The final day is a 21-kilometre home stretch from Quintin Lodge along the roaring Arthur River to the edge of the Tasman Sea. The trail passes the spectacular Mackay Falls and the unique giant rock cutting at Bell Rock before flattening out for the easy walk to the stunning Giant Gate Falls and Sandfly Point. Here, you’ll catch the boat across the water to finish your journey in the jaw-dropping majesty of Milford Sound / Piopiotahi.
As we prepared our gear for the fourth and final day on the Milford Track, the promise of sunshine held true. The mist that had clung to the mountains was gone, revealing jagged peaks catching the first light of the day. Memories of the wet, windy crossing of McKinnon Pass were put to one side as we looked forward to day in the sun‑soaked Arthur Valley and the grand finale of the hike: Milford Sound / Piopiotahi.
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| Lady of the Snows in the early morning |
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| The sun begins to catch the mountain peaks |
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| Lady of the Snows |
The final day on the Milford Track is a long one—about 22 kilometres in total—tracking the length of the Arthur River to Milford Sound. Even so, the entire stretch is mostly flat, broken only by the occasional gentle rise or fall along the way, most notably alongside Te Moana-o-Nohorua / Lake Ada. Given the distance required, we were up and ready to go at 07:30, once again.
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| Getting on with the day |
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| The Milford Track |
Leaving Quintin Lodge, we crossed the Roaring Burn swing bridge to re-join the Milford Track, heading left towards Arthur River. Much of the valley will be shaded in the early morning by the tall cliffs of Mount Elliot and Mount Kepka, which line the Arthur River's east side. As you approach Arthur River, you get a good view of Sutherland Falls' top two tiers in the distance.
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| The Milford Track |
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| A distant Sutherland Falls |
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| Sutherland Falls |
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| The Milford Track |
The Milford Track has a few open, boardwalk sections before reaching Dumpling Hut, the DOC hut used by independent hikers after crossing Omanui / McKinnon Pass. As has become customary, the hut provides a quick toilet stop and water refill via the rainwater tanks before pressing on.
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| The Milford Track |
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| The boardwalks are particularly prone to flooding |
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| The Milford Track |
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| Dumpling Hut |
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| Six more hours to Sandfly Point and the end of the Milford Track |
From Dumpling Hut there is some more pleasant walking through the forest and more open areas around the streams that flow off the mountains until you reach the Boat Shed, an old historic hut that marks the start of some of the day's best landmarks.
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| The entire morning is spent in and out of the forest |
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| The Milford Track |
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| The Milford Track |
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| Looking back along the track to Dumpling Hill |
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| Fiordland |
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| The Milford Track |
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| Arriving at the Boat Shed |
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| There is a small toilet building before reaching the Boat Shed |
Built in 1928, the Boat Shed was literally what the name suggests—a shed for the rowboats used to ferry early hikers across the Arthur River. Before the swing bridge was built, the only way to continue toward Sandfly Point was to be rowed across. It also served as a supply depot for the workers who maintained this rugged stretch of trail. Today, the Boatshed serves as a day-use shelter for both independent and guided walkers.
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| The steamy marshes at the Boat Shed - a haven for the sandflys |
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| The Boat Shed |
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| The Milford Track passes right through the Boat Shed |
The Milford Track crosses a long swing bridge shortly after the Boat Shed and leads to Mackay Falls, a beautiful tiered cascade that looks like something out of a fairy-tale. It's the first major waterfall encountered on the fourth day, accessed by a short detour to the viewing platform. Donald Sutherland and John Mackay were the first European explorers to document the falls in 1880 while approaching from the Milford end.
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| Arthur River swing bridge |
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| Arthur River swing bridge |
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| Arthur River |
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| Outside Bell Rock |
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| Inside Bell Rock |
After Mackay Falls, the Milford Track continues along the Arthur Valley to Lake Brown. It then crosses Poseidon Creek via an enormous swing bridge, a new addition to the trail having been built in 2024 to replace an older, lower bridge at risk of being washed away.
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| The Milford Track |
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| The forest begins to open approaching Lake Brown |
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| Odyssey Peak and Mount Ada |
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| Odyssey Peak and Mount Ada |
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| Lake Brown |
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| The Milford Track |
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| Poseidon swing bridge |
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| Poseidon swing bridge |
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| Poseidon Creek |
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| Poseidon Creek |
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| Poseidon Creek |
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| Poseidon Creek |
From the creek, the track levels out as it skirts the edge of Te Moana-o-Nohurua / Lake Ada. The path here is quite a feat of engineering, called 'the Cutting', with sections literally blasted out of the cliffside in the late 1800s. Those with a keen eye will be able to find the signatures of the track-builders, etched onto the rock wall. This section involves the most sustained climb of the day, but its very modest by Milford Track standards.
