Milford Track’s delights
The delights of the Milford Track first open up as the little steamer Tawera towards the end of five hours’ run up the lake from Te Anau begins to push its way into the mountain fastnesses amid which Glade House is hidden at the head of Lake Te Anau. The rugged snow-capped peaks have been clearly in sight from Te Anau, 40 miles away, and now one is brought right to their feet. The course of the steamer bends to the left and then to the right, and leads to a sheltered basin shut in by precipitous but densely wooded mountain heights. Right at the mouth of the narrow Clinton Valley — the only break thereabouts in the mountain walls — is the little wharf at which the Tawera is berthed.
Glade House itself is half a mile or more of enticingly beautiful track through virgin beech forest. It is a foretaste of much that lies ahead. The rich and varied colouring of the mosses that clothe the ground and the trees charms every visitor. While the passengers enjoy this stroll their luggage is taken by launch up the Clinton River to the landing at Glade House. This well conducted accommodation house is very aptly named, for it is situated in the centre of a little open glade in the midst of the mighty forest.
The scene at Glade House after the arrival of the boat is a very busy one, reminding one a little of a railway refreshment room. The boat comes only three times a week and there is always a party waiting to return by it. Those who have just arrived are full of eagerness to be up and doing and off along the far-famed track. Immediately after dinner the necessary rucsac and oilsheet are handed out, and the tourists change into such clothes as they have brought with them for the journey.
...and drawbacks
Sandflies haunt the whole of the track and reach their very worst at the Milford end. Fortunately, they can be escaped indoors, but nowhere else. With rooms darkened and doors kept shut they cause no trouble inside but outside they make it impossible to lounge about or to pause for long. As soon as the traveller stops they cluster round in a great swarm and do their worst till he moves on again. Their fame has spread, with the result that most tourists carry some patent preparation guaranteed to drive them away or to repair the damages they have done.
The other drawback is the rain. It is not so bad at the Te Anau end as on the Milford side of the pass, but it is bad enough. The rainfall about the Sounds is currently reported to average 200 inches a year, but after what I saw of its abilities in that direction I should think that referred to a dry season. The rain, of course, is not an unmixed evil. Without it there could not be the wonderful growth of mosses and other luxuriant and varied vegetation, nor could there be the countless beautiful waterfalls that are so fascinating a feature of the Track. But the rain is a very persistent factor that should be known about and prepared for. — by George F. Inglis — ODT, 13.3.1926
