The Long Walk

When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna' be

I'm gonna' be the man who wakes up next to you

When I go out, yeah I know I'm gonna' be

I'm gonna' be the man who goes along with you

If I get drunk, well I know I'm gonna' be

I'm gonna' be the man who gets drunk next to you

And if I haver, hey I know I'm gonna' be

I'm gonna be the man who's havering to you

- Craig Reid The Proclaimers

Picton Harbour at sunrise. I can see why it's called the "Golden Hour" for photography. This is hands-down my favourite picture of New Zealand so far.
If I want more of these, I guess I'm going to have to start getting up early.

My brother and Sister-in-law came to visit. They spent a week in the Northland (north of Auckland) and hoped to explore the Coromandel, but were forced south by the floods. We showed them a few of our favourite spots on the North Island, then headed to the Marlborough Sounds (South Island) to walk the Queen Charlotte Track. Dan, my university room-mate, was touring the South Island, so he hooked up with us for our tramp.

For our travels on the QCT, we decided to "glam-camp" ... we had our bags (and case of wine) forwarded to our destination each day so we could walk with only a day-pack. Each night, we stayed in comfortable lodges. Little H was already on the South Island for a week-long school camping trip. We snatched her from the ferry dock as they were returning and we were leaving, but we almost had to leave her and Kari behind to catch up with us by boat. It all worked out, though the timing was tight, and she walked with us the entire 71 km.

Rather than go into detail for each step along the way, this post is presented as a "photo essay" ...

Mt Taranaki and Cape Egmont lighthouse. While I was working, Kari took Laird and Lisa for a day trip to one of our favourite North Island destinations. Mt Taranaki is "always" shrouded in cloud but seems to like us, uncovering his face whenever we are around.

 

We spent a night in Wellington drinking too much wine and eating green-lipped Mussels. After visiting the Weta Cave to see where movie magic happens, we took a side trip to Mt Victoria for spectacular views of the city.

  

They had been to Cape Reinga, the northern-most tip of NZ, so of course we had to take Laird and Lisa to Cape Palliser, the southern tip of the North Island. One of the highlights was watching young seals frolicking in their watery nursery.

  

No trip to New Zealand would be complete without a winery tour. We stopped at a couple in Martinborough on our way home from the Cape.

The ferry left Wellington at 3am. Kari had the foresight to book us into some sleeping cabins for the 3 hour crossing of the Cook Strait. It was great to wake up rested as we prepared to start a long journey.

Little H had already been on the South Island for a 5-day school trip to Curious Cove. It was awesome to hear her stories and see her pictures. She has really starting taking some great photos. We will post a collection of her shots soon.

We met Dan early in the morning for breakfast. He regaled us with tales of his adventures on the South Island, crazy Kiwi drivers, and mysterious "Stop-Go sign girls". Here he tries to appear perturbed, a frequent look as I shoved a camera in everyone's face throughout the trip.

We had to snatch Little H from the ferry terminal and get back across the harbour to catch our launch to Ship Cove. They were arriving "some time between 9 and 10" and our launch left at 10. Kari found Little H and hurried her across the harbour, stopping only to let her do a Superman costume change out of her school uniform.

It was a gorgeous day with bright blue skies. A perfect way to start our adventure.

Landing at Ship Cove, Capt Cook's base of operations from 1770-1777, we were greeted by this Maori pou whenua

  

Lot's of smiles while we explored Meretoto/Ship Cove and finally started our trek. In total, we would cover 71km/44mi in 4 days.

It's a steep, unrelenting climb leaving the cove but the views along the ridge were spectacular.

Lots of walking and snacking along the way, then our typical trail lunch of dried meats, hard cheeses, and scroggin. For the remainder of the tramp, we would have pack lunches prepared for us each day.

Streams and waterfalls crossed our trail at multiple points. We couldn't possibly stop and take photos at all of them, but we tried our best.

Our first view of Endeavour Inlet ... our destination for the end of Day 1. We still had a fair distance to travel, but the end was in sight.

Just before finishing our day, we descended to the shore of the inlet to explore and see what might be living under the rocks.

We had hoped to have a swim but our lodge was high on the hillside without easy access to the water. Instead, we kicked off our hiking boots and dug into the wine supply. Rod, our host at the Bluewater Lodge, prepared an amazing dinner and afterward we walked down the trail to see the glow-worms.

