Day 2 on the Milford Track
The Mintaro Hut marked the end of the second day's hike.
It took us about six hours to hike the 11 miles. We reached it by about
2:30. Judy picked out her bunk (one of the advantages of arriving at a hut
early) and decided to rest. It was still warm and there was a pool within
a half mile of the hut. I thought I'd walk down to it with my towel, my camera,
and sandals and go for a swim.
At the Mintaro Hut we were first warned about keas, New Zealand's mountain parrot. It is about the size of a hawk and
uses its sharp, hooked beak to "investigate" anything they see, like boots or packs
left outside huts. They also will go into buildings. Apparently there are
things of interest to keas in the bathrooms because there was a warning
sign on the door to the bathroom showing a kea in a circle with a line diagonally
across the image. We heeded the warning.
