One of our reasons for coming to New Zealand was to explore some of the country’s many wilderness areas. In late April we finally set out on an extended backpacking trip on the Queen Charlotte Track in Marlborough Sounds. The Queen Charlotte Track winds through lush forests along a beautiful coastal area near Blenheim, our temporary home.
We initially caught a water-taxi from the harbor of Picton to the starting point at Ship Cove on a windy and overcast morning. It was a rough ride which nearly made Theresa sea-sick and once we made it to the start of the track the rain set in. But we were excited to be hiking and all geared up- me with a new sleeping bag, Theresa with a sleeping bag liner, and rain covers for each of our backpacks. We were ready!
We initially caught a water-taxi from the harbor of Picton to the starting point at Ship Cove on a windy and overcast morning. It was a rough ride which nearly made Theresa sea-sick and once we made it to the start of the track the rain set in. But we were excited to be hiking and all geared up- me with a new sleeping bag, Theresa with a sleeping bag liner, and rain covers for each of our backpacks. We were ready!
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| Just off the boat (after the sea sickness subsided) |
It was a very steep climb from the start as we trudged up our first ascent. It felt like we were making good time for the first couple hours as we hiked along gurgling mountain streams and beneath many chirping birds. We knew we had a long day but were hoping we would make it in less than the suggested eight hours to reach our campsite at Camp Bay. It turned out to be an extremely long day- we started off at 9:20 am and reached camp at about 6:30 pm! Also, we hiked the last 45 minutes in the dark with rain coming down on an already muddy trail. At one point I thought I had spotted a kiwi on the trail- but upon further inspection we realized it was a different (and much less rare) type of flightless bird, the Weka. We finally set up camp, cooked in the rain, and crawled into our tents trying to keep our sleeping quarters dry. We also realized that we may have been a little overambitious thinking that we could hike the entire 71 kms in just three days. We covered 27 kms in the first day- but the thought of doing over 20 each of the next two days was dreadful. At least we stayed warm and dry in our sleeping bags- but we still got little sleep due to aching legs, hard ground, and loud rain- bad combination!
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| Suspension Bridge We woke up to the sound of rain in the morning and were reluctant to get out of the tent. Eventually I cooked up some oatmeal, Theresa packed up the wet, muddy tent and we had a visit from a very pesky Weka (the bird we thought was a Kiwi the night before) who made an already difficult cooking and packing job even more difficult by relentlessly trying to snatch our food bag.  We had decided to only hike about six hours the second day as our bodies were seriously aching. Our packs felt about twice as heavy as well! The rain was unrelenting and the wind picked up again. Most of the morning and afternoon was spent hiking along a ridge and while the clouds were heavy, we did catch a few glimpses of the views of green hills, mountains, and sheltered bays below.We struggled to cook some lunch atop the ridge in a three-walled shelter while gusts of wind tried to blow our stove out. But we persevered and eventually had a tasty lunch of noodles, sausage & cheese, and cookies & peanut-butter. |
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| Rainy Skies |
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| half way there! |
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| Second night camp spot |
After another night of sporadic sleep we woke to fairly clear skies and got a quick start. The clear skies finally opened up the amazing views of the surrounding Marlborough Sounds- mountains, beaches, and clear blue water. We had planned on taking it easy, hiking for just 4-6 hours and spending another night on the trail. But the fact we were making good time combined with the improved weather convinced us to push it and hike the rest of the track on that third day. |
| Cold morning smiles |
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| Pesky Weka |
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| Almost there! |
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| A short rest with 4 hours to go |
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| Horses on the trail |
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| So close!! |
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| We did it! |
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| End of the line |
