“On a Mish” #164 The Opposite of a Boring Land. Borland Ridge. Fiordland National Park. 4.12.2018. Most who look at Fiordland will do so from the base of the giants whose heads reach high into the sky. The stunning uplift of this great land will inspire awe and wonder and a real appreciation for how beautiful and untouched Aotearoa New Zealand really is. Some might be lucky enough to get into the air in an aeroplane or helicopter and marvel at the mountains from above. However, I believe the best way to experience Te Rua O Te Moko (Fiordland) is on your own two feet. But that is normally easier said than done…
The Fiordland Forests guard the upper reaches of most peaks, making the tops a challenge to get to. There are only a couple of places in the 1.3-million-hectare national park where access doesn’t involve an almighty bush bash while navigating steep terrain. With only three roads in the park (one only accessible by boat) the place is like a fortress, doing everything it can to prevent you from finding elevation and open-air views. However, there is a place hidden away south of Lake Te Anau where access is available and doesn’t involve the million and one scratches and scraps you usually get when bashing some of New Zealand’s densest forests.
The Borland Road begins just north of Lake Monowai and eventually finishes at the south end of Lake Manapouri. Due to the world’s obsession with Piopiotahi Milford Sound, most will head to the Milford Road, and this leaves the Borland Road relatively quiet. The area doesn’t have the immense uplift of its northern counterpart, but it is still stunning and well worth a visit.
On a sunny day in December, I headed to the Borland Saddle with a fellow Fiordland Fanatic (Dylan) with the plan to follow a ridge which rises from the Borland Saddle. The fact that the road gets you up to 990m means you have a huge head start on the climbing part of the mish. So you can begin above the forest and away from most of the plants that want to leave bloody reminders on your body. We were excited to hike the ridge and get an awesome view down into the Grebe Valley and to the head of the Upper Borland as well.
After parking up on the saddle, we began our quest north. We had a rare day of blue sky and very little wind, and we weren’t going to waste a second of it. The hike began in easy sloping tussock above the Borland Saddle car park, which soaked our legs due to morning dew. Fiordland is a place where you seem to get wet even when there are no clouds in the sky!
Once above the tussock we got on to the narrower parts of the ridge, which heightened the excitement nearly as much as the distance between us and the Grebe Valley floor which was nearly a kilometre below. After a descent and then climb back up we found ourselves at a rocky outcrop with an excellent little scramble to the top of a craggy peak about three kilometres from the Borland Saddle car park.
We had been on the move for a while, so we stopped for a bite to eat and to admire the view of endless mountains to the west and the familiar hills above the Borland Saddle and road. This place was far from a boring land indeed!
Unfortunately, life was wanting us back in the real world, so after soaking in the serenity we began our wander back along the ridge. To get off the craggy peak near Point 1393m we scrambled along the crux of our mish with Dylan taking a rather adventurous route back down to much firmer ground. After a good dose of excitement, we were back on the rolling hills and an easy stroll on along the undulating ridge. Once back at the car it was high fives and time to take in what we had just achieved. It is safe to say our day out was far from boring and in a land we both think is as good as the wild world of wilderness can produce. I highly recommend a mish to the Borland Road so you can check out an area in Fiordland that has easy access to the tops and is not buzzing with buses and hundreds of humans!
