Dave’s Milford Birthday Mission

As plans for a 24 strong group run on the Milford Track in March were coming together, our friend Dave Pearson put forward his hopes to complete the 33 mile mission on his birthday – January 21st. Now well acquainted with the location and the logistics, I put my hand up to help make it happen, and crew Brad, Corinne and Išek stepped forward to join in and support in the celebratory quest.

The date crept closer and Brad and I made plans to smuggle in and hide beer on the track, a reward and way to celebrate Dave’s lap of the sun and the groups conquer of the 4 day hike in just 8 hours. Every things came together… now it was just down to the weather!

There were a few “oh shit” moments in the lead up to Sunday, as a biblical proportion of rain poured down over Fiordland. Just two days before our ‘event’, some concerning photos emerged from the track and a group of Great Walk hikers were helicoptered off to escape the impassable the waist deep water. But in true Milford style, and thanks largely to that rocky base, all the water drained quickly and vanished without so much of a trace. One perfect day presented itself in the whole week – and it was ours! Aren’t we glad Dave wasn’t born a day earlier…

An early 5am departure from Te Anau and a long drive in the dark to meet the Water Taxi at Deepwater Basin. We arrived a little after sunrise and with enough time to enjoy a thermos ‘car-boot’ coffee (thanks EPIC Coffee!) and be able to watch the boat preparations. The thick murky water and abundant floating debris the only remaining evidence of yesterday’s flood. Swatting sandflies I let Brad and Dave know they had 8hrs to convince Corinne and Išek to share a story on the RunnersNZ project and waved goodbye as they climbed on the boat and ferried their way across the short waterway in their ‘private charter’.

Part 1 of the adventure complete. 4 runners caffeinated, bug-sprayed, totally pumped and outbound to the Milford Track!

A slow scenic drive back to Te Anau Downs to meet up with Sacha. Not to miss out on a Milford Track adventure of our own, we plan to catch the water taxi into the Southern end of the Track, smuggling some snacks and celebratory beverages across on the boat ride with us, and then hike in to search for our four runners.

We set foot on Milford with several Great Walk and day hikers and make our way toward our planned meet up point along the Clinton River. We have no comms with our crew, but I’m confident they know the plan and we’ll all cross paths and be able to join them on their home stretch run. Along the way Sacha and I take a short boardwalk detour into the wetlands – it has amazing views up the valley and is always worth the extra few minutes to deviate from the main track… but it’s not without hesitation – what if they’re ahead of schedule and pass us by? We get ourselves to the meetup and chat to all the day walkers, questioning everyone for possible sightings of the ‘nutters running Milford’.

Eventually the clock ticks down past our own deadline and a little worry starts to set in. No sighting of our crew and we make the decision to leave and head back to the boat ourselves. The ICE plan was, should there be an incident early on, that the four of them would retreat back the way they came to Sandfly Point; inform the boat skipper of the situation, and get a lift back across to Deepwater Basin. Comms would then be able to filter through to the skipper of the boat at the other end and we’d, all going well, be informed on the change of plans. But we wont know if this is the case until we ourselves get back to the boat. And there is still a possibility they snuck past us while we were out on the boardwalks… surely not? Fingers crossed, we jog along the trail, listening out for footsteps behind us and madly hoping everyone is ok!

Sacha and I arrive back at the end of the Milford Track, still just the two of us. The skipper hasn’t heard anything and the boat is due to leave in 15 minutes. We drop our gear at the wharf and do a U-turn to head back into the bush. There are two day hikers booked on the 4pm boat too, the water taxi will not leave without them, but they will leave without the runners. We passed the hikers on the trail and estimate that they’ll finish pretty close to 4. We just need our team to do the same!

At every corner we will them into sight, but now we find ourselves behind the day hikers too. Sacha and I stop on the last long stretch of the bushy track and stand quietly, eyes fixed on the end. Glade House is just beyond in the clearing and it is the cheers and shouts from its occupants, no doubt in awe of the runners and their incredible accomplishment, that alert us to the imminent arrival of our crew. TF.

What a feeling! Seeing Brad’s bright pink WUU2k top first appear in the distance, followed closely by birthday boy Dave, and then Corinne and Išek. Relief! We ourselves scream and cheer while falling in next to them for a final 500m escort home. All smiles, they’re looking strong as hell! So pumped and proud of these guys and gals. What legends!

We get back to the Milford Track sign and the boat with just two minutes to spare (phew). A couple of quick ‘finish line’ photos and then we’re ushered onto the waiting water taxi. Exhausted happy runners, you could not wipe the smiles from their faces if you tried. Celebrating with a slightly warm beer we’d stashed in the bushes, some chippies and lollies to fuel the 60min boat ride back. They share stories and photos from their run-venture – reportedly perfect conditions, insane views and the best day ever… they even managed to keep their feet dry!

Mission complete. Congratulations team, it was absolutely EPIC and an honour being your support crew. And a massive Happy Birthday Dave!! What a way to celebrate!