THE Milford Track is NZ’s most famous walk, hands down. The vast, sprawling walk through the South Island takes you from Te Anau Downs to the ethereal Milford Sound in 53km over four days. Through mountains and fiords[Microsoft1] , the track takes you not only through the Fiordlands of NZ, but through its history.
Since the 14th century, the area was used by Maori[Microsoft2] who trekked along[Microsoft3] carrying greenstone or ‘kokotakiwai’ between settlements. Greenstone is of major importance to Maori; the name of the South Island, ‘Te Wahipounamu’[Microsoft4] , translates to ‘The Land of Greenstone Water’[Microsoft5] , the only place greenstone is located. Communicating prestige, these stones are handed down through generations, referred to as treasure or ‘taonga’.
Milford Sound, the track’s end, is also known as ‘Piopiotahi’, meaning ‘a single piopio’, a now-extinct bird native to NZ.
