Month: February 2026

February 18, 2026

Our first full day on Stewart Island was packed with activities. It rained overnight and we woke up to an overcast morning. But the weather forecast looked good for it to clear in the afternoon.

We walked over to the local bakery and bought some treats. This was also one of the places where we could reserve a sea shuttle to take us to the nearby Ulva Island. We reserved the 10:30 am shuttle and scheduled a return time of 3 pm.

The shuttle left from the Golden Bay wharf which was about a 20-minute walk from our room. We had over an hour to spare, so we took the scenic route via a couple of trails (Fuchsia Walk and Raroa Reserve Track) through the forest to get there.

The sea shuttle met us promptly at 10:30 am. It was a quick 8-minute ride to Ulva Island. Our plan was to hike the entire network of trails on the island. Ulva is a predator-free island, so there is a large variety of birds and native plant life with minimal introduced species.

We decided to hike to Boulder Beach. The goal was to take our time and look for various birds. The trail was very easy: flat most of the way. I am not a big bird watcher, but I have to admit I really had fun walking the trails. And we saw and heard quite a variey of of birds. Our first sighting was a kaka. This is a parrot that is considered to be threatened in many areas but is common on Ulva, so we felt lucky to have such a good view.

We arrived at Boulder Beach and had a water and snack break. We saw several oystercatchers running around on the beach.

Next we took the trail to West End Beach. By the time we arrived, the weather had cleared and it turned into a beautiful afternoon.

On the right hand side of the beach was a little sea cave that I explored. It was really just a big overhang and not a cave, but it was interesting. On the way back from the cave I saw three weka birds: two adults and a young one.

We turned around and started walking to the other side of the island at Sydney Cove. This was yet another pretty forest walk. We saw a few more interesting birds along the way, and we heard the calls from the kaka birds, but we did not see them.

We had almost reached the cove when we saw a couple of people ahead of us, staring into the forest. They excitedly whispered to us: kiwi! And sure enough, a large adult kiwi was grazing just to the side of the trail. After a few minutes it crossed the trail and then was grazing for several minutes on the other side. It seemed entirely unfazed by our presence. We watched it for about 20 minutes before it finally disappeared into the woods. This was the icing on the cake for me, to see a kiwi in broad daylight.

We continued on the trail down to the beach at Sydney Cove. Then we followed the path across the beach to the next short trail up to Flagstaff Point which had nice views of the area.

From Flagstaff Point it was just a 5-minute walk back to Post Office Cove Wharf where we would meet the sea shuttle to return us to the main island. Since it was still a little early for the boat, I walked back to Sydney Cove and saw a sea lion swimming in the water close to shore.

The water taxi arrived shortly before 3 pm, and we took the quick jaunt back to the wharf at Golden Bay. The experience on Ulva Island greatly exceeded my expectations. Even before we found the kiwi, it was a really fun day walking around on the trails. The bird sounds were prolific, and the native forest was beautiful.

We took the 20-minute walk back to our room, and then we walked over to the hotel restaurant for an early dinner.

At 7:30 pm it was time for our next adventure: the Wild Kiwi Encounter tour with RealNZ. This was a 4 to 5-hour tour that started with a boat cruise around some of the outlying islands and ended with a walk on the trails in Glory Cove, the southernmost point we've ever been, to search for kiwi. During the boat cruise portion of the tour we would look for other wildlife: penguins, sea birds, fur seals, and sea lions.

The tour left from the ferry terminal and used the same boat that had ferried us over from Bluff. There were 19 total people on the tour plus 2 guides, so the boat was very uncrowded.

The boat passed an island where we were able to view a Fiordland crested penguin standing outside a little cave. The guide told us that the penguin was probably moulting. This is the stage during the year when the penguins shed their feathers and grow a new set, and during that time they are unable to go in the water since they lose their waterproofing. For a couple of weeks they must stay onshore. Although the penguin was a bit far away, I was able to get a photo. This was my very first sighting of this type of penguin.

Next we passed by Bench Island where we were hoping to see some of the yellow eyed penguins in the water or onshore, but we didn't see any. The boat continued on to an area where we were able to see a group of fur seals hunkering down on the rocks. They are hard to pick out in the next photo: look for the darker black objects on the left side that resemble rocks.

The boat circled back to Bench Island for a second attempt at the penguins. This time we found them: three hoiho were standing on the rocks near the shore. They didn't move around much and just stood there the entire time that we watched them.

