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