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....

Whinging Our Way Through Abel Tasman National Park

Sister Power!

One lesson that I make it a rule to live by - but broke completely today - is to always psychologically prepare for an event, especially with children.

From the top of the Lookout Loop Trail. Totaranui Beach in the foreground and the rest of Able Tasman spread out behind.

In this case I never mentioned to the kids that AFTER the Queen Charlotte Track there would be more hiking. Ooooo, I was not a popular person when I announced that we were going to drive in to Abel Tasman National Park (about 45 minutes up and over a gravel road from our campsite in Pohara) and hike part of that trail as well. After some horrified negotiating by the kids we decided to compromise with a shorter loop trail, rather than a full day water taxi trek. Two hours of hiking seemed a logical request from the gang rather than the five or six I was originally thinking of. (Overachiever, me?)

Despite the renegotiated shorter walk we still had the most whinging of the entire trip. Ah well, not all of the trip could go off as perfectly as the Queen Charlotte! Well, I've learned my lesson, and I still reaped the reward of a beautiful hike. It was splendidly dazzling scenery and almost empty of other people. (Or maybe they just heard the whining train coming and hid.)

The golden color of Totaranui Beach is stunning, even with clouds

Totaranui Beach is a the last stop on the water taxi circuit and it was so neat to watch the water taxis zoom into the beach to drop off and pick up tourists all here for the same thing as us. To spend the day in natures splendor. What a beautiful beach. We had it on a cloudy day, but even so it is 1 kilometer of intense golden sand. I can see why many people make the extra effort to come here for their summer holiday.

After our hike we drove back to Pohara and decided to check out an interesting sign that we'd seen driving in the previous day. At the Anatoki Salmon Farm we were given a fishing pole, a net and a cooler. And off we were sent into the fish farm to catch our own fish. And oh how much fun we had casting away. For the first time in my life I understand the obsessive nature of fishing. Liam and I especially were hell bent on being the first to land dinner. But alas, we didn't. At closing time the owners had to reel US in and, feeling sorry for us, let the kids have a go in the holding pen where they each caught a salmon. And the best part about it is that the fish farm has a huge smoker where our fish directly went and, voila, within 20 minutes of catching the fish we were feasting away.

Liam and Juliet caught the first fish

Dig in!

It doesn't get much fresher that that, or tastier!

Beautiful Golden Bay Sunset Walk

So with full bellies we headed back to our Golden Bay campground to enjoy the last of the day. Tomorrow it's on to Westport and the North Western part of the South Island.

Of Caves, Car Rides and Cherries

After hiking for the past five days continuously it seems a bit odd to be sitting in a car. But for once the kids were not whinging about a long car ride. Gee, their legs must be tired!

We're driving from Picton to Golden Bay, at the North West end of the South Island. It's about five hours by car, but we've got all day. First stop is to pick up some fresh cherries from one of the local cherry orchards. There is just nothing in this culinary world like South Island Cherries right from the tree.

It's quite a windy day and I am glad we are not going along the ridge top today. As it is we spend the morning driving through the famous vineyards which surround Blenheim saying hello to all the grape vines that produce some of our favorite wines.

And then it's onwards, through Nelson to Motueka where we stopped for a quick picnic. It was good to stretch our legs before heading up, up, up the winding road that goes over the marble mountain of Takaka and into Golden Bay. I think the isolation of only having one road in and out is one of the things that makes Golden Bay so special. Well, that and the fact that it is just so beautiful!

At the top of the Takaka Hills is a very special place that we promised the kids we would stop at.

Ngarua Caves. When I visited them in 2005 I thought they were absolutely old school and totally worth the stop! Let's hope they live up to the billing.

Tours led by an old farmer through the limestone caves are every hour, on the hour, during summer and so we pay our fee and get our hard hats. The farmer unlocks the padlock and in we go entering a subterranean network of limestone tunnels, huge stalagmites and dripping stalactites. Being in a cave always makes me feel as though I am invading the earth, and that somehow I am not meant to be here in this magical world. The curvature of the stalactites that hang down in graceful collums have been slowly growing here for thousands of years. How young does it make a mere human like myself feel to witness the slower timescale of geology?

Geological Splendor

And the cave is a record book of New Zealand's animal life too. The cave network has many vents that go up to the surface and which many animals have fallen down over the years, trapped to die of their injuries or starvation. There are bones from kiwi birds and even the extinct Moa bird.

Out we climb

Look mum, we found a Moa!

While looking at the femur of the huge legs one unfortunate Moa it gives you the sense of how tall they really were. To imagine that New Zealand once had these enormous birds walking on it not more than six hundred years ago boggles the mind. Geology may take it's time, but extinction can happen in a mere blink of an eye.

The kids thought the cave was great, and I am glad that it hasn't changed much in the nine years since I was last here. It seems like so much of the world has moved on that revisiting a place that has remained intact sends a little wave of peace down my spine. We spend a little time exploring the Karst landscape around the caves (where scenes from the hobbit were recently filmed) before heading down, down, down off the mountain into Golden Bay itself and our Top Ten Campground.

