Pyke - Big bay and Hollyford track circuit

Walk down three mile beach

A route for fit and experienced trampers only, which is off the beaten track, with numerous river crossings, possible flooding, bog's and very remote. These are some of the selling points to the Pyke - Big bay and Hollyford tracks. If we wanted adventure, we had signed up to the right route.

Start of the 9 day adventure

The Hollyford track had been on mine and Lucy's radar since our first visit to Fiordland. Often described as the logical step up from the great walks in the area. The Hollyford winds it's way through native bush, up and down the rocky demon trail and ends at the sea.

The Pyke - Big bay track starts after the first day along the Hollyford on the shore of the reasonably sized lake Alabaster. Everywhere you look DOC have labeled this route as a back country tramping route, to do in good weather and only for fit and experienced trampers.

We both decided the 10 day round trip would be a perfect introduction to New Zealand tramping for Lucy's sister Amy.

Morning mist

Morning on Alabaster Lake

Shores of Alabaster

The unhelpful words from the young male DOC worker at Te Anau filled my mind after escaping from the well maintained Hollyford track, onto the shore of Lake Alabaster. Wind blown trees, landslides and a lake you have to swim across...

We soon settled into the rhythm of walking. Helped by the backdrop of a perfectly still lake, capped by the snow clad granite mounds of the Darren Mountains reaching into the sky. After a couple of hours and countless knee depth wades around windblown trees, we figured we were half way down the lake. Considering the lake section was only meant to take 2-3 hours, we soon realised it was going to be a long day.

Bruce's boat

Amy enjoying the ride

An open section, looking back down the valley we walked

Luckily for us the local trail angel turns up right on clue. A 6" bearded kiwi that has an uncanny resemblance to Mr Birdseye, who apparently makes a living off the lake and surrounding bush. We later find out that Bruce gives almost everyone a lift, and despite him heading the other way, offers to give us a lift to the end of the lake, Winner!

After a very nice chat, a sightseeing tour of the local waterfalls and the offer of a freshly caught trout, Bruce delivers us to the end of the lake. Rested and slightly relieved that the tiny boat didn't sink, we headed back into the bush with the now added sense of remoteness. From here on in we knew we would be on our own and in the proper backcountry.

Amy's first river crossing (it got deeper...)

The vague description on the DOC brochure mentions, old tracks, flax mazes, black swamps, river crossings and a general sense of finding your own way from Alabaster to Big bay. But with a group of DOC workers having been through a week before us doing track maintenance. The track and markers were good and during our time on the Pyke - Big bay route we only managed to wander off the path a handful of times. The fact that the water levels were low meant we didn't have to worry about the possibility of getting to a river that was impossible/too dangerous to cross. We happily plodded through any crossings, with the deepest water only mid thigh deep.

A stream crossing

Splitting the 60k route into four days and an additional rest day at Big bay, gave us an easy approach to each day. We spent a sleepless night at Olivine hut chasing mice, a jungle camp spot near the Pyke crossing and two nights at the Big bay hut, before we reached the end of the Hollyford track at Martins bay. The rest day gave us a perfect opportunity to relax and enjoy the remoteness of Big bay. Hunting penguins and dolphins along the coast filled most of the day. As well as a creeping feeling that I should have bought ingredients to cook Paua, as the beach and hut was scattered with their colourful shells. We only managed to spot three dolphins in the surf. Just as the sun started to dip behind the mountains of Fiordland and the deep purpley-orange sky began to paint the sea in similar colours. Three darker, rounded fins, humped their way casually along the bay.

Start of Big bay's three mile beach

As we left the Big bay hut and started the lovely walk down three mile beach, towards Martins bay and the Hollyford track. There was a sense that we had already completed our trek and were on our way home and we had to keep telling ourselves that we had at least four more days to go...

Boggy ground all the way...

