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A Camino "dry run" - what I learned from the Milford Track

SarahTheKiwi

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Planning 2024 Camino Frances
I've recently completed the Milford Track here in NZ. Absolutely loved it and would recommend it to anyone who is fit and can get through the ballot process. My friend had pulled out a week beforehand due to long-Covid exhaustion, and I was very nervous about completing the track by myself, but decided to go anyway. I reframed it positively - told myself that I would be arriving alone, walking, and meeting new people from around the world - not dissimilar from the Camino. So I considered this my Camino equipment testing "dry run". Here's what I learned:

  • I enjoyed a lot of time by myself, did some very deep thinking. Sometimes I didn't see another soul for two hours - and came to enjoy this and not be scared. I connected more with my surroundings.
  • Whenever I asked about a decision I was pondering or something I needed, a guiding hand was watching over me and gave me answers - I didn't feel alone even though I was in a very isolated place.
  • I don't sleep very well in hostel situations!
  • I can already pack light (yay!) - my pack was 7.5kg including 4 days of food and 500ml of Coke. Every day I got asked how come my pack was so small. I had everything I needed and had some food leftover.
  • Foot care is a priority! A hotspot or blister can overshadow an otherwise perfect day.
  • Leukoplast sticks to my socks and sticks my toes together. Obviously I've used the product in the wrong way, but I'm thankful for the chance to learn correct footcare ahead of my Camino.
  • I've become familiar with the intricacies of my backpack, where to pack certain items, how to easily find things. Better now than on Camino Day 1.
  • That I can walk for longer than I think - so long as I'm dressed for the weather, and my feet and stomach are happy.
There are probably more things I could list. The Milford Track was a life changing experience. I would recommend to anyone - do a 3-4 day trip away, use your Camino equipment, test it and get a chance to rectify things.
 

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Well done! I avoid the leukoplast unless absolutely necessary, and use hikers wool. The moment I start to feel a hotspot I pack it well, it binds to your socks and forms excellent protection.

Sleeping in hostels is an art. Not one I'm overly good at despite many many years practice! A great pair of ear plugs and a flight mask really help.

Impressed with your pack weight !
 
What's with the coke thing?
 
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Well done indeed. What a great experience and opportunity to learn really helpful lessons. I loved it when living out of my backpack became familiar and simple. Now, at home, I long for that simplicity and order. I'm working towards it but have a long way to go!
 
Camino Preparation Guide
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
I loved the simplicity of hiking life too! Get up, make breakfast, pack, hike to the next hut, eat dinner and collapse into bed. Life was the scenery around me, the people I met, and what I carried on my back, without the cares of a busy world.
 
dick bird said:
Now you can do the Routeburn and the Kepler, if anything they are even better than the Milford.
Click to expand...
Definitely! I have already done the Kepler, but it was when I was younger. I feel like doing it again because it would be a different experience now. I really love being above the bushline in the alpine environment, and the Kepler has plenty of this.

The thing I liked with the Milford was being with the same people from start to end. I miss them! I've already been watching YouTubes re the Routeburn. The ballot for these walks happens sometime in June/July - I will be onto it. In the meantime I'm going to keep practicing on hills.
 
The Great Walks are far harder in general than the Camino Frances. But it’s the day-after-day-after-day that gets you on the Camino. Things get stronger whilst others come out of nowhere.

I think your gear shakedown was a great idea as was the mental prep. You know how the Camino is similar to a hike and now you can discover all the ways it’s so totally different (these are 95% positive).

To repeat what others said above I’d highly highly recommend some earplugs. I used Mack’s Wax ones as they were far more comfortable and noise reducing. Something else that may apply is in regard to naps. Some swear by a good nap when they get to the albergue for the day. I can’t do it. If I nap I have a terrible sleep and will hear all kinds of stuff even with my plugs in.

Buen camino! You’ll love it.
 
Train on the 4-day Catalina Camino
Train for your next Camino on California's Santa Catalina Island March 16-19
We had some extreme good luck in 2016 to get early reservations for the independently walked Milford Track slots. They were first come, first served then and we had our slot within an hour of the slots being opened up for the season. The next year all six months of slots were filled within 15 minutes.

Our Milford hike came a year after our camino. You can see a white patch with a yellow arrow on Peg's pack. There is now a Milford Track one on it too.



I did hike the Routeburn about 50 years ago before it became a Great Hike (lowercase letters applied then).
 
