February 7, 2026
Some background: a couple of years ago, Graham Meech asked me if I would be interested in going on the Milford Track hike. I didn't know much about it, but I liked the area, so I said, "sure!" Initially we were talking about doing the hike as independent walkers. But then Graham told me this hike was so popular that some luck was involved: only a limited number of hikers were allowed on the track each day: reservations for a spot would open up around Memorial Day weekend and usually they all sold out in about 10 minutes.
That did not sound very appealing to me since I wanted to have trip plans and other reservations made well before Memorial Day. A random internet search for more information about Milford Track led me to a website for Ultimate Hikes. This company allowed sign-ups for small group tours well in advance of Memorial Day, and they would take care of all meals and provide accommodations inside lodges instead of huts along the track. There were plenty of openings since this was not a cheap option. I talked it over with Graham, and he agreed this would be a good option. And then Heinrich came on board as well. So we made our travel plans, picked out a set of 4 days that would work for us, and signed up.
For more information, here are links to the Ultimate Hikes Milford Sound webpage and to an Ultimate Hikes PDF map of the track.
It rained overnight, and we woke up to find mostly gray sky. At one point the clouds parted and we saw a nice rainbow outside of our cabin.
I made a quick breakfast of blueberries and an apple, finishing our remaining perishable food. We checked out of the cabin and paid $15 NZD to rent a storage locker for our valuables that we did not want to leave in the car unattended for 4 days during our Milford Track hike. We also paid for parking to leave our car in the back lot at the holiday park: $25 NZD for up to a week.
We drove to the Ultimate Hikes meeting point at the Alpine Centre Cafe & Bar. We wanted to complete our early check-in before the rest of the group arrived from Queenstown. We found out that 5 people were getting on the bus at Te Anau (Graham, Heinrich, and myself plus 2 others) and 44 others would be arrving on the bus from Queenstown, giving a total of 49 hikers in our group.
We drove back to the holiday park to store our luggage and our car, and then Graham met us there to drive us back over to the Alpine Centre where he had paid to park his car.
Ultimate Hikes provided lunch for us at the cafe, and we got an early start eating before the rest of the group arrived from Queenstown.
We boarded the bus with our group and drove to the Te Anau Downs boat dock, where we got on the boat to take us across Lake Te Anau to Glade Wharf, the start of the Milford Track. The weather was completely overcast and spitting drops of rain off and on, but that didn't stop us from climbing up to the top deck to get the best views.
One of the highlights was passing the memorial grave for Quintin MacKinnon, the explorer who discovered the tourist route from Te Anau to Milford Sound that became the Milford Track. Many features in the area now are named after him. In 1892 he never returned from a lake crossing, and he was presumably drowned in Lake Te Anau.
We had quite a ride on the top deck, with only a few other people brave enough to face the weather. Most stayed in the covered cabin below. The following photos show our lovely views.
The boat also included some independent hikers not part of our tour -- the folks who were lucky enough to snag a spot on the track when the reservation window opened last May. They were first to depart the boat. The blue and white container shown on the deck in the next photo contained some disinfectant that we all were required to step in to clean the bottoms of our boots and hiking poles to avoid the introduction of nasty bacteria that could harm the area plant life.
Finally we were off the boat and ready to hike. First up was the token photo op at the start of the hike.
Then it was just a short 1-mile, 20-minute jaunt over to Glade House which was our lodging for the night.
At Glade House, a host checked us in and gave us our assigned rooms. We had just a brief stop to drop our packs in the room, and then we had a 2 km, 1.5-hour nature walk up the Glade Burn. We were split into 3 groups, taking off into different directions since the walk was a loop hike. Before the start of the walk I took a quick photo of the swinging bridge across the Clinton River. We would be traversing it at the start of the hike tomorrow.
The nature walk was interesting with our guide Harry pointing out various plants and what they were used for, and naming some of the birds that we saw. One plant had edible leaves, and he passed around a leaf that we could sample. The leaf was very spicy in flavor, and the more I chewed the spicier it got.
The walk itself was more strenuous than the first mile of the track since it was a steady uphill climb and involved stepping over a lot of tree roots. We eventually reached the top where there was a view.
We climbed back down the trail and completed the loop near the swinging bridge. We walked across the bridge and admired views of Glade House and the Clinton River.
After the nature walk we had free time to settle into our rooms. The lodge had drying rooms and facilities where we could wash our clothes if needed. A separate drying room was for boots and rain jackets where the heat was less intense, to avoid damage to the materials.
The bar opened before dinner, and Heinrich, Graham and I enjoyed a glass of wine or beer. Dinner was a sit down affair in a large dining room and was a 3-course meal. That morning during check in we were each asked to select from three main menu items: I chose the salmon and Heinrich chose the venison. It was very good.
After dinner the entire group gathered in the lounge where the guides gave a presentation about the history of Glade House and the area. The guides introduced themselves (there were 4 guides for our group), and then everyone in the group took turns making introductions. We got to hear where we were all from and why we had decided to make this trip. The guides then gave us a briefing about what to expect on the trail tomorrow and the schedule for the day.
We returned to the room and made sure to charge our phones. The generators turned off promptly at 10 pm, so there was no power overnight. And with no wifi or cell phone reception, it pretty much guaranteed I would be getting a full night's sleep, which was a good thing!