The relaxing day along the stoney beach, reminded me of the many days on the Whitby coast. Sun, clouds, rain and sea. Right until we almost walked straight into a Fiordland Crested Penguin. Stood 30 metres in front of us. Staring straight back at us. After that, the trail must have known we were getting too comfortable with the area, as it funnelled us back into the mass of flax which hugged the coast. After a few hours of flax bashing we were relieved to be at Long Reef, eyeing up fur seals from a distance and officially on the Hollyford track! A quick stroll down the track delivered us to Martins bay hut and the entertainment of surfers on a head and a half wave and freshly caught, battered fish, double winner.

Penguin

Penguin centre shot

Long Reef sunset

The feeling that we were now on the easy trail soon faded away after we passed the full Horuki Hut. The undulating demons trail managed to slow our pace back down and we were glad when we finally found a beach half way along. A short scramble down to where we could pitch our tents gave us a perfect private bay.

Tents up, chow down and sunning ourselves, we were surprised to see good old Bruce, chugging down the choppy lake with two trampers clinging on. Thanking him again, we said our goodbye's as he disappeared down the white horse capped lake.

One of the many wire bridges

Lucy on the wire

Wake up view

The relentlessly rocky and boggy trail finally gave way to the well maintained trail by Lake Alabaster, and the final day seemed to fly by in nice weather and an easy track.

The brochures of both Pyke - Big bay and Hollyford tracks, highlight the coastal wildlife as one of the selling points for the treks. Luckily we managed to spot; dolphins, penguins and fur seals. This coupled with the very low water levels made the whole trip relaxed and adventurous at the same time. Due to DOC and volunteers remarking and clearing some of the track, the trail was at a similar level to the demon trail on the Hollyford, in terms of ruggedness.

An amazing trip, with amazing views and an adventurous feel. I am so glad I took a mountain of salt with the 'advice' the DOC worker at Te Anua gave us. Our nine day adventure up the Pyke and Hollyford valleys, will be high on my 'best of New Zealand' list.

Standard ground on the Pkye - Big bay route

Beach spot along the Demon trail

THE shot of the tracks....

Finish! 

November Garmin VIRB videos

Back in June both me and Sam entered a competition to win a Garmin VIRB elite action camera, after a couple of weeks I received the email; 'congratulations you have been selected to be one of the 50 testers'. I was very excited having been chosen over Sam, my Dad and Paul. I accepted and was committed to uploading a video every month till December.

I have no experience using an action camera so when it arrived I was excited and a little apprehensive (Sam was like a kid at Christmas). Receiving the camera before we went to New Zealand was a blessing and has allowed us to video some of our adventures.

Our two videos from the great walks were taken in completely different weather and in turn give two very different videos. Even after 3 and a bit months of editing, I still seem to find new ways and guages to showcase all the extra information the VIRB picks up. GPS, speed, G-forces, altitude and I haven't even played with syncing it up to a heart rate monitor or other gizmos yet.

All in all a fantastic camera to share our travelling experienes.

Milford Track

Kepler Track

The Kepler Track; An adventure above the clouds

The Kepler Track is a 64km 'Great Walk' circuit on the fringe of New Zealand's Fiordland. It explores native beech forest, sandy lake shores and stunning alpine scenery. It was originally built to take pressure off the nearby Milford and Routeburn tracks but instead has turned into an easily accessible classic trip. You can run it, tent it, winter it or even day trip some of it. This is a super friendly track, which we decided to do in three days.

Two days after we had finished the Milford Track and we were again packing our bags for another 'Great Walk'. Once we had dried and sorted our kit, we knew this time was going to be different, this time we had clear skies and light winds forecasted. So with all our normal kit sorted I managed to convince Lucy that a bottle of wine was also essential.

Kiwi's!