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| The Milford Track |
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| Arthur Valley |
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| Looking across Te Moana-o-Nohurua / Lake Ada towards Joes River |
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| The rocky cutting |
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| Climbing the cutting |
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| The rocky cutting |
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| Te Moana-o-Nohurua / Lake Ada and |
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| Te Moana-o-Nohurua / Lake Ada |
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| Etched signatures |
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| 1898 |
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| Te Moana-o-Nohurua / Lake Ada |
Part way along Lake Ada, we stopped for a final track lunch at Giant Gate Falls, a spectacular 30-metre waterfall into a deep, turquoise pool – it's one of the pin-ups of the hike, often a destination for day-hikers from Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. You'll be able to spot them as a) they're usually walking the opposite direction, which feels odd after four days walking one way, and b) they'll probably look a lot cleaner and fresher.
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| Te Moana-o-Nohurua / Lake Ada |
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| The mountains of Fiordland |
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| Giant Gate shelter |
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| The Milford Track |
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| Giant Gate Falls |
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| Giant Gate Falls |
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| Giant Gate Falls |
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| Giant Gate swing bridge |
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| Giant Gate Falls |
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| Giant Gate Falls |
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| Giant Gate Falls |
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| Giant Gate Falls |
We were left to depart Giant Gate Falls at our leisure, which meant hiking the last few kilometres alone, reflecting on how enjoyable to previous few days had been but sad that it was very close to the end. The last section of the Milford Track is wide and flat—a legacy of the prison labour gangs who constructed this section in the 1890s. The intent was to drive the road all the way to Sutherland Falls - fortunately they never made it. There's one last creek to cross before, having completed 54 km of hiking, I arrived at Sandfly Point - the official end of the Milford Track.
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| Closing in on the end of the track |
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| Mount Ada |
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| Arthur River |
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| Arthur River |
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| Camp Oven Creek |
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| The Milford Track |
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| Sandfly Point |
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| The finish line! |
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| The very end of the Milford Track at Sandfly Point |
Near the very end of the Milford Track is the shelter at Sandfly Point, a small waiting area situated right beside the boat ramp where you'll be catching the short water taxi across to Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. It marks the official end of the walk and serves as a place to pause briefly before boarding the boat. Because Sandfly Point is aptly named, hikers typically don’t linger long.
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| Awaiting the water taxi |
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| Milford Sound |
The crossing to the harbour at Milford Sound / Piopiotahi takes only 6 minutes, and before long we were on the jetty, marvelling at the stunning scenery. One of the benefits of the guided hike is a night at the Milford Sound Lodge, located opposite the foreshore, meaning I could visit the foreshore whenever I liked during the rest of the day, which I gladly did.
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| Quite literally, a room with a view |
Speaking of names, you'll notice that I have been using the dual name for Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. This is thanks to the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998, which included the alternation of significant place names to receive an official dual English and Māori name. Other areas included in the settlement are Aoraki / Mount Cook, Franz Josef Glacier / Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere and Lake Rotorua / Te Rotorua nui ā Kahumatamomoe.
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| Milford Sound / Piopiotahi |
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| Milford Sound / Piopiotahi |
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| The Pembroke Glacier on Mount Pembroke |
The English or European name, Milford Sound, is largely incorrect and fairly meaningless. Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is actually a fiord, not a sound. Sounds are formed when a river valley is flooded by the sea, whereas Milford Sound was formed by the erosion of ancient glaciers. The Milford part was described by sealer John Grono in 1823, who named it Milford after Milford Haven, his place of birth, though it bears no resemblance to Milford Haven.
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| Milford Sound / Piopiotahi |
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| Milford Sound / Piopiotahi |
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| Milford Sound / Piopiotahi |
The Māori name, Piopiotahi, relates to the legend of Maui and his quest to win immortality for mankind. The quest required Maui to kill the goddess of death, Hine-nui-te-po, but Maui failed and was killed instead (I'll let you find out yourself how that came about). His partner, a piopio (a native thrush), flew to Milford Sound / Piopiotahi to mourn the death of Maui. Piopiotahi translates to 'a single piopio'.
We returned the next day to spend a morning sailing along the fiord, an experience that felt nothing short of extraordinary. Getting out on the water is undoubtedly the best way to appreciate the scale and majesty of Milford Sound / Piopiotahi, and it’s a memory that will stay with me for years to come.
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| Milford Sound / Piopiotahi |
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| Mitre Peak |
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| The Lion and Mount Pembroke |
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| Light spills into the fiord |
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| Stirling Falls |
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| Mount Pembroke |
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| Bowen Falls |
Afterward, we were bundled back onto the coach for the return journey to Te Anau—a drive that’s stunning in its own right. For most people, the adventure continues on to Queenstown, but for me, the trails were calling once again. Next up: the Routeburn Track. You can find out how I got on right here.
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| Homer Tunnel |
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| Leaving the Milford area behind |
I’ll never forget the Milford Track. After three and a half days of hauling a pack through glacial valleys, over McKinnon Pass, and getting absolutely soaked by the spray at Sutherland Falls, you really start to feel like you've experienced a small part of the 'true' Fiordland, albeit with a few creature comforts. By the time you hit the edge of Milford Sound, returning to civilisation feels weird, but the chance to just disconnect from the world for a bit is something you can't overstate.
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