Our next stop was a rocky island where hundreds of shag birds were resting.

Near our stop at Glory Cove was a beach where many sea lions were hanging out.

The boat docked at Glory Cove, and we got ready for the kiwi spotting portion of the tour. First we listened to a talk from the guide on what to expect. The rules for the hiking portion of the tour were much stricter than what we had encountered with Beaks and Feathers. We were to walk single file at all times and make as little noise as possible. We were not allowed to take our backpacks with us. We each received a flashlight that we used to point down at our feet at all times: enough light to see where we were going. We were split into two groups: Heinrich and I were in the first group of 10 with our guide. I was at the front of the line. Shortly after we got off the boat and started the walk uphill, the guide turned around and asked me what I was wearing. Apparently my rain pants were making too much noise, and she asked me to take them off. Fortunately I had two more layers underneath and it was not raining! She slung my rain pants over the railing and said I could pick them up when we returned to the boat.

We walked about 20 minutes when the guide spotted an adult kiwi close to the trail. It was a very good viewing with the kiwi not bothered by our presence, and everyone in the group was able to get a good view of it. We watched it for about 20 minutes, and it was still there when the guide said we had to move on.

After about another 10 minutes of walking, the guide spotted another kiwi. It was a juvenile and was very actively moving around. I was not able to get any good photos of it, but we watched it for about 5 minutes before it moved out of sight.

For the second half of the hike, the guide had us switch places so I was now at the very back of the line. But that turned out okay since we did not see any more kiwi. We returned to the boat, I retrieved my rain pants, and then we settled in for the half hour ride back to the ferry dock.

It was after midnight when we returned. I thought it was a good tour and interesting to compare it with the Beaks and Feathers kiwi experience where the spotting rules were more relaxed. I think that is due to so many kiwi on the Beaks and Feathers tour that we were almost guaranteed to see at least one, where with the RealNZ tour it required more luck to see at least one, and some of the tours might not get to see any.

February 17, 2026

Overnight we got a good night's sleep, meaning we didn't hear the penguins unfortunately. We woke up to unchanged weather conditions: raining and windy. We checked out of the house and drove to a viewpoint of Porpoise Bay for one final look around. Porpoise Bay is adjacent to Curio Bay, and it is actually the bay where our rental house was located. It's called Porpoise Bay because a pod of Hector's dolphins resides there. I had seen the dolphins frolicking in the bay on both of our previous visits in 2019 and 2023, but this time I didn't see any. I think the weather and waves were too rough to spot them, or maybe they went elsewhere in those conditions.

We drove to Bluff, where the ferry to Stewart Island was located. We made one brief stop along the drive: Niagara Falls. The below caption and video explain it all.

We arrived early for the ferry, so we did a quick drive up to Bluff Hill. In 2023 we had nice views at the top. This time it was completely fogged in and there was no view. We did get a view when we got beneath the fog layer on the way back down.

We drove to the overnight parking area for the ferry and found the parking lot to be completely full. Even worse, we just missed getting the last spot since a car just ahead of us grabbed it. We found another unsecured 24-hour parking area next to the ferry terminal. We weren't sure if we would be able to use that area for multiple days, so we asked inside at the check-in counter for the ferry. We were told we could use it: the other option was to wait until passengers from the incoming ferry returned and we could grab one of their spots. Since we did not want to wait that long, we decided to use the unsecured area. Then it was another 15 or 20 minutes of fumbling around as we had to download a parking app to our phone, establish a log in, and then pay for the parking using the app on the phone. Not a fun experience, but we got it done.

The ferry allowed one checked bag per person, so we each checked one suitcase, and then we had small carry-on bags to take with us onboard. Then we waited until the incoming ferry from Stewart Island arrived, and we got to say a brief hello to Graham who was on that ferry and on his way back north.

It was a one-hour sailing to Stewart Island, and the ride was a real rock and roll experience since there were lots of big waves with the weather. I didn't take any photos since it was all gray outside and we were just bouncing around in the water.

The ferry arrived at the town of Oban. It's the only town on the entire island, and it's very, very small with all of the amenities located within just a few blocks.

We checked into our room at the South Sea Hotel. We were in the annex building directly behind the main hotel building. Although we had a shared bathroom, it was never busy since only a couple of rooms used it.

