Milford Track Day 2

This morning the weather looked better, and we didn’t need our rain gear.

A big old beech tree.

We started off and soon came to a side trail to the wetlands. There were beautiful mosses, in these yellows and white and green. And, very exciting, we saw our first patch of blue sky there.

The walk up Clinton River Bed (or the perpendicular valley) is stunning. Mountains on either side, dramatically coming straight down to the valley. This glacial valley has waterfalls coming on both sides. And,the bush is beautiful, with all these crown ferns(there are a zillion different kind of ferns in NZ)A memorable spot was Hidden Lake. But my favorite spot that first day was Prairie Lake with our first glimpse of MacKinnon Pass. If I had seen nothing more on this trip, I would have been convinced that the trip had been worthwhile.

First sighting of MacKinnon Pass.

We arrived at Pompolona Lodge with a room with the most beautiful view up to the Pass. After showering and changing we went to the lounge area where scones with cream were waiting for us. The weather looked like we were going to have a fine time the next day. As we lay in bed that night, we watched the fog roll down the valley. The view from our room.