 The 13.8km and 700m of ascent soon fell away to 4 hours of walking. The journey from road, to beech trees, to alpine tussocks seems to be becoming a familiar trend through NZ, but they always seem to give enjoyment and interest. We arrived at Luxmore hut in the early afternoon and settled in quickly. Luxmore hut coupled with the good weather forecast was my personal reason for buying into this 'Great Walk'. Being sat at 1080m and above the tree line, the views from the kitchen window are spectacular, with views of lake Te Anau and the Southern Alps.

Fern

Path to Peaks?

Stairs to Lake

Gap in the trees

Afternoon entertainment at Luxmore hut comes in the form of a limestone cave only ten minutes walk away. Being two of the first up to the hut that day meant we had the cave to ourselves and gave us the perfect opportunity for some cave photography. We weren't expecting too much compared to the Yorkshire pot holes and after a few tighter bits which had to be stooped and some photos we were content with our brief explore and returned to the warmth of the sun, this is earthquake country after all.

Cave entrance

Flow stone

Creepy flowstone

Meeting up at the hut with two doctors we walked with on the Milford Track, really highlighted the social aspect of NZ's Great Walks. Crisps, dips and wine on the huts balcony made for a fantastic night on top of admiring the view down to the lake and Te Anau flatter farm lands.
A clear forecast and a hut at 1080m, who could resist watching the sunrise? 6am and very cold feet, led us up the steps to the rise behind the hut and views across Te Anua and a beautifully coloured sky. Vibrant purple, mixed with a deep blue sky, framed by the dark valley and high clouds, gave a spiritual start to the day, quickly followed by a quick nap.

Lucky duck watching sunrise

Sunrise

Day break

The folks down at the Department Of Conservation (DOC) described the second day as six hours across the exposed tops and with our weather we didn't want a minute less. Big views across the seamlessly endless Lake Te Anau, a 10min summit detour and a cheeky Kea that stopped Lucy from using one of the shelter toliets, gave an unforgettable day across the alpine tops. The almost  first choice of beds meant we got a great corner all to ourselves and after the longest hut chat we've experienced (40mins) we took to Iris Burn falls for some night photography. A cracker of a day which we were sad to see end, especially as we knew the next day was going to be a long one.

Stairway to heaven

Big views

Clearing clouds

The cheeky Kea that stopped Lucy from using the loo

Haast eagle...?

Skyline

Iris Burn Falls

Stream

Bank and stream

From the Iris Burn hut back to the Control gates car park is 32km of fairly flat track, so we decided to make this our last day. We knew that we couldn't hang around as we wanted to finish in enough time to relax at the campsite before passing out. Although we had a good pace, we found it hard not to stop and soak in the amazing views at the spaced clearings. Lunch and a brief encounter of the ranger at Monturau hut and we knew it was time to move on, sightly jealous of the fun our Israeli friends would have at the hut chat that night. Despite what crazy old mountain runners say, I can definitely understand why people describe the last bit as 'the boring bit', 16km of flat winding track that in the end, I was glad I did. Suspension bridges, nice little views and the most important, the overall sense of achievement and completion.

Beach time

We chose to do the Kepler Track the day before we started it, when we knew we would have nice weather and the nice company of the lads we had already met. This coupled with the fantastic position of the track across the tops, made this trip one that seemed to nudge the recent wet memories of the Milford out of our minds. The Kepler has been a top NZ hiking experience for us and has created a very tough pedestal for the next adventure. The brochure claimed to deliver an adventure above the clouds and I am happy to say that it has lived up to its claim.

The long path home

Do you know the finest walk in the world? New Zealand thinks it does in the form of The Milford Track

The Milford Track is a 4 day, 53.5km (33.5m) trek in the heart of the Fiordland national park. Starting from the shores of Lake Te Anua it reaches the height of 1140m on MacKinnon pass before it descends to Sandfly point on Milford sound. Its considered the crown jewel of New Zealand's 'Great Walks' and books up months in advance. So when in September we booked on to the last two spaces for the 30th of October, the third day of the summer season, we were unsure of how our Milford experience was going to pan out.