In the afternoon I decided to go for a walk. The weather was still overcast, but it was not raining. I climbed up to the Halfmoon Bay Lookout for a view of the ferry area.

I continued on the trail to Bathing Beach. It was a fun walk through a rain forest. The start of the walk went through a tree tunnel. Overhead I got a great view of two kereru birds that flew to a branch close by.

The trail opened up to a nice view of BathingBeach below. It was low tide, so I descended the bluff to walk the beach.

Then I crossed the road and walked up a hill to a cemetery where there was a view of Bathing Beach from above.

I returned to the room, and then we walked down the street to the Kai Kart takeaway, where we ordered fish and chips for dinner. The half scoop of chips that we shared was huge!

The real fun began later that evening when we went on a kiwi spotting tour with Beaks and Feathers. This was a small group tour with only 10 people. The guide drove us in a van to a private strip of land next to the airport. It was a large grassy area where we could easily walk around. The guide used a bright red light to spot the kiwi, and then she dimmed down the light to give us all a chance to view the kiwi and take non-flash photos and videos.

The kiwi are not disturbed by the red light. In fact, they have very poor vision, but their hearing is excellent. We had to remain as quiet as possible to not disturb the kiwi. We were able to observe seven kiwi that night. It was drizzling rain for the first half of the tour, but then it cleared. The drizzle did not affect the kiwi sighting. The first kiwi that we saw was a juvenile, and he did not like our presence. He ran away after just a few seconds.

Most of the other kiwi that we observed were adults and more tolerant of our presence. I took many videos and photos. The two below are my favorite.

The tour lasted an hour and a half, and then we were driven back to our room. It was a late night, past midnight when we returned, but well worth it.

February 16, 2026

At about 3:30 am I finally heard what I was hoping to hear: the little blue penguins making noises under the house. There were several minutes of on and off squawking. The sounds were fainter than what I had heard while here in 2023 and appeared to be coming from a different location under the house. It was still fun to hear.

In the morning we woke up to cloudy skies, cold, wind, and rain. The bad weather continued all day long. We didn't have much planned for the day, so we spent it enjoying the wild and windy views of the ocean and waves from the house. We built a fire and relaxed.

In the evening I made spaghetti and salad for dinner.

After dinner we made one more attempt to see the yellow-eyed penguin at Curio Bay. The weather was still wet, cold, and windy. A few other hardy souls joined us on the viewing platform. We were there for about an hour but were unsuccessful in our attempts to see the penguin.

The penguin viewing area overlooks a petrified forest. Below are some of the views from that evening.

We returned to the house and enjoyed another fire to stay warm.

February 15, 2026

It was mostly cloudy when we checked out of the AirBnb in Dunedin to travel south to Curio Bay. We enjoyed our stay at the AirBnb: it had a wonderful view outside and was very quiet and private.

We stopped at a PAK 'n SAVE supermarket on the outskirts of Dunedin to stock up on groceries for the next few days and then filled up on gas. Then we drove south into the Catlins area. We had driven this route twice before so had already seen most of the major scenic areas. Today we made a few stops at places we had not been before.

Our first stop was Papatowai. I hiked a short nature trail: Shank's Bush. It was a short walk through the rain forest and viewed a small estuary.

At a second stop in Papatowai, I hiked to Picnic Point. This was another easy walk through an old growth rain forest that led to a small beach where the Tahakopa River empties into Tahakopa Bay. There were some nice views of the bay.

We drove on to stop at a couple of nice lookouts: Skeleton Point and Florence Hill, which was one of my favorites from the trip in 2019.

Our next stop was the Lake Wilkie Track. This was a stop that we had missed doing inn previous trips due to time constraints. It's a very short hike to a view of Lake Wilkie.

We arrived at Curio Bay and checked into our accommodation for the next two nights: the Cloud 9 vacation rental. We had stayed here before in 2019 and loved it. It has sweeping views of Porpoise Bay from the kitchen, living room, and bedroom. It is also the place where little blue penguins nest underneath the house, and we heard their loud calls in the middle of the night in 2023. We were hoping to hear them and possibly see them again.

We drove up the road to the visitor center to ask about penguin sightings. In 2019 we saw one hoiho penguin at Curio Bay: he put in a regular appearance almost daily just before dusk as he waddled in from the ocean, across the beach and to his nest in the bush. We did not see the penguin in 2023. This year there had been many sightings: the guest book inside our rental house mentioned sightings just a few days ago. The lady at the desk advised us to wait for the penguin between 7 and 8 pm.

