Having arrived in Picton the night before, we were able to have a leisurely start to our Christmas trip along the Queen Charlotte Track. After a quick stop at the local bakery for some coffee and pastries for breakfast we made our way back down to the wharf ready to catch the water taxi to the start of the track.
Being Christmas time, the shuttle was busy and we spent a fun hour on the boat calling in at various private docks delivering people and supplies to the holiday cottages that are scattered throughout the Marlborough Sounds. At one stop we looked down into the water and were amazed to see some rays floating along the bottom apparently basking in the warm, sunny shallows.
Eventually we arrived at Meretoto / Ship Cove, the start of the Queen Charlotte Track. We had visited this bay before when we were sailing in the Marlborough Sounds a few years ago (link) and so it was fun to actually go ashore and see the area from a different perspective.
We spent a while exploring Ship Cove and learning more about Captain Cook’s time here as well as iwi (Māori groups) that used this area to gather food. Eventually, however, it was time to start our trek along the Queen Charlotte Track.
The track is seventy one kilometers long, but unlike most of the other tracks we have done in Aotearoa New Zealand, there aren’t any huts on this route, instead walkers have the option of camping or staying in lodges. We decided to stay in the lodges and not only that opted to have the water taxi take our bags from stop to stop for us; quite the luxury experience!
Over the winter, the track had suffered significant damage in a large storm that came through the area in mid-July. Sections of the track had only recently reopened and it was clear to see that huge amounts of mud and vegetation had been cleared to cut a new track through the bush.
From Ship Cove, the track climbed steadily up towards Ship Cove Saddle, the first of many high points along the track. Through a small break in the bush we were able to look out towards the Cook Straight and Motuara Island. The island is known for being a wildlife sanctuary as one of the few pest-free islands around Aotearoa New Zealand.
Looking out across the bush-covered hillsides, it was hard to believe that in the 1880s Motuara Island was completely cleared for grazing. The last angora goats were removed in 1913, however it wasn’t until the last of the rats were removed that the island was truly able to start regenerating as they were eating the seeds of many of the native plants.
The track continued towards Resolution Bay, from the ridge we were easily able to pick out the dock at Schoolhouse Bay, the next landmark on our hike, as well as Tawa Saddle, the next climb on our way around to Endeavour Inlet. Although a much easier track than some of the longer trips we had done, the constant undulations meant that it was still pretty good exercise!
Despite the undulating track, we made good progress and soon were able to make out the jetty at Furneaux Lodge, our destination for the night. This had been another stop on our sailing tour of the Sounds and so it was nice to see the area from the land. After a day of hiking, I think we were both looking forward to a warm shower, comfy bed and meal that we didn’t have to cook for ourselves.
We settled into our room which had a perfect view of the jetty and water at Endevour Inlet. With a little time before dinner, we decided to take the paddleboards out for a quick exploration of the bay, but the choppy conditions and chilly water meant that decided we were better off sticking to dry land.
We had dinner sitting on the deck of the lodge, a beautiful old building dating back to the early 1900s which was originally built as a holiday home for a wealthy Wellington based biscuit maker. It was a very relaxing end to our first day of walking and a far cry from the dehydrated meals we are used to eating on our usual tramping trips!
We knew that our second day of hiking was an easy one, both in terms of distance and grade. We had a nice leisurely start and enjoyed breakfast in the dining room of the lodge before getting packed up to continue our walk around Endevour Inlet.
We stopped for lunch at a handy picnic bench overlooking Big Bay, the final inlet we had to walk around before reaching our accommodation for the night at Camp Bay.
We stayed in a little A-Frame cabin perched on the side of the bush-covered hillside. After some afternoon tea in the hammock overlooking the bay and jetty, we decided it was time to head out and explore a little more.
We took some kayaks out to explore the coastline around Camp Bay, and as we got closer to the shoreline we were delighted to see a giant Ray hanging out in the shallows. We were able to drift over the Ray a few times before it headed off into the deeper water. After exploring some more of the bay, we decided to head back and get ready for dinner so that we could have an early night ahead of our biggest day of hiking the following day.