The classic 'Gear' shot

New Zealand is full of great tramping, so with the title of 'The Finest Walk in the World' The Milford Track has a tough position to fill. There was definitely a mix of virgin 'Great Walk' walkers, like us and 'Great Walk' baggers who had bagged others of the 9 tourist luring 'Great Walks'. So we decided to give a lenient approach for 'the finest walk' and see what the Department Of Conservation (DOC) had to offer us in the form of logisticaly easy tramps and adventures in NZ and with the weather forecasting rain and wind for the most of it, our open minds seemed a good approach.

Scenic boat ride

Looking down Lake Te Anua

It was inevitable, from when we booked on to our first 'Great Walk' that we were going to get wet, especially when its the only one that books up completely and with cancellation fees it gives little room for the weather. Being the biggest national park in NZ and having the highest annual rainfall in the country it has to be experienced once in the rain right? But with an average of 200 days a year of rain and over 7 metres a year maybe it needs to be experienced in good weather too... for us it was wet.
Before we had even reached Fiordland national park we received our first indication of the trip, 'due to the persistent risk of avalanches along the track, the purchase of helicopter transport will need to obtained before departure', just when we thought summer was on its way, a timely reminder that this was only the third day in the season. A quick YouTube of Milford sound road avalanches settled our negative thoughts and anyway a $95 ride was at least cheaper than the touristy Queenstown ones.

Looking up Lake Te Anua

A Black Robin seeing if we would offer any food

The adventure started with an hour boat trip up lake Te Anua, with free tea and coffee, spectacular lake views and local history and tales from the skipper made the time drifted by as we left civilisation and onto the shores of the wild. The 5km to the first (Clinton) hut was a relaxed warm up to the days that followed. Well maintained tracks made for easy going and holding 4km/h is an easy task, but why rush? The DOC timings are for 3km/h and after photo, snack and tomfoolery stops we seemed to be roughly on time. We had been warned about the sandfly's on a number of occasions, but on arriving at the hut and having what seemed like swarm's appear around faces and boots, we knew that not buying repellant could have been a big mistake. Once inside the roomy and comfortable hut we soon forgot the impending annoyance that waited outside. One concern we had just prior to starting the trek was the amount of time at the huts, with an average of only 6 hours walking a day. Even though there seemed like there was going to be a lot of down time, after a couple of chats with different people, a card game, a quick hunt for kiwi's and a trip to see some glow worms the night was soon getting late.

The first swing bridge

Swinging

Ferns

The biggest hoola hoop I've ever done

A wet night shot

The second day started with an unneeded early start, for 6 hours of walking an 8:30 leave was a little too keen, but we were heading into the heart of Fiordland and excitement doesn't work around clock times. 16km of steep sided, glacier carved panoramas lay between the Clinton and Minatora hut. This is were the avalanches threatened us the most, with regular reminders that we were crossing avalanche paths, the pace was steady. Although there was no snow on the ground around us, the threat was from the snow fields 1000 metres above us, hidden out of view by the steep walls and waterfalls. In between the avalanche cleared meadows which offered the scenic views of the impressive valley, thick jungle like woodland filled the valley. Once when walking round a corner I spooked what I instinctively thought was a pheasant, but after the split second of me jumping out of my skin and a whirl of feathers, I realised that it was the bird I was most looking forward to seeing, a Kea. Despite my best bird calls and waving of shiny things the gang of five mountain parrots aimlessly looked on at me from their tree top perch. Intermittent rain cleared for a couple of hours for the evening, which gave us the chance for some night time photography and kiwi hunting, while a few of the group headed for MacKinnon pass for a view of sunset.

