Day Three - Liana and I tackle a mountain...

And we are off!

Before going to bed the night before Randall and I decided that we would split up for our big middle day. He plans to take the water taxi to Portage and spend the day kayaking with the kids. But Liana and I are on a mission to be able to say we've hike every step of the Queen Charlotte track.

So while everyone else is sleeping Liana and I get up with the dawn and start off. I think we are both a bit nervous for the day to come. 24 kilometers and several peaks over 400 meters. But it is a gloriously sunny day and we will get the steepest climb up out of Punga cove and onto the the Kenepuru saddle before the sun is too hot. And from there we hike up the ridge top above the Bay of Many Coves, the views should be unreal!

Liana and I make good time enjoying a sense of total freedom. Nothing like the wind in your hair and the sun at your back....


By the time we have climbed out of Punga Cove the morning mists have left the water and only linger in a few of the low lying valleys. The air is crisp, but with the hint of the afternoon heat to come. The vegetation today is a bit different from the two days prior. The old growth beech and lush fern forests are slowly replaced with more pine trees and scrubby, heartier plants. It takes us a good three hours to reach the Bay of Many Coves Shelter where we gladly rest our feet and enjoy a snack while taking in the spectacular views.

One of the things that always strikes me when you are out on the trail is the camaraderie that you feel with the other hikers. Maybe it's the naturalness of it, something that hearkens back to days when our distant ancestors were hunter gatherers.

The trail is fairly deserted, especially for the height of summer, but at the rest stop people tend to
naturally congregate and chat. There was a lovely family from Tauranga with four kids doing just as we were. They said the Queen Charlotte was nothing compared to the Annapurna circuit that they had done last year! Also there was a single mum from Sydney with her 13 year old son. And three Swedish people in their late seventies who were trekking full steam ahead! After they passed us on the trail for the second time Liana turns around with wide eyes. When I get old, I want to be like that, she says. Amen to that!

Looking across the Bay of Many Coves to Picton in the distance.

On the downhill!

The day was long, the hills were steep. The scenery was spectacular. By the second half of the trail we were well and truly on top of the ridge and could see all the way back to Picton and watch the inter-islander ferry's cruise by as well as a big cruise ship leaving port about midday. We stopped at the Black Rock Shelter for lunch and had a little siesta with the Weka birds circling and begging for food. We gobbled up every last vestige of our food before heading down off the ridge to the Torea Saddle (70 year old Swedish people gaining ground by the kilometer) and on to Peppers Portage on the Kenepuru Sound where we were greeted by a bunch of happy, sandy kayakers! Nothing like finishing a good days hike to the excited tune of "Mummy!!!!!" It's nice to be missed, even if I was only gone for eight hours.

Meanwhile..... daddy's little kayakers

The resort is fabulous And certainly knows how to treat glampers like us. Hot shower and a million dollar view out of the restaurant! And the dorm room that we stayed in had beds for six - four upstairs and one big one downstairs, just enough room for us. All the benefits of the hotel without the price!

Watching the sunset over the Kenepuru Sound a feeling of blessing and thankfulness for this beautiful world abound.

Goodnight from the Peppers Portage on the Queen Charlotte Track!

Queen Charlotte Track Day Two - Endeavor Inlet to Punga Cove

We awaken to find the sun has replaced the wind that howled all night and the track is beckoning us onward. The plan today will be to walk around the whole of Endeavor Inlet, about 12 kilometers, but without the steep hills of yesterday. And the beauty is, we have all day to do it.

Vine covered Rimu

And we are off!

With swim suits loaded into our packs we leave our bigger bags for the water taxi and hit the trail. The track winds around Endeavor inlet which, in addition to being home of native flora and fauna, has sheltered Maori, British settlers, mining industry and even boasted a small settlement over the years. Now it's mainly native bush and the occasional holiday home, accessed only by the sea.

Ticking down the km's

Maori people have lived in and around the Marlborough sounds for hundreds of years. The Queen Charlotte Sound was extremely important to them for it's kai moana (seafood), wood (Totara trees were favored for their waka) and of course trade routes. They called the sound Totaranui, or the big Totara, after the huge Totara Tree forests that grew here.