We drove back to the house and fixed dinner: sweet and sour chicken and rice. , We enjoyed the views from the living room until it was time to drive back to try to see the penguin.

Our efforts to see the penguin were unsuccessful. We waited for two hours until 9pm, and the only sightings were a few birds. The weather had deteriorated, and it was cold, damp and windy.

We drove back to the house and started a fire. The heat from the stove kept us nice and warm. We waited for the little blue penguin to appear, but we did not see or hear anything before we went to bed for the night.

February 14, 2026

We spent a relaxing morning after being out very late the night before with the blue penguins tour. It was a lovely weather day with partly cloudy skies.

We had scheduled the late afternoon tour with Clearwater Wildlife Tours which departed from The Octagon. We drove downtown a few hours in advance to walk around and have an early dinner. Heinrich decided he wanted to try the New Zealand version of Mexican food, so we ate at Amigos. It was very good.

After dinner we walked around The Octagon and did some sightseeing.

The Clearwater Wildlife Tours van picked us up promptly at 4:30 pm. It was a small group tour with only 10 people. For the first part of the tour, we drove into the Otago Peninsula and stopped for some nice views.

For the next hour of the tour we drove around two wildlife refuges at Hoopers Inlet and Papanui Inlet and saw many different varieties of birds.

Next we drove to Cape Saunders. This area of the peninsula is on private land, so the only access is via the tours run by the owners. Our first stop was to view a very active fur seal colony. Many pups were swimming in the water. They were fun to watch.

Our next stop was where the fun really began. Penguin viewing time! We were lucky enough to spot eight yellow-eyed penguins (Hoiho) on the beach and near their nests.

We watched another adult penguin waddle up from the beach. The two juveniles got noisy wanting to be fed. And then the adult waddled over to one of the juveniles and fed it!

After that fun display, we walked down to the beach to view a group of sea lions. Some were resting and others were moving around and got a bit playful.

While we were on the beach we spotted three more Hoiho penguins standing in the bush, but they were too far away for me to get any good pictures.

On the drive back to Dunedin we made a final stop at a volcanic crater and had some nice views before sunset.

February 13, 2026

We woke up to a cloudy day with some intermittent rain. It was a 3 hour 40 minute drive to our next destination, Dunedin, via the route through Raes Junction which we had not driven before. I had planned to do some short hikes at Gabriel's Gully, a gold minng area, but when we arrived the weather was still very wet and cloudy, so we skipped the sightseeing and drove on to our AirBnb in Dunedin.

We had booked the Otago Peninsula In-Depth Tour which started at 6 PM and departed from The Octagon area in downtown Dunedin. It was only about a 10-minute drive from the AirBnb. We left a few hours early to allow us time to find parking and get an early dinner at one of the restaurants. It's a good thing we left when we did, because finding parking proved to be difficult. The first two lots we drove to were full, and then we finally found a parking garage at Lower Moray Place that was just a short walk away from The Octagon.

All of the driving around left us with less than an hour to eat. We found the Pizza Bar that could serve us each a slice of pizza quickly, and we managed to arrive at our meeting place with about 10 minutes to spare.

The tour was 5 hours and drove us in vans up to the tip of the Otago Peninsula to the Royal Albatross Centre where we would join the Blue Penguins Pukekura Experience. This is the tour that allows us to view the little blue penguins as they come ashore after dark each night and return to their nests. I had wanted to book just that tour which was a lot cheaper since it didn't include the transportation from central Dunedin, but that tour was completely sold out several months ago. Booking the in-depth tour was the only way we could get access to see the little blue penguins. It did have the big advantage that we did not have to do any driving on the peninsula after dark on very hilly and twisty roads.

The tour made a few stops along the peninsula for some views and to see birds.

We had time before sunset to explore the area around the Royal Albatross Centre. The winds were calm, so we did not see any albatross (they like wind). But we saw plenty of gulls. They were noisy and we saw gull poop everywhere

We gathered inside the albatross centre for the start of the penguin experience. First there was a presentation on the penguins, their behavior and what to expect. Then we all walked to the viewing platforms near the beach.

I barely had time to get the camera set up when I spotted the first group of penguins. Their behaviour was to gather in a group out at sea close to shore, forming a "raft." Then as a group they swam to shore, forming a "waddle" as they ran across the beach. Then they slowly picked their way up the rocks onto a path that led to their nests.

