Milford Sound Travel Forum

I am walking the track in early March 2007 and would like advice on:

a. the best anti-sandfly stuff to buy,
b. is it best to bring along a small gaz cooker for personal use in the huts [or is there enough facilities there for all-even if all 40 want to cook breakfast at the same time], and, for lunchtime drink/soup etc., best to carry cooker, or a thermos filled with boiling water each morning?
c. are there books/mags aplenty in the huts or should I bring a paperback to while away the evenings?
brian

Hi Brian,
I would say take your small gaz cooker. It can get a bit mad in the cookhouse at the end of a long day, and having your own cooker can be a godsend. And you are right, to boil up for lunch is great. Remember carrying water (in thermos) is heavy, assuming you will carry cold drinking water as well. You can at least get water along the way for lunch, and if you are boiling it then you can drink it.
However, although it's normally a very wet area, when I walked it hadn't rained for days so all the small side streams were dry. Mostly though, there is endless water around.
Mags/books are there but not guaranteed, as they clean out now and then. I dragged a book along and didn't touch it though, did lots of talking and getting my gear ready instead.
Everyone has differing needs, of course. Hope you enjoy Milford, it's an amazing place! Remember even in March, it can get very cold suddenly down there.

Thanks kiwi,

did you have any trouble with sandflies? And was there a concensus as to what zapped the little ba5tard5 best?

Actually we had hardly any problem. Only on the last day as the rain appeared. I guess all I know about repellant is that it should have a good deet content.
The brand we take is called "Bushman Ultra - Professional Grade". The label says 80% deet.
I guess the Aussies ought to know how to make repellant huh ;-)
You can buy it in tubes in pharmacies, and often shops in Te Anau and areas near popular tracks, although they charge a heap if it's the "last chance" to buy anything. I bought mine in our local pharmacy. That way you can try it on your skin before you leave home to make sure you aren't allergic to it.
Covering up is the best repellant although the little critters have been known to bite thru openweave polyprops for example.
Reapplication thru the day is needed too. Where do you live?

Oops I see you live in Wellington. Katmandhu and any good hunting and trekking shop will stock good stuff too.

Hi, I went on the guided walk - with hot showers and 3 course meals - sorry should'nt rub it in. So I cant help yu too much - all the independants (AKA freedom fighters) seemed to have small gas cookers of their own. On the lat walking day there were quite a few sandflys, the advice we were given was walk faster they cant get you then. I am still working on my NZ pages but have posted a few milford track photos if you want to have a look at my pages. Jo

I finished the track a week ago and it was AMAZING. get anything with a high level of deet as insect repellant I used bushman combination sunscreen and repellant. you can pick it up when you get here. You will definitely need it!

we had no problems with quese for the cookers as people stagger when they leave the huts. those of us that are slower generally leaving earlier. so save yourself the weight and don't worry about the cooker. During the days only pass hutt at the top of mckinnen pass has a gas cooker to heat stuff. bring a pot of some kind for heating water / cookign etc. we had great weather so aside from at the top of the pass we didn't need anything hot. Some days teh valleys reached almost 30 degrees C though the top of the pass was closer to 3-5 degrees c so you will need something warm to wear if only for the walk across the top. Some of the huts have magazines or books on the native wildlife but it would pay to bring a book or an MP3 player with an audio book if you are worried about weight. especially on the first couple of days you can spend quite a bit of time in the huts with not much to do. Bring playing cards too.

oh and something we found out after starting is that all the huts have toilet paper but you will need to bring some for "emergency use" on the track or if some of the long drops have run out!

Hi Beemel,
thanks for that up-to-date advice; I was going to bring a book and the extra toilet paper, and I'll reserve judgement on the cooker till I get to Te Anau the day before my walk; if it's going to be hot, the cooker stays behind, if wet or cold, I'll take it along for the moral-boost of a hot drink at lunch.

Interesting that you mention sitting round the huts for ages doing nothing; I'd thought about this and decided that I was going to calc the distance for the day and try to ensure that I went as slowly as I needed to in order to get to the hut by 6-ish, having taken a few pictures and videos on the way. As I have been planning and looking forward to this for several months, I'd want to squeeze every bit of pleasure from the Walk. This, of course, will require some positive input from the weather!!

Thanks again for your advice.

Cheers
Brian

I never have enough time at the huts. The racey fast dudes take off and get to their hut by early afternoon and miss so much. One track I did they traversed the alpine area very early and everything was misty. Me being me, I was slow and the mist/fog had lifted and I got the most gorgeous photos. That evening I was showing them to everyone on my ARchos viewer, and the speedies asked me "What time of year did you walk it when you took those photos?". I looked speechless at them and replied "about 6 hours ago!!". They hadn't seen any of the view at all.
One mistake many people make is that they go too fast and don't take enough stops to sit and appreciate the amazing place you are in. Its quite likely you will never be there again, so my advice is to take your time. I often take a book and never even open the cover. Remember you don't have electricity so when the sun goes down it's dark. candle light only. (or lamps/headlights).
The weather down in Milford can be boiling hot one day and a blizzard the next. A hot drink midday can be a savour if you can take just a small burner for that.
Of course it's possible you could drag it along and never use it. However being prepared for the likely change in weather is far wiser, in my humble opinion. Truly, that area is notorious for very fast weather changes at any time of the year. Be sure to pack an emergency (silver) blanket. IF you happen to hurt your legs and can't walk, it's imperative to be able to conserve body heat.
hey I'll wear my VT cap or something, so look out for me, around and about. Have fun!! Pam :-)

Hi Kiwi,

yup, got the silver blanket and will take your advice with the cooker.

Took me a minute or so to work out what a VT cap is!! I was thinking VT Commodore, Very Technical, Very Tall, etc (doh!)

Anyway, thanks again; I've made a mental note to look out for the person in the Very Tall Cap

Brian

hahahahaha. Sorry it's site language :-)
I just saw on tv that the temps have dropped remarkably down there. so I'm feeling better about dragging my warm clothes along :-)