We left Invercargill fairly early on Monday morning, anxious to get to Milford Sound and do as much as we could. The drive in is completely beautiful; you're surrounded by these looming mountains, and there are waterfalls everywhere. I counted 10 before we even checked in to the lodge. The drive also includes a tunnel through the actual mountain, so that was a pretty cool adventure in itself.
We arrived at the Milford Sound Lodge (highly recommend it if you ever make the trip) around 2:15, and we decided to take advantage of the rarely gorgeous day we had before us. We walked down to the waterfront area, which was stunning, before heading back to the lodge to consult the bros at the front desk regarding some secret hiking spots.
I didn't think I could fall any more in love with this country...but that was before I visited this place.
Alright, so now to the story you've all been waiting for. In the photos above, there is a waterfall just beyond the sort of point you can see in the middle. Elise had been to the base of those falls a few weeks prior with her friend from home, and was anxious to show it to us. However, she managed to get the reception bro to tell us about a secret trail that led to the top of the falls. Being the young adventurers that we are, we thought this sounded sweet. He drew us a few rough sketches of where to look for the start of the path, and mentioned that it may be a bit slippery because of all the rain they'd been getting (super common in the Fjordlands). We promised to be careful and bounded off.
We managed to find the tiny entrance to the "path" with little trouble, and the hike started off fine. We were careful with our steps, as promised, and were careful to avoid the abundant patches of wet moss, large mucky puddles, etc. About fifteen-twenty minutes in, the hike began to steepen. Sharply. This was somewhat expected, as we were trying to reach the top of a waterfall. We marched on for awhile, until the steep hike turned into a full on climb. There were insane tree root holds, rocks, fallen logs--previous hikers had tied ropes, and without them there were spots that literally would have been impassable. We were climbing hand and foot, trying to avoid slipping and sliding on the wet rocks and moss (this was impossible). After a while, we noticed that Sam was struggling a bit--it was then that we discovered she was carrying roughly 20 pounds in her backpack and was wearing converse. (In her defense, I was definitely struggling as well-none of us had a clue of what we had gotten ourselves into). Elise, Sasha, and John decided to bound up ahead, while Thomas, Sam and I decided to take it a bit slower. The climb was honestly ridiculous. There were some German bros behind us and it was evident that they were struggling as well, so that made me feel a little better about myself.
Anyway, after about an hour and a half of straight climbing, we came to a pipe. The reception bro had mentioned something about this, so we took it as a good sign that we were on the right track. We climbed along the pipe for awhile, which grew increasingly difficult, both because there were no tree roots to use as holds and because it was really wet all around it--this meant that we had to hold on to the tow ropes for dear life and pretty much pull ourselves up that way--not the best feeling on your hands when the rope is wet. But anyway, after we climbed like this for awhile, the "path" sort of stopped. We realized that the only way to continue was to actually walk on the pipe. It was probably about a foot wide, so it wasn't like a balance beam or anything, but it was a bit intimidating at first. It turned out to be way easier than the death climb though, so we actually enjoyed that part (maybe not Thomas so much, but boys don't have as good of balance as girls generally, so that's not his fault).
Thomas looking surprisingly cool on the pipe.
So, we walk on this pipe for like twenty minutes, and then we come to a rickety ladder sort of wired to it. We could see the rapids that turned into the waterfall at this point, so we knew we had made it to the top. We descended down the ladder, and proceeded to head downstream to try and get to the dropoff point of the falls. This was my favorite part of the climb, because it reminded me of the rocks I used to jump around on when we lived in Chicago. Lake Michigan had these huge piles of boulders as wave barriers, and I used to play on them like a mountain goat (According to my mother, anyway). So lucky for me, I was pretty sure of my steps in that setting. We traveled for only about ten minutes before we caught sight of the other three resting on the other side of the river. Sasha ran our way and gestured to the point where they had crossed, so Thomas and I took off our shoes and headed that direction. The current was decently strong at this point, but not overwhelming, so I managed to cross the first few boulders with relative ease. Thomas followed, and I held out my hand to help him onto the second to last boulder. It was at this point that he misstepped, and proceeded to fall into the rushing river. I screamed and managed to grab his arm, and he was able to sort of regain his footing while I pulled. It was so scary, and I'm not sure my heart has ever beat that fast. He wouldn't have died or anything, but he definitely could have been pushed further toward the waterfall or seriously hurt himself. Thankfully he was alright, just a small cut on his foot, but it definitely could have been bad. At that point we obviously decided not to press our luck, and went back to our side of the river. The water was freezing though, so Thomas was shaking like a leaf. We booked it back to where we had left our stuff and I made him take off his wet shirt and wear my dry flannel. It was about 4:45 at this point, and we knew we had to get back before it got dark, because we were all idiots and hadn't packed headlamps or appropriate gear on the off chance we would get stranded.