The morning walk was peaceful in the shade of the old trees, with plenty of Weka and Bell birds singing to us. Nature provides such an intense feeling of connectedness, especially when it has been left to itself for a long time.

But not all of the forests that we will hike through on the five day track will be the old growth. When the British settlers arrived in the late 1800's they logged many of the valleys here to make way for sheep and to provide wood for the buildings of the growing country. Luckily for the forest it has mostly been left to return to it's natural state and how quickly nature recovers when let alone!

When you are tired of walking you can always swing on the vines!

One of the things that I find a surprise bonus on the track is how much quality one on one time I am getting with each of the kids! How you may ask is this happening?
I think it's the rhythm of the trail. Randall usually leads up front and I play "sweeper" in the rear, making sure no one gets left behind. The kids all take turns running up ahead, or falling back behind with me, and with various pairing throughout the day. The most beautiful conversations spontaneously occurred. For example I got to hear all about the trials and tribulations of the social life of a seven year old girl. Learn about the latest "world" on Minecraft from Liam and what he most would like to have in a new school backpack. Liana's new found fashion ideas and concerns for her upcoming first year of high school. And had a hilarious conversation with Juliet about how one of the little girls at preschool keeps forgetting to wear undies. Oh dear.

They are just the natural kind of conversations that seem to get forgotten in our busy lives, or only half had because of all the other distractions. But here where we are all together sleeping in one room these little vignettes happen spontaneously. The bond of a family is inherently a deep one, and it is so relaxing to be here, in nature, walking and talking as we are meant to do naturally.

Kereru, Native Wood Pigeon

As the sun rose high in the afternoon so did the temperature. We had planned to take a little detour to check out the Antimony mines at the head of Endeavor Inlet, but decided to push on to get to a swimming hole and avoid the coming whine fest that comes with overheated children! (Antimony, if you are curios, is a metal that was once used to manufacture Pewter, ammunition and print type.)
Mining side trip aborted, we stopped for a late lunch and swim at Camp Bay. The water in the sounds comes in from the Cook Straight so it is quite a bit chillier than what we are used to up in the north island. But what the heck, after a long, hot hike it feels so darn nice.

In keeping with our glamping trip we rolled into our hotel at Punga Cove just in time for dinner. It's a lovely sheltered spot surrounded by huge tree ferns and views across the Endeavor Inlet to where we started this morning. We opted out of the fancy dinner restaurant and braved the sand flies to sit outside by the water.

What a lovely way to end the second day, sitting on the dock eating pizza and drinking wine with a dash of south island sandfly.

Punga Cove

Queen Charlotte Track - Glamping Day ONE!

Queen Charlotte Track - glamping day one

Water taxi's. Yes, that is the key to making the Queen Charlotte track into a "glamp" verses a "tramp".

We arrive at the dock at 9:30 with three suitcases and a set of backpacks, and cheerily wave goodbye to our suitcases. They will be waiting for us at our accommodation tonight. All we need is our lunch, water and camera. Sweet as!

The Queen Charlotte Track is one of New Zealand's famous hikes, stretching approximately 70 kilometers on the ridge tops and through the native bush of Queen Charlotte and Kenepuru Sounds. Many people mountain bike the trail in two days or hike it in three, but given our mandate of showing the kids just how fun tramping can be, we opted to break it up into five days - four shorter days with one big long day in the middle (with the littlest members of our trip taking the water taxi on the big day if needed).

As we cruise out of Picton and into the sound I have to say I'm feeling just a little nervous as this whole thing could turn to absolute custard if the whining hits critical mass, but so far everyone is in good spirits and are looking forward to the adventure. I issued each kid a goody bag that they get to self manage for the hike. Beef jerky, chips and a whole candy bar for each day of walking... not to mention the giant packed lunch. I figured that our family isn't that different from Napoleon's army, and when he advised that an army marches on it's stomach I am taking his advice.

Day one we plan to hike from Ship Cove to Endeavor Inlet which is approximately 14 kilometers.

heading ashore at Ship Cove

Our water taxi takes us deep into the Marlborough Sounds and about an hour or so out of Picton we finally arrive into the stunningly beautiful Ship Cove.

