Woke up fairly early to get to Ultimate Hikes office for the bus to Te Anau, and we were handed name badges to identify ourselves. The journey was very picturesque and crossed the path of a working steam train (the Kingston flyer). Paul, our bus driver gave us some very interesting commentary en route.

We stopped in a small back town for 'cholesterol free' ice cream, but Stef just bought a baseball cap instead. We got back on the bus and drove to Te Anau for a light buffet lunch. Here began the sitting around mixed tables and mingling with the other Trekkers.

We drove a bit further on to get on the boat across the water to start our trek. A nice trip across Milford Sound with more commentary from the captain, highlighting the memorial to McKinnon (who found McKinnon Pass) on the small spit of rock where his empty boat was found - his body was never recovered. Also a small island where a number of Māori artefacts were found by some fishermen taking refuge from a storm.
Reached the official start of the Milford track and walked the 20 minutes to Glade Lodge, with Stef breaking the record for quickest time to get a sandfly bite. Upon arrival at the lodge we were shown to our bunk room, which we were alone in, and then went to join the rest of the Trekkers in the dining room for a few drinks before a nice dinner of venison for Stef and cod for Cerys. After that had a slide show highlighting what to look out for on the next day and introductions from everyone (big cheers for us for being on honeymoon and various others who were celebrating wedding anniversaries). After that more chatting with the others before an early night in preparation for the first proper day of walking - lights off at 10, with Stef fast asleep before then.