The guide was suprised that the first group came in so early. After that, we only had to wait a few minutes before another group came in, and another.... and the later groups got quite large. Occasionally we would see a straggler penguin make a go of the shore run by itself. These were referred to as the hero penguins.

Viewing conditions were very good. Periodically the guide had us switch sides to allow everyone a chance to see the penguins run from the beach as well as waddle up to their nests.

Penguins were still hanging around the area when the lights were turned off. The guide counted over 115 penguins for the evening. This was a very enjoyable experience: the penguins were just so darn cute!

February 12, 2026

Today was a rest day in Te Anau. We were both exhausted from the past few days of non-stop go on the Milford Track where we had to follow the group schedule and had little free time. Heinrich had developed a couple of blisters on his feet during the last couple of miles on the track, so we did not want to do anything to aggravate it. Tomorrow starts another round of get up and get going early with a few short hikes scheduled on tours of the Dunedin area: yet another reason to take it easy today.

Weather-wise, it was a very nice day: mostly clear in the morning, and more clouds in the afternoon. Temperature was in the low 70's, a bit humid but otherwise pleasant.

We enjoyed the luxury of sleeping in and then cooked an egg and potato breakfast. In the afternoon we took a short drive to the Te Anau Lake control structure, where the water from Lake Te Anau empties into the Waiau River. This is also an access point for the Kepler Track, another one of the great walks in New Zealand.

Heinrich found a bench with a nice view of the lake to rest his feet, and I took a short hike on the Kepler Track on the section that followed the Waiau River. The forest along the trail was different from what we had seen on the Milford Track. It was still lush with moss and ferns, but there was not as much undergrowth.

We returned to where we had parked the car, and I took another short walk to a bike trail access on the other side of the Waiau River. I found a good spot to view the river and the control structure in the distance.

Afterwards we stopped briefly at the Fiordlands National Park Visitor Centre to look around.

We drove back to the room and used the outside grill again for dinner. We had pork noisettes, rice and apple sauce. Delicious!

February 11, 2026

The final day of our tour included a morning boat ride in Milford Sound followed by a bus ride back to Te Anau. In the early morning it was still dripping rain and the clouds had not cleared. For a brief moment I managed to see one tiny spot at the top of Mitre Peak uncovered by clouds.

We had a final breakfast with the group and also made another round of sandwiches to take with us on the bus for lunch. Then we checked out of our rooms and took the short bus ride back to the harbor for our boat trip on Milford Sound.

I was first in line to get on the boat, and I headed straight to the top deck to snag a good viewing spot at the front. We were on the large Real NZ boat, so there was plenty of room to move around. At the beginning there were only a few others on the top deck.

We had a nice view of Bowen Falls and many other intermittent waterfalls on the journey.

The weather was still very drippy with rain. We reached Seal Point, and it started to rain harder just as I was trying to take a video of the one fur seal that we saw. So far my wildlife score for this entire New Zealand trip is 1: for this fur seal. (But don't worry, much more is to come in a few days!)

The rain finally stopped after we passed Seal Point, and the weather progressively got nicer.

The boat turned around for the return trip as it approached the opening to the Tasman Sea. We experienced some rocking with the waves coming in from the sea.

We had some interesting lighting as the sun tried to break through the clouds.

We stopped at Stirling Falls, where the boat came as close as possible to the falls and let people get wet from the spray if they desired. I was already wet but chose to stay on the top deck for photos and videos.

After we left the falls, the weather improved rapidly and we finally had large patches of blue sky.

We passed close to Bowen falls before returning to the harbor.

And at the very end we had a pretty good, but not perfect, view of Mitre Peak.

This was our third boat ride on Milford Sound, and all three were different: the first trip in 2019 was cloudy with no rain and very few waterfalls due to little previous rain. The second trip in 2023 we had clear blue sky with very few clouds, great views of the peaks, but again few waterfalls due to little previous rain. On this third trip we had the entire mix of weather conditions starting with drizzle, then rain, and then clearing with blue sky at the end. And this trip won the prize for the most waterfalls.

After the cruise we boarded the bus for the 90-minute trip back to Te Anau.

I took many photos from the bus window, but most are not very good due to the reflection of my phone on the window. Below are a couple of the good ones.