When Captain James Cook sailed into Ship Cove for the first time on the 15th of January 1770 he must have smiled. The protected sandy cove was the perfect place for him to set up a small settlement, plant gardens and give his men a break from the sea while they overhauled their ship. The settlement didn't last, but it's name remained and now a monument commemorating the good Captain stands at the start of the Queen Charlotte Trek.

And so we are off.

The trail is still muddy from last weeks rain, but our day is sparkling and sunny. And we make good time up the muddy clay track. Juliet insists on walking through the mud instead of around it as she keeps wanting to test out if her boots are truly waterproof. The boys are off, waiting for us at the top of the ridge. The forest is amazing, virgin beech forest rise out of the canyons sheltering us from the heat of the day and giving the native birds a habitat to carry on with their lives. The overwhelming buzzing of cicada's give way to the tinkling song of the bell bird and then back to cicada's.

School House Bay - no filter's needed to take beautiful photos here!!!

After our first big ascent we wound our way down to School House Bay - the perfect picnic spot where the kids swam and skipped stones. We don't have to be anywhere at any time so why rush when the idyll is so lovely?

Looking down on Endeavor Inlet

The second half of the day was steep and my legs were tired, but the kids rocked on. It seems that giving them very specific goals about how many kilometers they were going kept them focused occupied. Every time we saw a kilometer marker we took a picture. As we started at the end of the track the sign posts were counting down our kilometers. It seems a bit daunting when you've just come up a huge hill and then you see a sign that says you have 61 kilometers to go! But then Liam sprints past and it's on to the next hill and view!

Juliet makes friends with a Weka

It was early evening when we made our way into Endeavor Inlet and started seeing some settlements. Little baches and accommodations. We found the gate that led down to ours - Furneaux Lodge, a homestead from the early 1900's converted into a Lodge.

Suddenly the pleasurable aspects of glamping hit me again. Awaiting us is a lovely little bunk house, a long hot shower and a restaurant with fine food and wine.

Going to dinner at Furneux Lodge

That night the kids pretty much fell straight into bed without even the usual bickering over who gets what bed! We sat on our porch looking over the grounds of the old homestead-turned-lodge and listened to the raging winds in the trees above us on the track. With the music of nature in our heads we all slept very, very well, dreaming of blue water, ancient beech trees and bell birds.

South Island Here We Come!

And the travelin' family are on the move again!

It's summer holidays and our beautiful island nation is beckoning to be discovered! One of the things that New Zealand is most famous for is it's spectacular scenery and just how accessible it is for people like us to get out and explore it. So we have decided to try our hand at tramping with the kids and exploring the top and west of New Zealand's South Island.

When we first came up with the idea of taking the kids to experience New Zealand's great hiking tracks I think most of my friends thought it was nuts. Four kids hiking mountain trails and through bush and rain forest, I must agree that is sounds like the ultimate recipe for a whine-fest.... But I had a cunning plan up my sleeve.... instead of dropping them in the deep end of "tramping" (definition for you non kiwi's out there, being a multi day hiking or bush walking) we decided to introduce them to "glamping" on the world famous Queen Charlotte Track. (Definition: glamorous tramping.) Many weeks went into the planning to be sure we knew what we were getting into, and to get the kids really sold on the idea. We even had "practice tramps" up and around the Mount where we live.


So with hiking boots, camelbacks and loads of bug repellent we eagerly arrived into the little town of Picton at the top of the South Island. This cute little town has grown up as the port that the Cook Strait ferry docks into, you can drive onto the ferry in Wellington and in three hours drive off into the South Island. And many adventure seeking tourists take this route on their "100% Pure New Zealand" experience. (Trademark NZ government marketing campaign, cause let's be honest, New Zealand is not really all that clean and green, there just aren't as many people to pollute it!)

We are super lucky on the weather. It is a sparkling day and the forecast is looking good for the next three days, fingers crossed it stays that. Our camp ground is filled with RV's, cabins and tents with quite a range of different people - Kiwi, German, French and British -  couples and families alike all keen to see this beautiful land and enjoy the height of summer.

It's just an overnight stop for us though. Tomorrow we are catching the 9:30 am water taxi to the start of the trail. Not too early, all part of our "glamping" experience.