Photos

Another shot of Clinton valley. Trully "Lord of the Rings" material. This was the first time I did a multi-day track, so I will share some tips for those doing the Milford Track (unguided).

1. Travel light. If your pack weighs more than 15kg, you brought too much. It's not as cold as we thought and during the season, you will not need a jumper. Make sure all your clothes are quick drying and light. Do not wear cotton, it's heavy and soaks up water.

2. Food is heavy so make yourself portions that you will eat, rather than bringing whole bags of stuff, eg. I had premixed ziplock bags with musli, oats and dried milk for breakfast - just add hot water. Good breakfast and good dinner are important. Lunch can be light snacks, musli bars, packets of tuna, etc. Freeze dried dinner packets actually taste really good after a day of walking.

3. Water is more important than food. Bring 800ml bottle that you can easily carry in your hand and fill up from streams. No purifier required. You will be amazed at how clear this water is and it tastes better than any tap water I've ever had.

4. Prepare for rain. Rain jacket and pants are important and should keep you as dry as possible.

5. Get comfortable and waterproof ankle boots. Your feet will bear your weight and that of the backpack, so make sure your shoes are comfortable with thick soles, as the path is quite rocky at times (like walking on rough gravel). It is worth paying the extra money for special hiking socks, as they stop your feet from sweating, reducing the risk of blisters and they are usually padded and comfortable. You will often be walking through streams and if it rains water will run down the path that you are walking. Get shoes as waterproof as possible.

6. If you are keen on taking photos, bring a light tripod if you can, it's better than nothing. With all the trees around, there's less natural light, than I thought and I've found a lot of my photos slightly fuzzy. I wish I stopped and setup tripod more often.

No matter how the weather turns out, you will enjoy this track, especially if you've never done anything like this before.