New Zealand – The Most Beautiful Hike in the World

Whenever people ask me, “What’s your favorite country?” I always reply that it depends. It depends on whether people are asking about favorite people, favorite food, favorite scenery, etc. When it comes to favorite scenery, New Zealand wins… by far. New Zealand reminds me a lot of western Washington, but there’s something more magical about it.

Auckland

I first visited New Zealand in 2002. I spent a few days in Auckland but spent most of my trip on the South Island.

When I first arrived, I spent a day in Auckland, mostly to recover from the long flight. I visited the Auckland Sky Tower, which provided stunning views of the city while there the first day.

Note the volcano in the background of the last photo. That’s Rangitoto Island, one of the newest islands in Auckland Harbour. I took a day trip over to the island later in my journey.

Milford Track

I flew down to Queenstown to spend the first part of my trip on the Milford Track. I don’t remember how I found out about this hike but I knew I wanted to experience “the most beautiful hike in the world.”

There’s a couple of interesting things to know about the Milford Track. First, you can’t just hike the trail. It’s highly regulated and you have to have a permit. They only allow 90 people on each section of the track and everyone heads in the same direction. In other words, you don’t encounter many people on the trail. Second, the hike is a total of 5 days. There are two options for completing the trail. One is to stay in lodges each night where there are shared bunk rooms and the staff cook the meals for you each evening. Two is that there are more rustic huts and you have to carry and cook all of your own food. Of course, I took the guided walk.

The first day was easy. It was an hour and a half drive from Queenstown to Te Anau, where we got on a boat. It was another hour on the boat to get to Lake Te Anau’s north end, the Milford Track’s start. My point is that getting to the Milford Track is not like hopping on the Burke Gilman Trail in Seattle. It is a highly restrictive trail with limited use, which meant a unique and spectacular experience.

​Once at the start of the track, it was a 1-mile hike to the first lodge – Glade House. After dropping our packs, we took a short walk up to the glade.

After a good meal and a relaxing night’s sleep (thankful I was in the lodge and not the hut!), we started day 2 of the track. The hike on day 2 is 10 miles. It’s mostly flat except for the end, where there’s a steep incline for the last 2 miles. The day was foggy and drizzly but mostly comfortable for hiking. It was a lovely walk along the river.

As we walked along, we ended up in a river valley between two sets of mountains. It is hard to describe what it’s like to walk between two sets of mountains about 2,000 ft high. Water was gushing down both sides, creating waterfalls all over. The trail was muddy but fun.

About a mile away from the next lodge, there’s a massive waterfall with a flat area that we had to cross. There’s a small shelter right before the waterfall where you can sit and wait to see if the rain and water quiet down. In some cases, people have stayed overnight in the shelter because they couldn’t cross the waterfall. When I arrived, I hung out in the shelter for about 30 minutes until some people came. We decided to cross together, and I’m glad we did! The water went all the way up to my hips, and boy, was it cold! At the other side of the flat area, we had to help each other up a bank because we couldn’t exit directly to the trail. I was very thankful for hot showers at the lodge when we got there!

The third day is the hardest. It’s only 9 miles but we had to go up and over Mackinnon Pass. That means it was 5 miles ascending 2500 feet and 3 miles descending 3000 feet. The way up consisted of about 20 zig zags (switchbacks). The way down was just straight down, with lots of stairs and a steep trail. This day kicked my butt! However, it was worth it. I’ve never seen a view like the one at the top of Mackinnon Pass. To the sound, I was looking along the river valley I hiked through the previous day. To the north, I was looking at the river valley I would hike the next day.

The fourth day was the longest at 13 miles but also the easiest. It was a nice, gentle, flat trail. After the previous day, it felt like a piece of cake!

The last night is spent at the Mitre Peak Lodge on Milford Sound. We took a boat tour of Milford Sound on the fifth day before taking the bus back to Queenstown.

Queenstown

​Back in Queenstown, I spent another few days enjoying everything else that the town had to offer. Jet boating one day, taking the gondola well above the town another day.

Christchurch

After Queenstown, I went to Christchurch for a couple of days. It was quite honestly a bit boring after the excitement and beauty of Queenstown. Regardless, I got to relax and visit the Antarctic Expedition museum, the botanical gardens, and the cathedral.

I also took a day trip out to Arthur’s Pass. This included visiting a sheep farm… with a true sheep farmer.

Auckland

I returned to Auckland, ready for a final few days in New Zealand. Little did I know that I’d been entering the heart of the America’s Cup race in the harbor. I got to see some of the sailboats up close and witness their speed on the water.

Remember that volcano I mentioned earlier in Auckland Harbour… that’s Rangitoto Island. I was able to take a ferry over to that island and hiked up to the volcanic crater.

And I visited Rotorua which was a volcanic hotspot.

The Milford Track was clearly the highlight of this trip, but the rest of New Zealand was equally stunning. So much so that I convinced my brother to go back to New Zealand with me in 2003.