The journey is the reward

21 May The journey is the reward

It’s daunting to kiss your family goodbye knowing that for a week you will have no contact with them or the outside world. It’s also exhilarating knowing that you are going to be trekking or tramping as the Kiwi’s call it in a World Heritage area. That’s the Milford Sound Track for you, 5 days, 55km, not your ordinary holiday!

Whilst I usually like my luxuries, the opportunity to take 10 of my clients (including one adopted sister) away on a trip like this, had come at a time when I was up for a little bit of adventure. With a busy family of four children aged from 16 to 10 years you would have to say that’s enough for anyone. But this was a challenge needed just for me and my 10 other sisters. So on a beautiful summers day in Queenstown I found myself with my clients, decked out in water repelling, light weight, sand-fly proof trekking gear, looking quite the part! And it is here that our adventure starts as we board our bus with 21 other trekkers bound for Milford Sound. We are all from different walks of life: there’s an orthopaedic surgeon from Perth, a geologist and wife from Calgary, Canada and even a lovely 77yr+ old sheep farmer from the north island of New Zealand. Many of the trekkers are ticking a bucket list by completing this walk, others are meeting up with life long friends and others are here to photograph the beautiful scenery and dip a fly fishing line into the streams swimming with trout.

The walk takes you through forests like the ones from Lord Of The Rings, over stunning crystal clear rivers, past magical waterfalls, up steep mountains and then down them and through Prairie meadows. The walk challenges everyone differently, from facing fears of heights and swing bridges, to the physical demands of carrying a backpack and ascending and descending mountains. It tests endurance with 8-hour days of walking with a final testing day of 21km.

On another level this walk is working our minds and bodies in different ways. New friendship bonds are being forged, our minds are being opened up to new possibilities in life and a sense of community is enveloping us. The Milford Track is providing us with an elixir for our mojo! And we are loving it! As all good things go…our time at Milford Sound was coming to an end we found ourselves back in our urban wear and a full face of make up. We received our certificate to say we have completed the track and say our good byes to newly found fellow hikers. But something has changed and we find ourselves randomly walking into hiking stores and talking about where will our next adventure take us!

“All who wander are not lost” J.R.R. Tolkien