Milford Track

Late Oct-late Apr (Great Walk season); Dec-Feb longest daylight

Fiordland is one of the wettest places on Earth (6-9 m/yr); heavy rain, rapid river rise, snow on the pass any month

Sutherland Falls (~580 m) at fullest after rain; spring alpine bloom on Mackinnon Pass

Benched valley trail, boardwalk, rainforest, a graded pass climb and descent

Non-technical; well-formed benched track; Mackinnon Pass exposed to weather but not to fall

Excellent - Great Walk standard, signposted, boardwalked; solo fine

Fit hikers comfortable with 4 back-to-back days; not wheelchair; fixed one-way flow suits all abilities in season

Kea, whio (blue duck), South Island robin, weka; kiwi heard at night

Silver beech rainforest, ferns, alpine herbfields and buttercups on the pass

Booked-out and famous; capped at ~40 starters/day so the trail rarely feels crowded between huts

One-way only; side trip to Sutherland Falls from Quintin; no shortcut - boats set the schedule

Bus Te Anau to Te Anau Downs, then boat across Lake Te Anau to Glade Wharf; finish by boat from Sandfly Point to Milford Sound

Mandatory boats both ends + road transfers; package via Tracknet/Fiordland Outdoors; book with huts

3 DOC huts: Clinton, Mintaro, Dumpling (bunks, gas, no camping on the Great Walk); Ultimate Hikes lodges separate

Full wet-weather kit, boots; stream/tank water; almost no phone coverage; carry a PLB

Hut toilets, bunks, cooking benches (bring stove); no shops on track; Te Anau full services

Not required (self-guided); guided option via Ultimate Hikes (private lodges) is the only guided concession

Rain-driven flooding, cold on the pass, sandflies; off-season avalanche and unbridged rivers

No road exits mid-track; huts have radios/wardens in season; helicopter evac; register intentions