I did much the same thing a week ago on the Kepler Track. Walked it solo - 4 days/3 nights in huts - and absolutely LOVED it. Gear and food was pretty dialed in and although I used a slightly larger pack than my planned Camino one, they are very similar and I've done miles in the latter as well. Met tons of wonderful people. By day 3 & 4 we had formed a large "Kepler family" . I'm looking forward to transferring my learning to the Camino Frances - I leave from Auckland on April 14! Starting in SJPP on April 17.
Buen Camino!
 
Asking in ignorance here. The slots that you are all speaking about. Are these to reduce the number of people on the trail, so environmentally good; for safety or ........? Do you have to pay to walk the trails? Just curious as I've never heard of this before.
 
Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Buen camino
 
Hi @Sue127
There are limited bunks in the huts (and camping sites if there is camping available) on the NZ Great Walks so you have to book and pay for your bunk or camping site. The actual Great Walks tracks are free to walk, but as multi-day trips in the wilderness you'd have nowhere to sleep. It's illegal to camp within, I think, 500 metres of any Great Walk track (except for the authorised and bookable camp sites). Given that you're usually either in dense bush or on narrow alpine mountain tracks, there aren't many suitable places to actually camp - although some people manage to do it, but pretty rarely.
 
Thanks for such a speedy reply. I guess that also controls the numbers to.
 
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Sue127 said:
Thanks for such a speedy reply. I guess that also controls the numbers to.
Click to expand...
Indeed it does and it's very necessary too. When the bookings opened for the 2023 season they were sold out within minutes. The numbers that want to walk these tracks is absolutely huge and it's completely unsustainable.
Incidentally this is not uncommon worldwide. There are many trails in the USA that have permit systems. In Canada, there are quite a number of hikes that require permits - some only during the season. The most famous, the West Coast trail on Vancouver Island, has required a permit for many, many years. Don't know much about the rest of the world!
 

I'm pretty much in agreement with @arfajajc above but I'm not a NZer so this additional information may not be totally correct.

The Milford Track has a set of three fancy huts, like inns, that you pay big bucks to use. Rooms, beds, linen, blankets, food and drink are supplied. Hikers can carry light packs. Bookings for these are made through private companies. Although the hike is four days the tour you pay for usually has some days tacked on on both ends. The hike ends at the famous Milford Sound and there cruises that can be taken.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) has three huts also. These have bunk beds crammed into rooms like albergues. You bring a sleeping bag. Also food but the DOC supplies stoves, fuel and, if I remember correctly, cooking pots and such. Bookings are made through the DOC, lately through a website. Apparently, from what @SarahTheKiwi wrote, there is now some kind of a lottery system in place to get a spot. Price is reasonable; I'm remembering the 2016 cost was about $40 per person per night. When you get your reservation you can easily pay extra for a bus to a boat launch and the boat to the trailhead and, at the hikes end, a boat to the road and a bus back.

During the DOC hiking season for this particular Great Walk only 40 people can use the DOC huts and 50 using the private huts. Traffic goes one way, towards Milford Sound. No camping is allowed during this season but day hiking is allowed. Outside of the season backpacking is allowed.

Expect a lot of rain. Bring good rain gear. The odds are good that at least on two days it will rain. The DOC can cancel your trip due to weather or trail conditions. You will be reimbursed your payment but that's it; you can't go the next day; the huts will be full with that day's hikers. The DOC may also extricate you by helicopter if things get really bad.

We were lucky so many ways. I remembered the International Date Line and got into the pool about a half hour after it opened. For about 30 seconds I thought I had another before registration started. Snow cancelled the hike the day before we started. We had four days without rain but melting snow provided the waterfalls the trail is famous for. McKinnon Pass was clouded over on our climb up but clear by the time we got to the top. Oh, Sutherland Falls, one of the world's tallest, was just a short hike off the track.
 
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Wow. Sounds spectacular.
 
Camino Preparation Guide
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
The US has about a dozen well known and loved trails and most are located within our national parks. Permits are needed to control their use, preventing overcrowding, and often are applied for many months in advance to secure a spot.
 
Hi @Sue127 . The Milford Track must be booked ahead, you must stay in the huts (no tents), and you must go all in the same direction and not miss any huts. This means an orderly system so that as many people as possible get to walk it and beds aren't empty. The walking season is October to April, and the ballot opens approx June/July before. The tickets are vacuumed up in minutes!

