Driving, Cape Foulwind, Pancakes and Pounamu

Oh no, Juliet, don't leave Koala behind!

It was a long day of driving from Golden Bay to Westport. And I am glad that we didn't decided to drive any further that day. Any more driving and the beauty of the place all blurs into one long car ride and takes the fun out of the trip.
Most of the day was spent heading over the mountains and down the Buller River gorge to the wild west coast. There were several wonderful road side fruit stalls and an aborted picnic at a place the kids aptly dubbed "sandfly river" (we ate in the car, with the windows up), but mostly we drove on enjoying the scenery as it passed by. And luckily the weather gods are still on our side with fantastic blue skies all the way.

Views of Tauranga Bay, Cape Foulwind

Westport is our stopover point where we checked in to our next Top 10 for the night. Westport is kind of a gloomy town, being on the dieing side of the coal mining industry, and lashed with the wild west coast weather, but we did make it in time to check out the Fur Seal Colony at Cape Foulwind which was well worth the stop!

The stunning beach at Tauranga Bay, Cape Foulwind

Cape Foulwind Lighthouse

Cape Foulwind was named by Captain Cook who encountered the famous west coast weather on his trip through the area in 1770. It took his ship three months to pass this cape, poor souls. It's surprising that his name for the Cape wasn't a bit ruder! The walk out to the Fur Seal Colony was the perfect way to stretch out the car cramps and the baby fur seals were just adorable. Once you adjusted your eyes there were heaps of them bouncing around under rocks waiting for mum to come home and feed them. Lucky for us we still had the stunning weather to highlight the pristine beach that stretches along this lonely, seemingly forgotten coastline. 

In the morning we are off to check out the Glaciers!

Punakaiki Coastline, one of Lonely Planet's top ten most scenic drives

Sister Power

The drive from Westport to Glacier Country is rated by Lonely Planet to be one of the top ten most scenic drives in the world. Sadly our pact with the good weather god ended and we awoke to rain. I suppose it had to happen and truth be told the weather added a bit of mystery to the surrounds. The mountains were wreathed it low lying clouds and seemed both distant and intimate at the same time. Huge cliffs dripping with water and ancient vegetation plunge into the storm swept seas that churned with giant sea kelp and rolling breakers. Lonely planet did not lie, it's dramatic scenery whatever the weather.

Walking through the fields of flax to see the Pancake Rocks

We stopped at Punakaiki to view the famous pancake rocks that stick out into the ocean here. They are made from limestone, but geologists are still puzzled as to why they developed such a unique look to them. The rain had lifted enough to allow us to take the walk around the rocks and view platforms. It is very well laid out for visitors and with all the Chinese tourists that are starting to flood the tourism sector here I would say it's a good thing. Clara had her picture taken by several Asian tourists all in love with her bronze-red hair!

Pancake Rocks, Punakaiki

Pancake Rocks

And it's back on the road. Once past Greymouth the scenery starts changing and you can feel the presence of the glaciers up in the hidden mountains above us. These are the Great Southern Alps that we are starting to encounter and every few kilometers or so that we drive south we cross another raging glacial river running out of the hills. These mountains and rivers are where the pounamu (Nephrite Jade) was traditionally harvested by the Maori, something they used as money and status. They would travel long distances and fight many a battle to come into possession of this most sacred taonga (treasure). Looking at the raging rapids and milky glacial waters I have a new found respect for those first settlers of New Zealand who traveled through this inhospitable country.

The kids are good troopers and we stop whenever needed - even by the side of one such raging glacial river! At one turn off we made a stop to see if we could fossick out any jade, but the sand flies were too big for us to stay long.

Finally we arrived in the little town of Fox Glacier, a town built solely on the tourist trade servicing the glacier. Tomorrow we are going back in geological history to climb one of the last vestiges of the ice age - the Fox Glacier.

Campsite for the night.... In the shadow of giants....

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.