Also looking for advice and/or a partner in May
This thread branched from "Looking for a tramping partner and/or advice" on . Explore the branch.
Original post
Posted on the "around the campfire forum":
https://tramper.nz/?view=topic&messageid=65317#message65317
how long is a bit of string?
a lot of tracks are weather dependant in a time of year when the weather can be bad... there are thousands of tracks here
its extremely damp and wet in winter, its hard to get boat transport for the milford track out of season and expensive if its for one person. you have to fly in or out of the hollyford at one end and thats weather dependant.. otherwise you ahve to walk back out.
fiordland is called "shadow lands" for a good reason..
if there is any sun, it doesnt get into the valleys much in winter...
By mid-May Southern ski fields are usually making snow. It's cold enough, low enough, long enough, for them to do that, generally.
What sort of "May" we get, we won't know until we get there. You could find places are still passable, or not. We can only speak generally, this far out, if you intend going to places that are on the edge of weather dependent.
This IS an active forum. Regular posters try to be accurate, so may hold off on a topic rather than post 'filler' just to see themselves in print.
Thanks Way and Pro-active: Were you (or anyone else) to venture a guess how many weeks of vacation would you recommend me to book for the tramping trip and what tracks?
I do appreciate all the details you put in your posts already as I had no idea about the difficulty for boat transport at milford or the need to fly out the end of hollyford.
Would be better to hike somewhere else in NZ and "on the edge of weather dependent"?
Your hollyford plans should work no matter what the weather. It closes briefly after really heavy rain but that's faiirly rare/brief when it happens. The coastline is spectacular as is Lake Mackenzie. However this is normally a one-way tramp with a jetboat ride back. you'd need to check if the boats run in May or walk it there and back. The loop back option via Big Bay and the Pike is a route with no cut track so only for the experienced.
Milford is not my cup of tea so can't give helpful advice there.
Thanks madpom,
In general I'm open to any suggestions for tracks...
Especially considering May.
For Milford I didn't like the flies that I read about myself, nor the rain.
Thanks Gaiters,
What I meant (and you probably know more about this then me) is that it might be wetter on Milford than on Routeburn (not only rain wise, but crossing streams and such), correct?
the rain can be about as bad on the routeburn. the ilford track itself gets flooeded when it rains to the point it can become impassable. thats not the case on the routeburn before the bridges in avalanche prone areas get removed for winter on both of them, that is some time in May I believe, but it could be June now
http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/fiordland/places/fiordland-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/milford-track/outside-the-great-walks-season/
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| Forum | Visiting New Zealand |
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| Started by | marian |
| On | 15 October 2017 |
| Replies | 57 |
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