Me "mountain goating" it on the top of the falls.
I'm not gonna lie, the hike down was miserable. Our bodies were already screaming from the intensity of the climb up, and going down was really hard on our joints. The slippery conditions really took their toll at this point as well, and we all fell several times. I managed to land right on my left elbow, and I really thought I had broken it at first, but it's just a bone bruise and a small cut (as far as I can tell), so that's a relief. We made it after about 90 minutes, and we literally had a group hug when we reached the road. Never again will we be so reckless.
Our "After" photo, which features Thomas' soaked clothes, the aforementioned flannel, and numerous scratches, burs, and the like, that are invisible to the naked eye. Also hilarious.
Needless to say, we were incredibly happy to get back to the lodge, warm up, and eat some hot food. The other three left the waterfall about 45 minutes after us, and they were almost unable to cross the river back, so we were really thankful when they showed up. We all passed out around 9:30, exhausted from the strenuous day. We woke up decently early this morning, checked out, and drove to the Lake Marian track. It was foggy and rainy, so the hike we had wanted to do was a no go. About an hour in, Sam and my legs just couldn't take it anymore, as the hike we had been promised turned into yet another climb. I was concerned about my knees, as I've had lots of trouble with them in the past (and the right one was swollen after yesterday--yikes!), so I called uncle and headed back down with Sam. We had a lovely time climbing out to the river and taking our time getting back to the car, and the rest of the gang caught up with us about an hour later.
Me in front of the Marian River. I had to break out the rain jacket for the first time, but it was worth it!
ANYWAY, now on to more positive things. Today we drove to Queenstown, and the drive was BREATHTAKING. Hands down the most beautiful drive I've ever made. Mom, you are going to die. Dad, you are going to have to pull over at every. Single. Lookout. But man, is it beautiful.
I mean, really?!?!
Tomorrow we have our first full day in Queenstown, which I am really excited for! I didn't realize how beautiful it is, I thought it was just the adrenaline junkie's paradise, but there is a lot more to see than I thought. I can't wait to get out and explore. I'm just hoping for some more good weather!
Fun Facts/Updates:
-The house we are renting for the next three nights is beautiful. It's a refurbished barn, and the property owners (Tony and Trish) are the nicest old people ever. The land has sheep (a black one named Marmite!), tennis courts, and....a hot tub!!! We went for a nice long soak tonight and boy, did my muscles thank me.
-Good news about our Hike of Death that I forgot to mention: my hiking boots proved themselves to be awesomely waterproof. Despite submerging them in multiple puddles, my feet and socks stayed dry as a bone. I'm definitely glad I invested in them before I left KC!
-Speaking of KC, my beloved Jayhawks lost. I am so sad about it. Plus I brought my KU shirt with me (so as to obsessively wear it on game days), but now it's just reminding me that they're out. But oh well, at least they lost to a legitimate team this year instead of UNI or VCU (God, the horror.)
-Only 46 days until I meet my Aunt Susan in Sydney, Australia, and only 51 days until my parents come to Christchurch!! (Not that I'm counting or anything.) I CAN'T WAIT!
Tomorrow is a big day, so I will be posting tomorrow night as well. Get excited!
Cheers!
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