We returned to the Alpine Centre at Te Anau shortly before 1 pm, where we said goodbye to our guides and the others that were continuing on the bus to Queenstown. Graham drove us back to the Te Anau Lakeview Holiday Park where we picked up our stored car and luggage. And we bid farewell to Graham as our trip plans diverged at this point. We will be meeting him again next month to experience the geysers around Rotorua on the North Island.

Since it was too early to check into our motel, Heinrich and I drove to the Te Anau bird sanctuary, and we found a picnic table to eat our sandwiches for lunch. The table was near the Antipodes Parakeets enclosure, and we watched the workers set up new tree branches inside the enclosure for the parakeets to nibble on the leaves.

One of the workers looked familiar to me, and I called out to her: did you by any chance work here in 2019? She responded yes! It was the same person who had given us a tour of the bird sanctuary, and I had taken an extended video of her feeding the Takahe and explaining their behavior. Sadly those tours are no longer given due to lack of staffing.

I also asked her how the newborn Takahe chick was doing. And sadly we found out that the chick had died shortly after birth. She was hopeful that the pair would breed again soon.

We finished our lunch and then drove over to the Alpine View Motel to check in. We had a one bedroom apartment with a kitchenette. The motel was closer to downtown Te Anau and a 2-block walk to the lake.

Next we went shopping at the Fresh Choice supermarket to stock up on a new round of food for a few days.

Before dinner I took a short walk around the area. The afternoon weather was sunny, quite warm and not windy. It definitely felt like summer. I had a nice walk near the lakeshore.

Some pretty flower gardens were on the grounds of the motel.

The motel had an outdoor grill, and we made use of it to fix a nice steak dinner.

February 10, 2026

We woke up to a cloudy day, and the weather forecast was for rain later in the day. The hike to Milford Sound was the longest of the 4 days: 13.5 miles. Fortunately the terrain was mostly flat, leading slowly downhill to sea level.

We crossed a swinging bridge and shortly afterwards got a distant view of Sutherland Falls.

Continuing onward, we passed many small waterfalls generated by the recent rain. The hike was through lush rainforest once again. There was one rocky stretch of downhill that we had to navigate, and that along with my stops to take photos and videos, put us near the rear of the group. Graham was near the front of the group– maybe we would see him later.

Later in the morning we stopped to admire Mackay Falls and right next to it, an interesting pothole feature named Bell Rock. I ducked inside to take a look. I could stand up inside the rock to view the top of the pothole.

Traveling onward, the trail flattened out even more, but the weather started to deteriorate. Light rain was falling intermittently, and there were lots of large puddles on the trai and muddy areas. The rain fed even more waterfalls. The trail followed the shore of Lake Ada, and soon afterwards we started to see the flats leading into Milford Sound.

Finally we reached the shelter near Giants Gate Falls. This was the designated lunch stop for the day. I grabbed some snacks out of my backpack and downed some water. After 5 minutes Heinrich and I were ready to continue on to make up some time. Graham was already there, and all three of us hiked together for the final stretch. The boat at Sandfly Point, the end of the trail, left every half hour, and the guides had mentioned the night before that the goal was to get everyone to the boat by 4 pm. It was already 2:30 pm and we still had over 3 miles of hiking to go. Would we make it?

After passing Giants Gate Falls we started to run into day hikers that had taken the boat ride for a short hike to see the falls. For the final mile the weather got even worse and now was a steady light rain. The trail puddles got larger and it became much harder to avoid them. Of course the waterfalls got better!

Finally we reached Sandfly Point, the official end of the trail. Sandfly Point truly lived up to its name since the sandflies were really obnoxious there.

The guides checked us in and gave us our room key for the Mitre Peak Lodge. They provided drinks and cookies. I was thankful for the covered shelter, since it was raining even harder now. The time was about 4:10 pm, so we had missed the 4 pm goal time, but we were not the last to arrive. We signed a large numbered board for the check in, and the three of us number 36 to 38 out of 49. There was one final boat waiting to transfer us to the dock at Milford Sound. The guides said we would have about a 25-minute wait until the final hikers arrived.

We were told we should take time to get our final photo taken at the "end of the trail" sign before the last hikers arrived. And then, like some sign from the gods, it started to pour! So in order to get that one last photo I became completely drenched.

The official trail length is 33.5 miles, but Graham calculated we hiked a total of 38.3 miles including all of the side trails and the nature walk.

