March 8 – It was an early start as Bron needed to be in Picton by 7:30 to catch the water taxi. We have to admit we haven’t been up and out for sunrise too many times during this trip. That may have been a mistake!
[Bron] – The water taxi was also a wildlife cruise and we saw many rare (but ugly) birds such as King Shags and had a wonderful encounter with about 50 Bottlenose Dolphins. The dolphins were on their way somewhere and the crew stopped the boat while they went by within meters of us. Then, about 3 or 4 times when they restarted the boat, 2 of the dolphins came back over to surf in the bow wave, leaving as soon as the boat was shut off again. They are so clever and playful! This picture doesn’t look like much at all (I didn’t take any photos while they were jumping as I was too busy just watching), but they are actually really big and it felt like he was about 2 arm lengths away from me. So cool.
We then stopped for an hour at Motuara Island. It is a pest-free sanctuary (no rats, stoats, dogs, etc) where many endangered birds now flourish. We didn’t see any of the Kiwi birds who are there as they are nocturnal, but we did see many others such as Saddlebacks, Bellbirds, Parakeets, Fan-tails, and Robins. Even a sad looking little penguin in a cave! There was also a brisk climb to a lookout. Exactly what I needed to warm up for a 17km hike.
It was 11:30 by the time I was dropped off at Ship Cove, the start of the Queen Charlotte Track. I was staying at Furneaux’s Lodge the first night so after a quick look around Ship Cove and a bite of lunch I headed off so I wouldn’t be arriving too late. I had booked a bunk in a 4-bed cabin and wanted to get there in time to snag a lower bed.
The walk was lovely. Well formed track. Plenty of shade. Opening to expansive views fairly often. A nice mix of forest types. I passed a lot of other hikers in my quest for a good bunk. I think many were just doing a day walk as I never saw them again.
Great views of the Sound 
Lovely forest sections
Luckily the sign times were generous, and I got to the lodge by 3:30pm. Even more luck – I was the only person in the bunk room for the night. Lots of other hikers were on more ‘upscale’ trips and had full chalets or large rooms, as well as their backpacks transferred by boat, and 3 restaurant meals a day.
Before a hot shower (oh the hiking luxury – it just doesn’t seem possible!) I visited a >1000 year old Rimu tree. The things this tree must have seen in its life…. very humbling.
Nothing for scale in the photo – the trunk diameter is over 2m
The lodge was very nice and included hammocks, WIFI, paddle boards, and a hot tub (I didn’t pack a bathing suit unfortunately). This wasn’t quite the hut life I was used to hiking. I did have ramen noodles and Pringles for dinner to make it feel more familiar (don’t be mad Mum, the ramen was at least wholewheat!).
Well this is alright!!!!
[Brent] – Being Sunday there was not much to do in Picton or Blenheim. We needed to get the car serviced and there is also a stone caught in the left front brake calliper. Driving around is a noisy affair and not much fun.
I headed off to the Omaka Airfield where there was an excellent aviation museum. The displays included extensive displays of WWI and WWII aircraft. We have seen six of these biplanes flying over Kaikōura the previous day. I quite happily spent the day wandering around looking at the displays, before heading home to the hotel.
March 9 – It started raining heavily during the night and didn’t stop. Today’s walk was just 12km to Punga Cove Resort. It would probably be nice in good weather but in the rain there was nothing to see but mist and it was muddy and slippery. I was SO wet I didn’t take a single picture on trail, and just motored along in a dripping, soggy funk. I was kind of enjoying it, in a ‘well this is terrible’ sort of way. There were jokes and laughs with all the other hikers I met during the day about how terrible it was. Some hikers had taken a boat to the next lodge though, cheaters!!!
Leaving the sanctuary of the first lodge 
Next dry moment – at the next lodge
On the bright side, the afternoon brought these excellent turns of events.
My honey has arrived by road! With vegetables! 
Blue sky and a room with a view
Brent – support crew extraordinaire – arrived after servicing the car and getting groceries. The servicing took visits to two different spots, since he wanted to ensure that the noise in the left front was a stone in the calliper and nothing more serious. The Service Manager, Tim, at Blenheim Toyota took the car for a little run and agreed that it was likely a stone. Pulling around back, he asked one of the service technicians to remove the tyre and calliper to get the stone out. NO CHARGE!! The oil change on the rental was arranged for around lunch time and paid for by the rental company. We’ve been very happy with the DriveNZ Rental Car Company.