Yes you have to pay for the huts, and also boat transport to the beginning and from the end of the track. I guess the capped numbers help protect the track from overuse, but also it's for safety reasons. If there is a flood you can end up with 120 people in a hut made for 40, ie three days' worth of people backed up.

It's important to note the distinction between the private huts (Great Hikes) and the Dept of Conservation huts. I lot of people pay the big bucks for the Great Hikes because they couldn't get a ticket for the public hut system. With Great Hikes they get nice meals, don't have to carry bedding or food. You are actively guided. Cost is NZ$2,000 to $7,000 depending on whether you want a bunk room or private bedroom. With the DOC system you are called an "independent walker", you carry a sleeping bag and food and the only drying facilities are if the sun comes out. The DOC huts were $78 a night (but that's for a NZ citizen/resident). Overseas people pay more, as they are not NZ tax payers.
 
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Train on the 4-day Catalina Camino
Train for your next Camino on California's Santa Catalina Island March 16-19
I'm thinking that at some point there may need to be a similar system to control numbers on the Camino (or at least the most popular routes like the Frances), if they keep rising. Managing numbers at a sustainable level will preserve what makes the Camino so special in the first place. There are similar concerns about keeping tourist numbers at "sustainable" levels all around the world. Not sure how easily it could be controlled, but a limited number of pilgrim "credentials" handed out, and associated "Compostelas" issued might assist to manage numbers. But then there's the thinking that anyone and everyone should have the opportunity to walk a Camino...
I'm sure there are overpaid bureaucrats somewhere who could spend years - and millions of dollars - looking into it, and then likely do nothing lol.
 
I’m feeling old, reading this. My wife and I walked the lovely Milford track in 1999, when there was a ticketing system but I think we were able to book just 2 or 3 days in advance and I don’t remember it being very expensive. (Oddly, nor do I remember it being 4 days, but I know we walked it all!).

I have mixed feelings about restricting numbers for things like this; I appreciate the reasons but suspect it eventually makes them the province of the better off, which is just plain wrong. For sure the prices mentioned here would have been unaffordable for me if I was in my 20’s or 30’s again. One of the great attractions for me back then, of climbing and walking, was that it was largely very cheap, which was just as well because, as a manual worker I was very poorly paid.
 
Remember that the current minimum wage in NZ is $23 ph, that means that a night is still just over 4 hours wage after tax. Not cheap if you are on minimum wage, but still doable .
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
I see that the 50 slots for the tours in November 2024 are going from 2,750 to 3,545 NZ dollars (adults). The three nights for the 40 independent hikers in the DOC huts will cost about $330 for non-Kiwis (without the optional transportation).

Book Online - Ultimate Hikes

www.ultimatehikes.co.nz

Milford Track huts and shelters | tramping new zealand

tramping.net.nz
 
$110 (£50-ish) per night for a hut.... ouch!

Regardless - it's a beautiful walk and worth the money if you can afford it. Though I have to say we enjoyed and remember the Abel-Tasman much more and much better! The Milford felt a little too 'structured', whereas the AT felt more 'out there'.
 
KevinWilcox said:
, whereas the AT felt more 'out there
Click to expand...
If you really want more 'out there' , try the TA !
Following some guys on the trail now, at around day 100 they had 60 river crossings in one morning..... .
Yesterday, 1000m of elevation - followed by the corresponding descent. And at times the 'trail' is barely descernable. But beautiful - oh my goodness is it beautiful.

All going well, planning for 2026/27.
 
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Peterexpatkiwi said:
Remember that the current minimum wage in NZ is $23 ph, that means that a night is still just over 4 hours wage after tax. Not cheap if you are on minimum wage, but still doable .
Click to expand...
Yes definitely do-able if you are a NZ-er, though many people would need to put money aside prior - it's $78 a night (3 x nights) (payable upon booking) + around $250 for the before and after transport (payable some time before the walk - so the payments can be staggered out).

The Great Hikes prices - well that's a personal decision, and one that a lot of richer people do, who can't get a DOC ticket, or who want the "luxury" experience of not carrying food and bedding and maybe partaking of a wine in the evening. I guess it's the difference between a public auberge (DOC) and a private lodge (Great Hikes).
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
Well, if it’s any consolation, one’s a Brit, the other an American turned Kiwi. Now also accompanied by a Canadian woman - she’s the toughest/ most knowledgeable / experienced of the lot. A Park Ranger!
 
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