Walking down from the cave through the spectacular Middle Earth scenery and Tasman Bay.

These campgrounds are one of my favorite things about traveling around New Zealand with the kids. From what I've seen you always get a good location, you get good quality and the kids are always well looked after.

One like to cook, the other doesn't. Can you tell?

Tonight there is a kids movie set up for after dinner so the kids swap their after dinner dish duties for the dinner making itself so they won't miss out. And after all the dishes are dried Randall and I have the chance to walk hand in hand along the beach and enjoy the long, long evening.

Golden Bay Selfie!

Appreciate what you have, love your family, enjoy nature. Life is good.

Day Five - the final day!

Looking down on Mistletoe Bay

The last 13 kilometers of the Queen Charlotte Track today! And it's the first day that we have any kind of a deadline. We are headed to Anakiwa, where we will catch the water taxi back to Picton at 3:30. Something tells me that we will be able to make it.


Really?! Over so soon? It seems like we've been on the trail forever and yet only just started. Maybe that is because this is just the beginning of our tramping, or possibly glamping, adventures.

The track is mellow today, mainly walking through undulating farmland with just a bit of native forest to give us a send off. It no longer feels like we are hiking in a remote place as little bits of civilization are ever more present - boats whizzing by, holiday houses and farm animals. The hills are no higher than our own Mount Maunganui at home so it's pretty easy. We catch up with some of the other hikers along the way and enjoy the relaxed pace. Apart from Clara's bee sting it was a perfectly peaceful way to end our big hike.

Spontaneous sister love - my favorite picture from the track

The end of the track!

By the time we reached Anakiwa we could feel the 70 kilometers in our legs and I was very happy to sit in the shade by the dock and rest my legs while the kids jumped off the water taxi jetty.

The Queen Charlotte Track has been a fantastic experience on many different levels. It has cemented in my mind that the greater outdoors are accessible and fun with a bunch of children. It has reconnected our family to the natural beauty of our country of New Zealand. It has given us all a space in which to breath, relax, joke, stretch and grow together away from the busy-ness of life. And it is has left us with memories that will last a lifetime.

Day Four - Onwards to Mistletoe Bay

Kids under 12 eat for free! I kid you not, all four of our kids had free breakfast at the fancy restaurant at Peppers Portage. Having cooked our own breakfasts the past three morning this was quite a treat for everyone, and certainly prepped us for the day ahead with energy for the short, but steep, track ahead of us. We'll need it 'cause today's trek is less than 8 kilometers but will be a 417 meter uphill!

Juliet the Alpine Super-Hiker

Today Juliet has channeled the Alpine super-hiker look, sporting not only her wooden walking stick, but adding my hiking pole as well. It looked so cute going up the big hill out of Portage. And on she trudged up the big mountain, focused after her day of rest. Determination is her name. She knows where we are going and isn't going to be left behind.

It's even hotter today than the previous days and due to our gluttonous breakfast we aren't getting the earliest start. Oh well. It will make the swim at Mistletoe Bay even better this afternoon.

As soon as we start off we discover why the sign says to allow four hours for the walk to Mistletoe. We are going straight up the mountain! This is a little taste of the hiking that Liana and I did yesterday, up and along the ridge tops high above the water. Again the views are special. Looking behind us we can see Kenepuru Sound where just yesterday the kids were kayaking and in front of us to Picton where we will be sleeping tomorrow night. We have the whole of the Marleborough Sounds laid out before us like a giant's beautiful water park.

Daddy and Juliet go up the last hill of the day

The family have all settled into the rhythm of the hiking and approximately four hours later we take the turn off for Mistletoe Bay Eco Village and wind down the overgrown nature trail. Mistletoe Bay Eco Village is in the sheltered little cove that was named for it's once lush blossoming Mistletoe vines. The campground is relatively new and committed to sustainability and preservation of the environment and once they have gotten a handle on the introduced possum population they plan to regenerate the native New Zealand Mistletoe that was once so vibrant. I'm sure it will look stunning.

Hiking along the ridge top

Down the nature trail to Mistletoe Bay

The little bay that the campground is on is stunning. Once it was a major waka (canoe) building site for the local Maori tribes before being incorporated into the British settlers farming lands. Bought by the Vogel family in the 1940's they returned the land to it's native state and built a small homestead in the bay which is now a guest house. The modern buildings of the campground are all built recently with sustainability in mind and leave as small of a carbon footprint as possible. Nice. We have a six person cabin complete with our own hot water shower. Yesssss. And to add to the spoiled experience I've ordered in an ice box with fresh BBQing provisions for tonight which is waiting for us along with our luggage at the water taxi landing. Ah, have I mentioned I love glamping?


And how good did those steaks and watermelon taste after the hike and an afternoon of jumping off the dock? 

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