View up the valley

A reminder

A cheeky Kea

Impressive

Lucky duck giving us blue skies

A dry night shot

Waking on the third day to uninspiring whether gave low motivation to leave the hut. This day promised to give the highlight of the trek, the highest point giving great views if the whether permits, followed by a descent to the Arther valley and an optional side trip to Sutherland Falls. As we ascended into the rain and clouds, we left the thick woodland and onto the snow tussocks of the alpine pass. Despite the 24 hours spent on the planes and the months already in New Zealand, whilst walking along the path on the pass with no more than 30 metres visibility, we had a moment or two of 'we could be walking in the Lake District right now and we wouldn't be able to tell...' that was until the giant 800m shoulder of Mt Balloon appeared through the clouds. Reaching the pass shelter gave a sigh of relief for everyone that day, the wind was cold and the rain persistent but the real challenge of the day was still ahead. The climb to the pass from the hut was 500 vertical metres but the descent to the next hut was 1000m of wet and sometimes slippy rocks and some amazingly crafted wooden walk ways. Needless to say the knees had a beating that day. Even with the uninspiring views of clouds from the pass, the hour and a half side trip to Sutherland Falls had to be taken, especially as you can leave your bag at a shelter to pick up on your return. The bright side to all this rain was the waterfalls, they were appearing everywhere and approaching the colossal 580m Sutherland Falls, we were greeted with a drenching spray and a powerful roar. Standing beside the base of the roaring waterfall, drenched down to my thermals was easily the highlight of my trip and the buzz from that high lasted the next couple of hours until the hut talk from the ranger. "No one is to leave the hut tomorrow morning until I give the go ahead" were the words that instantly changed the psyche of the trip.

Mt Cook Buttercup

Mt Balloon appearing briefly

Sutherland Falls with a big smile

Trying my luck

Sutherland Falls

The next day by 7:30am everyone is packed, eagerly waiting the call and it comes with the classic good and bad news. The storm is delayed till the afternoon but the road out of Milford is closed and it's almost certain that we'll be spending the night in Milford Sound... From the off this was going to be a sprint finish but the scenery and waterfalls still managed to distract us from the impending storm enough to stop and enjoy our position. Being British I like to think I know what rain and storms feel like but i now know 150mm at 22mm an hour feels biblical. Compared to London's 601mm annual rain this storm had a monsoon presence that relentlessly pounded our waterproofs till we were soaked to the bone. On top of the soaking, as we approached the final few kilometres we even got a light and sound performance from thunder and lightning that bounced down the valley. Needless to say when we arrived at the final shelter we were relieved to be out of the adventure and ready to make our way back to civilisation, or the semi civilisation that is Milford Sound, but little did we know the NZ adventure wasn't done with us yet.
The Milford Track is perfectly framed by two boat journeys, one into and one out of the wild, hard to access valleys. This in fine weather would give you the chance to allow your mind to adjust to and from trail life, but just as we started our journey back into normality we left the sheltered waters of Sandfly point and what seemed like lined up ground swell straight from the Tasman sea. The whoops and whails of enjoyment soon seemed to turn to nervous glances to the shore, as people calculated the swimming distance. The rollercoaster soon seemed to taper off and when we finally arrived at the dock we were greeted by a ferry terminal that looked battered down for a hurricane.
The next 20 hours were spent in a very windswept Milford Lodge, with food, beer, wine and a restless night sleep. The road closures report seemed to be stuck on repeat; road closed, reassess at another time. So when 10:30 came the next morning with a road open announcement the adventure had decided its self that it was time to end.

Wet

Waterfalls everywhere

Job done, almost...

Our first GW of NZ had started with a benign two days, which wandered up through impressive scenery and into the next two days of full on NZ adventure, with wind, rain, closed roads and snow on the tops. Its given me the impression that the touristy GW will give us a nice and pleasant trip if coupled with fair whether but if tackled with poor weather will give us the 'character building' NZ adventure that many people our after in the back country, just with the added support of rangers, well maintained trails and serviced huts. I personally changed my opinion halfway through the trek, from a tourist attraction that I had willingly fallen for into a worth while trek for all abilities and would recommend it for anyone who can justify the price to themselves and regardless of a few people missing flights and buses everyone else seemed to have a good time too.