Bron – This was another huge perk of a less remote hike, we could be together for the rest of the nights. And there was a hot shower, king bed, real pillows, and my personal chef and chauffeur. Score!
March 10 – Brent offered to drive me to the saddle where the track turned off the road, but I wouldn’t feel like I’d done the track if I skipped even the 1km road section. Off I went, telling Brent I’d see him in 6-8 hours and ~25km at the next lodge.
For every moment yesterday was yuck, today was awesome. Each crest brought big views of the sounds, there were so many types of forest (Pine, Beech, Fern), the weather was perfect, and the trail was in great shape. The walk didn’t feel too tough – easier climbs than the Kepler and the distance seemed to go by quickly. My feet were getting sore by about 23km though. As I came out of the forest to the road, to my surprise there was Brent! He’d timed his walk up from the Portage hotel so perfectly he’d only been there 3 minutes and we walked the 700m down to the hotel together. We treated ourselves to a fancy dinner with drinks AND dessert (possibly the first time we’ve done that on this trip). Another king bed and hot shower….. I’m sure glad I did the hut hiking before experiencing this luxury stuff.
Brent – I went to Picton to get a haircut. Drive back to meet Bron. Don’t be late. Don’t be late. Don’t be late. (I was not late.)
March 11 – All too soon it was the last day and last 21km to the end of the track. Today I accepted a ride back to the trail as the road section wasn’t official part of the track and I’d walked down it yesterday. Trail support husband for the win! I think most people had to walk up. Brent is the best.
Brent – I am pretty good.
Torea Saddle
Another fantastic trail day. More big views. More great forest. I didn’t see another sole for the first 7km. It was a little drizzly, but it was welcome as the trail was more open and it would have been scorching going up the hills in full sun. Past Te Mahia saddle there were school groups on mountain bikes (likely from the Outward Bound school in Anakiwa), and more day walkers as I got closer to Anakiwa.
Brent – I went to Havelock to have a look around. Havelock is the home of NZ green-lipped mussels. The town is a little sleepy village nestled in the mountains along Pelorus Sound.
It was not a very long drive on a very windy road. Drive back to meet Bron. Don’t be late. Don’t be late. Don’t be late. (Would I be late?)
Top of the last major climb 
Finish line
Based on my time vs the sign yesterday I arranged to meet Brent 6 hours after starting, at 2:30pm. This section ran a bit faster though and I was there around 1:45pm. Well – can you believe it – my trail angel husband drove up not 5 minutes after I finished and took me for icecream. Perfect timing!
All in all a great track (not officially a Great Walk). It can be made a lot easier by only carrying a day pack and staying in lodges which provide everything (I carried my stuff on day 1 and 2 as I knew I could ditch it with Brent in the car for the longest days so it wasn’t worth paying for pack transfer). There are also campsites along the way if you want to make it harder. Over 4 days Fitbit says I did 135K steps (including side trails, and lodge time), GPS watch says I climbed 2,780m, and the official track length is 71km. Day 3 would be tough without some training, but it’s definitely doable with moderate fitness and determination.
I can’t thank Brent enough for being so supportive. While doing some exploring along the way, he spent most of the time I was on the track driving around and making awesome meals. The long hikes are my dream, not his, and I’m beyond grateful he is so willing to help me make it happen.
Post hike we still had more plans for the day. Brent arranged for us to meet up with another Canadian couple who have a travel blog and happened to be in Blenheim the same day. The planned restaurant turned out to be closed due to a fire, but an alternate was soon found. We had a great time chatting about places traveled, places to travel, and how everyone makes it work. It was great to meet you Coral and Ken! Here is a link to Coral’s travel blog.
Brent And Bron Abroad 
Fun post (Brent, I’m sure you really are great!). Thanks for the link to our blog and especially for taking time to meet with us before you headed north.
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We are getting ready to go home. So much has changed since we spoke only two days ago. Good luck with your travels.
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