach our track transport pickup. After an hour the sunlight became available, luckly because batteries in my headlamp had gone flat. The ground and surrounding area was quite frozen.
Visited the sights of Mackay Falls and Bell Rock while alongside Arthur River. After a few stops along the way we finally reached the end of the track at Sandfly Point.
View of Mackay Falls | Photo Credit: Chris Foster
We had timed it perfectly because the water taxi had just arrived to pick us up and take us into Milford Sound. Walked round to the cafe to have some lunch before the bus transport picked us up to take us back to Queenstown.
This was a very enjoyable trip, and luckly that we had pretty good weather that was on our side for most of the time, although it was cold.
Maps
- NZTopo50: CB08 - Homer Saddle
Further Information