Day 2 was a short 4-hour walk around Endeavour Inlet, so we had a big breakfast and a late start.

  

We took our time and explored some side trails, stopping to take pictures along the way. It was a little grey and drizzly, but not unpleasant.

We thought we would have to eat sitting in the dirt, but there are picnic tables spread out along the trail at pretty regular intervals, and always with amazing views. The thick sandwiches on home-made bread Rod prepared for us and the fresh fruit he packed were just what the doctor ordered.

 

 

Relaxed and joyful ... we really did have a lot of fun in each others' company.

With such a large and noisy group, wildlife sightings were not very common along the trail. I managed to catch this image of a Kawau paka (Little Shag) from about 50m away.

At the end of Day 2, Rod met us in Punga Cove. We stuck around for snacks and a couple of beers, but the outgoing tide threatened to leave the boat dry and stranded, so we headed out to catch our dinner.

 

 

  

Blue Cod was the catch of the day. We had hoped to catch enough for dinner and Rod didn't disappoint. He put us on a honey hole ... as soon as we dropped our lines, we were catching fish. We caught our boat limit in less than an hour. Dan was the big winner ... he landed the first, the biggest, and the most.

Rod stayed on the aft deck cleaning our catch while Little H steered us back across the Inlet to our Lodge. Dinner that night was fresh-caught Blue Cod.

Another early morning start had us eating breakfast before it was light out. We got our gear and ourselves loaded, and Puck guided the boat across the Inlet back to Punga Cove. The light at this time of day makes taking great photos pretty easy.

Day 3 was set up to be a bear. We were up awfully early and had 8-hours of tramping ahead of us. Four out of five trampers agree ... it was going to be a great day. Little Highstead doesn't do mornings, and especially doesn't do morning photo shoots.

The start of Day 3 was pretty terrible. Starting at sea level, the track climbs over 650 m of elevation in about 3.5 km. Despite all that climbing, with all the up and down along the ridge, the net gain is only about 300 m! The day started out a little grey and overcast but that didn't diminish the spectacular views in any way.

The last half of the tramp was along exposed ridgelines. The sun was harsh and hot. Dan and Kari slathered buckets of sunscreen on their fair skin and we were all wistfully recalling the cool forest tracks left behind earlier in the day.

We ended the day on the shores of Kenepuru Sound, soaking our feet in the frigid waters and resting our weary souls as we awaited boat transport to Hopewell Lodge.

Not a bad place to end our day.

Every turn, every corner, and every new shoreline provided opportunities for exploration. Little H uncovered these Cushion Stars and cheekily asked Dan (a former Coast Guard navigator) to name the constellation.

 

Day 4 was full of promise. It was slated to be long, but not as long as Day 3. We opted to have the boat drop us a few km's further up the track from where we were picked up, allowing us a little later start and an early finish. We had a water taxi pick-up scheduled for 4 pm, and by cutting out a small section of the track, there was no pressure to make it on time.

On the last day, we had occasional views of green forested hillsides plunging into deep blue inlets, but most of the track was forested and cool. We descended the ridge to the shores of Grove Arm where we had our last trail lunch ... left-over pizza from the night before. The entire track, 4 days and almost 70 km, we had seen only a handful of other people. We knew we were close to the end when the foot traffic picked up and few if any were wearing backpacks.

 

Anakiwa and the end of the Queen Charlotte Track. We tramped through multiple micro-climates, up mountainsides, and along ridge lines. We did it together, this group of 6, but we each took something individual away from it. This was Little H's first multi-day trek and I am really proud of how well she did (despite the mini-meltdowns along the way). I hope this is only the beginning ... Little H says "No way!"

We enjoyed ice-cream and much-needed grass naps while awaiting pick-up and transport back to Picton.

Four days and 71 km together ... and still smiling.

We had one last night in Blenheim before taking the ferry back to Wellington. Kari found us another amazing bach where we drank "Chicago's", did laundry, and prepared to head home.

Our ferry back across the Cook Strait didn't leave until early afternoon so we couldn't pass up the chance to have a beer tasting at the Moa Brewery ...

... and a wine tasting at Cloudy Bay.

Haere ra ...