Didn't book Milford on time, now it's full. HELP

its not feasible to walk the milford track during the booing season without a booking, you have to camp 500m from the track and that is very hard to do safely

Routeburn Hollyford Humpback or Kepler maybe. Dusky sound makes a more rustic trip with 80% of Milfords scenery and 10% of the crowds

You needed to be online at the exact time the bookings opened and be lucky, it was basically sold out in 30mims this year apparently. So don’t blame yourself, the demand was massive. One day I’m going to shout myself a guided trip just to get on this track!

there might be some people overseas who think the borders will open and have booked, they would cancel when they find out thats not the case. i've seen people like Te Araroa trail walkers online talking about thinking they will get into the country this summer and they have booked their airline tickets. the airlines arent going to point out the issues, or care if you dont have approval. so its easy to book a flight... a few years ago you used to be able to pick up a booking on the milford at least around april without difficulty if you booked a few weeks in advance... not anymore, despite the borders being closed, its completely booked out months in advance... so either a lot of NZers are taking advantage of getting on the track and or they have more time on their hands, plus overseas people who are stuck here on their OE.... even if our borders were open, it would still be very restricted, we're not opening the border to america anytime soon or any other country that has a lot of infections and there may be a requirement you have to originate your travel and be from a country where you fly direct here. europe could be closed for a long time as well.

Are the borders still closed to all except returning residents and vips? I was under the impression that a visitor could get here soon provided they paid for the 2 week quarantine. For someone doing Te Araroa 2 weeks at the start and maybe the finish isnt a major obstacle. It just means the 3 month trip just became 4. For someone coming for a month or less holiday ie Milford plus a few other things it pretty much shuts the gate

my understanding is you still have to apply to the govt to get admission approved... the govt are declining the majority of applicants, tends to be people who have work skills the country needs, i'm not aware of tourists being let in, the problem is the hotels they use are pretty maxed out just letting in residents and approved people without letting tourists in, and how many tourists will pay for the quarantine and use up two weeks? and potentially have to do the same when they go home? i've read about tourism operators in NZ telling foreigners and overseas tourist agencies that no one will be getting in this summer and its not guaranteed for next summer, certainly not for all countries..

I wonder how long for? If National get in restrictions beyond 2 week quarantine wont make lunchtime. If Labour get in it will probably last past dinner time but not by much. They have to balance the books somehow. The other parties have little chance of a say in the matter. Either way expect some sort of tourism by Christmas but it wont be open borders for a very long time

@geeves as someone who works in tourism, we're not expecting any international tourists until mid-2021 at least. @ian-silver I know it's not the same, but you could wet your Milford whistle by doing a day walk on the southern end of the track. Perhaps combine that with the Kepler, which I highly recommend. I'd forget the Hollyford. Normally I'd absolutely recommend it, but it suffered extensive damage in the February storm, and efforts are currently going into the Great Walks. I'm not even sure they've even begun clearing tracks on the Hollyford.

honestly the milford isnt that great, theres plenty of other tracks as good or better, i dont know why so many people think its the greatest track out there. if you're tramping in the mountains , it barely matters where, at least you're tramping..

Congrats on getting the booking. I am sure it will be an amazing experience. As @waynowski said it really would not have been the end of the world if you missed out. There are many amazing walks down there that offer a similar experience the Milford is just the one that gets all the press! It is a bit like the Walls or Dobrovnik - everyone wants to see them because they are the ones that were in Game of Thrones and they see lots of impressive pictures of them. However, if you travel that coast you will realise almost every town has/had city walls and they are all amazing in their own way. By the time we had been through half a dozen different “walled” towns I was sick of walls and fortresses and I love history. The south is much the same for tramps - the only difference being one can never get sick of being in the mountains! All the best for your trip.