Milford Track Encounter

To walk the Milford Track today and experience the majesty of its scenery gives us a glimpse of the desire the early explorers had to find an alternative overland pass from the interior lakes. Donald Sutherland, the first European resident of Milford Sound discovered the "Sutherland Falls" in 1880 and endeavoured to open visitor access to them via the Arthur Valley, with limited success.

Eight years later, Quintin Mackinnon and Ernest Mitchell set out from the northern end of Lake Te Anau up the Clinton Valley to attempt an easier route. After overcoming monumental delays with weather and supplies they finally forged their way through a pass on 16th October 1888. It took a further two years for a track to be completed; by now access to Milford Sound, the Arthur Valley and Sutherland Falls was a reality.

Routeburn Track Encounter

The first walkers in the Routeburn area (around 1500AD) are believed to be local Maori using this route as the passage between their two main greenstone (New Zealand Jade) gathering grounds: the Dart River Valley and the Arahura River on the West Coast. Pioneers in the 1860's & 70's brought the first Europeans in their quest for grazing land. David Mckellar and George Gunn were the first to reach the western side of the Routeburn Track in 1861. With the discovery of gold in the Wakatipu afterwards, it was felt necessary to establish a port on the West Coast, developing a track along the Routeburn Valley, over the Harris Saddle, into the Hollyford Valley, thus linking Queenstown with the outside world.

The first official sightseeing trip from Queenstown to the Routeburn valley was in the 1880's. In the 1900's the New Zealand Government Department of Tourism was formed and track and hut building started. Transport from Queenstown included steamship, horseback and open-top bus. The popularity of the Routeburn Track led to the founding of the Routeburn Track Guided Walk in 1968. From these beginnings the Routeburn has become one of the world's best loved walking tracks.

Mount Cook Encounter

The Maori legend Aoraki "The Cloud Piercer" was later named by Europeans to honour Captain James Cook. As New Zealand's highest mountain, Mt Cook has been an important landmark since the country's earliest days. Mackenzie, the infamous sheep rustler, cut the first route to Mount Cook in 1855, thus providing access for visitors and mountaineers alike.

The first summit attempt was unsuccessful and it was not until Christmas Day 1894 that New Zealander's Tom Fyfe, George Graham and Jack Clark reached the top. This began more than a century of development in climbing, exploring, hut building, track establishment and guiding services. Sir Edmund Hillary summitted twice in preparation for his Mt Everest ascent and also trained his Antarctic dog team here in 1956. The first Mount Cook hotel, The Hermitage, opened in 1895 and has been rebuilt twice, and relocated once. The village population has swelled to several hundred. Services now include a school, post office, visitor's centre and youth hostel.