50 | AG Outdoor
den Falls, but if you have the legs, push on to
the second hut at Lake Alabaster, another 10km
away. It’ll be a longer day, but waking up to a
sunrise on the lake is worth it. This section
takes you through podocarp forest and then tall
beech forest. Across to the southern side of the
valley are views of Fiordland’s two highest peaks,
Mt Madeline (2537m) and Mt Tutoko (2746m),
named after one of the last Maori chiefs in the
area. The nearby Sara Hills and May Hills are
a nod to the European names of his daughters.
You hit the confl uence of the Hollyford and Pyke
rivers heading up a little further to the hut at
Lake Alabaster.
From Lake Alabaster, you head back out to
the trail and cross the Pyke River on an impres-
sive swing bridge – the longest in Fiordland,
at 80m. The track follows the Pyke River for a
while, heading into the quiet of the lush podo-
carp forest. When the track emerges from the
dense, lowland vegetation, it opens out to the
Hollyford River, where it’s now more powerful
than before. The next stop point is at McKer-
row Island where there’s a hut for a nice break.
If you’re not in a hurry, you can stay here the
night and rest up for the Demon Trail, an his-
toric cattle trail so named for its rugged, rocky,
wet and undulating track. Take care at creek
crossings and try to stick to the wire bridges.
It’s slow going on this track, which crosses
the Southern Alps fault line, but to keep you
motivated, you have occasional views out to the
spectacular snow-capped peak on the other side
of the lake.
There are two huts on the Demon Trail about
one-third and two-thirds along the way, but
most people like to hunker down and knock off
this section in one go and stay at the HokurriGUIDED WALK OPTION
If you don’t want to walk alone,
you can also opt for the comfort
ofaprivategroup,runbythe
Hollyford Track. The three-day/
two-night guided walk has all the
basics covered: warm private huts
with three-course dinners, hot
showers and linen; just about all
other food, including snacks;
basic walking gear if you needit;
andaccesstopartsofthearea
that are not on the main walk –
like the sand dunes on the other
sideofthelakeatMartinsBay.
Did I mention the jet boats and
helicopters? Take the guided
option and you get to ride a jet
boat along the length of Lake
McKerrow, bypassing the rugged
Demon Trail, named for its
muddy, undulating track. You also
gettojumponahelicopterfor
the15-minuteridealongthe
coast and into Milford Sound.
What’s not to love?Hut.
The next day’s walk is a breeze compared to
the Demon Trail and fi nishes at your destination
of Martins Bay. Stop in at the historic James-
town settlement not far along, where there’s
a plaque and a couple of rusty artifacts from
a time long gone. A small number of families
settled there in the hope of pioneering a town,
but the harsh existence and isolation (made dif-
fi cult by the sand bars at Martins Bay which
hindered supply delivery) doomed the plan, and
it’s easy to see why when you’re in the midst of
the rugged beauty of this still isolated forest. All
but a few people remained in the area and theMore than 200 of the world’s 10,000 species of
plants are here and 40 per cent of them are endemic
to New Zealand. Some of the largest trees are
hundreds (up to 1000) of years old.
The valley is home to some of the
biggest and oldest ferns in the
world. Some tree species have
lineage dating back to Gondwana.DESTINATION | HOLLYFORD TRA CK, NEW ZEALAND