deer farming was the main kind of farms. The deer farms are mostly for the velvet on the antlers and not the meat. They do use some for the meat though. I am just wondering what they use the velvet for from the deer.
From the bus we hopped on the ferry that was to take us to the start of the Milford Track.
One thing nice about this track is that it will never be overcrowded with people. You can only get here by boat. I don't know if any boat can go there, but there aren't that many boats in the lake. I didn't see any docks or landings for boats.
Then they can only hold 40 people at the shelter and you can't camp there. When you do the track you can do it as a guided tour or as an independent "tramper". We are independent "trampers". The guided tours stay at different huts than we do and they get fed plus they pay exorbitant prices. People can take the ferry over for the day, but must catch the 5:00 ferry back. I suppose people could try to "steal" camp but I am sure there would be a hefty fine.
Our first day was quite short and easy. It was only a little more than 3 miles. The views were quite spectacular. I must mention that the boat ride over was beautiful. You are going down the lake which has calm blue water and you have mountains on all sides of you. Some of the peaks have snow on them. The peaks look jagged and rough. Reminds me a little like some of the mountains I saw in Mt. Rainier National Park.
I got to the shelter and I was quite impressed with it. It might be that it was only built in 1997, but it is very clean. There is another hut that was used previously as the first hut stop, but was almost taken away by the river, so they built this one. The bunkrooms are quite spacious. 20 bunks per bunkroom. They aren't stacked like sardines as in the Whites. There is a large center deck that attaches to the bunkhouses and kitchen/common area. The kitchen is equipped with propane stoves, about four or five and they have several sinks with running water. One thing that they don't do here as the huts in the Whites is have meals prepared. Actually, I think that is a good thing. Less trash and what trash there is, everyone packs out. Also, if everyone had to bring their own food, maybe less people would go. The Whites get so crowded. Sometimes I feel like the AMC sends mixed messages. They want to protect the environment, but they cram as many people as they can and charge a lot of money.
Also, I need to mention that they have flush toilets which is quite nice. The water comes from the waterfalls and it is gravity fed.
The hut ranger took us on a little stroll and gave us some information about some of the trees and wildlife. The Kiwi in the national bird of New Zealand. It is endangered because stoats, an animal like a ferret or weasel will eat the young and stoats were introduced to the island to help with the rabbit problem of the island. The problem was, the stoats decided they likes birds better. They are trying to trap the stoats to see if the Kiwi can come back.
I don't think I mentioned that the Milford track is in the Fiordland National Park. Fiordland National Park is the largest park in the country and one of the largest in the world. The Milford track starts off at Lake TeAnau and ends in Milford sound which is in the Tasman Sea. To tell you the truth I never heard of the Tasman Sea.
One problem that I have encountered here is the sandflies. They are like our black flies and they are doing a number on me. They especially like my feet. I wonder if it is the nail polish on my toe nails that is attracking them?
I am presently on the deck, writing, scratching, and swating. I think I will go in soon or try some bug repellent.
One thing that I thought about to write that I totally forgot was that I was so happy to be out in the woods hiking. It felt like I was down south starting the AT. I haven't been backpacking for a very long time. The pack felt heavy, but comfortable. I was carrying my tent eventhough I didn't need to. I am trying to get in shape. The woods even seemed like the south, very green and alot of moss hanging down off them. I was hiking alone and I was so happy to be out. The weather had something to do with it also. We walked along the Clinton River and could see the clear blue green water. When you couldn't see it you could hear the white water. The birds were out and they had different sounds than the ones I am use to, So all of these things made me happy to be out here.
March 9, 2003
If I said my backpack felt good yesterday I must have been high on something. It just didn't feel the same as yesterday.
I heard people rustling around about 6:00, much too early for me if I don't have to. I finally got up about 7:30, had cereal, packed up, and was on the trail by 8:30. They said it would take about 6 hours to get to the next hut. It is about a 10 mile hike. Everything is in kilometers so I am estimating. The trail reminds me a lot of the AT in the south and also NH and ME. Very dense woods or "bush" as they refer to it. There are tons of waterfalls. They weren't very full because it hasn't rained in a while. I am grateful that it hasn't rained. I heard the trail gets quite flooded when it rains. Some parts of the trail have markers every 3 feet on both sides because when it gets flooded you can't see the trail. I heard it could get to my waist. But it would probably be more of an interesting story.
The mountains remind me of Rainier National Park, without the snow.
I stopped at one of the runoffs from the waterfall, my feet were burning and I wanted to stick them in the cold clear water. I couldn't keep them in long, but it felt good. Then I took by bandana, soaked it and put it around me head. It was quite hot in the sun and the water was refreshing. I couldn't sit long as I was feeding the sand flies and I thought they had enough of me. I wouldn't mind giving them my blood, I just hate how I itch so afterward.
It didn't take long to get to the hut afterwards. I got there a little bit after 2 pm. I set up my bunk and went outside to enjoy the day, but the bugs and heat were too much. I went upstairs and realized I was tired and my bed felt good so laid down for about 20 minutes.