The final hikers arrived and we got on the boat that shuttled us to Milford Sound. From there we took a short bus ride to Mitre Peak Lodge where we checked into our rooms. Once again Heinrich and I got a really great room that was supposed to have a view of Mitre Peak, but there was no view since it was still pouring rain. I do think the reason we got such good rooms was because we were among the very first people to book this tour back in April.

There was the usual wine and drinks before dinner, and the briefing for the next day's activities occurred before dinner this time. Our final dinner for the trip was especially tasty.

February 9, 2026

Today was the most challenging part of the hike since it involved a steep climb to MacKinnon Pass and then an even steeper drop downhill to Quintin Lodge, for 9 total miles of hiking. Fortunately the weather cooperated and it was a gorgeous day with sunny clear skies. Although this photo doesn't show it, the view out the window from our room at the Pompolona Lodge was lovely with mountains and waterfalls.

Before starting the hike for the day, I had a few moments to walk around the lodge and take some photos. The view from the deck was similar to the view from our room.

Close to the start of the hike was a bridge with a limit of 1 person at a time to cross. This alone forced us to spread out.

The first few miles were relatively easy with a gradual climb through mostly open terrain. Waterfalls continued to be everywhere.

Mintaro Hut was out last chance to use the bathroom and refill our water bottles before the big climb to MacKinnon Pass.

At this point Heinrich told me to go on ahead. He was more comfortable at a slower pace, and there was a deadline of 4:30 pm to reach the lodge in order to be able to take a side trip to the highest waterfall in New Zealand: Sutherland Falls.

So I went on at my own pace. The climb to the pass for me was slow but not too difficult. I went at a steady pace and made a few brief stops for photos and videos. The views were spectacular.

At MacKinnon Memorial I met up briefly with Graham who had been ahead of us, going at his own pace. This was the group lunch stop, and the guides offered hot and cold drinks. I stopped long enough to take photos and grabbed a drink, but I did not take a longer break for lunch. That 4:30 pm deadline was very much on my mind.

Past the memorial there was one more brief climb to MacKinnon Pass. And then finally I reached the top. It was a great feeling to be done with the climb!

Next it was a short downhill stretch to Pass Hut, where I again met up with Graham. Many in the group took another break here, but I kept going. At this point I actually was near the head of the group which had just started out from the hut.

Th downhill stretch got steeper. Then came the really hard part. The main section of the trail was closed due to some wash outs. It was bad enough that I heard from one of the guides that it was permanently closed for the season. Instead we had to follow an "emergency route" that was 2/3 of the way shorter than the main route, meaning it was even steeper. And boy was it tough. Not only was it steep, but there were big rocks to pick through most of the way, and some wooden boards had been wedged into sections of the trail to form pseudo steps. Several times I was afraid I was going to lose my balance, but thank goodness I had the hiking poles which kept me steady. It seemed forever to get down, but eventually the path rejoined the main trail.

The main trail continued the steep downhill with a series of steps and wooden staircases. It followed a rushing river (Anderson Cascades) which was quite beautiful.

The steep downhill ended near the Anderson Shelter, where I had a bathroom and water break. I then trudged on through the final stretch to Quintin Lodge, arriving at about 3:15 pm and well before the cutoff time to hike to Sutherland Falls.

The host showed me to my room, which once again had a lovely view. I captured it this time on camera.

I finally ate my sandwich in the room for a very late lunch. I left my pack in the room, grabbed my water bottle and camera, and set out for the hike to Sutherland Falls. As I was leaving the lodge, I met Graham who was just checking in. We would meet up later at the falls.

The hike to Sutherland Falls was 45 minutes each way and described by a guide as 15 minutes of flat, followed by 15 minutes of climbing, and then another 15 minutes of flat. It ended up taking me about 50 minutes to get there. The climbing stretch in the middle was a bit tough with steep steps cut into the trail and some rocky sections. The trail crossed 2 swinging bridges. The view of Sutherland Falls from the second swinging bridge was quite nice.

The trail went to the base of the falls. It was a great view: the falls were very powerful and the wind was blowing the spray everywhere.

Graham met me at the falls and we hiked back together to the lodge.

Heinrich retuned from his hike a few minutes after I arrived back at the lodge. He had a tough time on the Emergency Route section, but fortunately he was able to borrow a hiking pole from one of the guides, and that helped him a lot.

The evening at the lodge was the usual affair with drinks, snacks, and charcuterie board before the 3-course sit down dinner. The ribeye steak was very good.