March 18-19: Picton & the Queen Charlotte Track

Wednesday, March 18: The sky was blue and the day glorious, perfect for a hike out of Picton through what is called the Victoria Domaine to "The Snout". On the map the domaine does actually have the shape of an aligator so the snout would be his/her nose. It felt a bit like the hike to Cape Split in that you walk out and back and at the end you get nothing but spectacular views, not a single concession hoping to sell something. Decidedly the walk here is not as flat; there were quite a lot of dips and climbs. Also numerous switchbacks, and steps created by putting something like a 2 x 4 or 6 vertically in the ground. so it was pretty easy walking. Kiwis know how to hike!!

Sadly there is no way (for me at any rate) to capture the sunlight streaming through the trees as I walked, or the sound of nothing but birds, cicadas (my goodness they can be loud) and the occasional fishing boat. Truly it was fantastic. The walk was along the coastline virtually the entire way with a view across the Queen Charlotte Sound to the Queen Charlotte Track. You can do a multi-day hike along the track but I'm hoping to do just one day, and tomorrow is my last chance. I passed a few people along the way but for the most part felt like I had this walk to myself. The round trip took about 4 hours.

Some of the views on the way to the Snout

At the Snout

Along the path

I returned to Picton to have coffee with a friend of Jan's from her Blenheim days. I've been so happy to have the opportunity to meet New Zealanders. They must all be warm and welcoming!

Thursday, March 19: My last day in this area and it too was ideal for a hike. So by 9:00 I was on a boat for the one hour ride to Ship Cove, with Beachcomber Cruises. There were about 25 people on the boat; when I registered I was told that in the very high season there could be up to 60. In their winter numbers fall off to about 6 to 10. I think I was there at the perfect time.

On the way out I learned that this area too is doing what it can to get rid of the predators (possums, rats) that were introduced when the Europeans (pakeha, in Maori) arrived in the mid 1800s and are threatening many of their birds. The captain pointed out a fence that had been built for that very purpose, at a significant cost.

The area around Picton has many islands with many bays and outcroppings. Although a small area it accounts for 20% of the coastline of all of New Zealand. I had time to do only a day hike but the Queen Charlotte Track is about 70 km. long and you can do the whole thing in 3 to 5 days. There are a number of lodges along the way to spend the night, and your luggage can be transported from lodge to lodge.

New Zealand has nine "Great Walks", three in the north island and the rest in the south. (Google Great Walks to learn more.) The Queen Charlotte Track is not actually one of them and I had not heard of it before I arrived. But within my first few days in New Zealand someone told me that I MUST do this walk, and I am so glad I did. The section I did starts at Ship Cove, where there is a memorial commemorating Captain Cook's 5 visits in the 1770s. The walk begins with a climb of about 225 metres in the first 40 minutes, which definitely warms you up, but that is the most serious climb along the route I did. You can see the water much of the time but are mostly high above it so the views are fantastic. So, in addition to hearing birds you can also hear the waves, and the occasional waterfall. The boat's captain had warned us that we might come across wekas (one of the flightless birds of NZ) and to hold on to our possessions as they are little thieves. I did encounter several; they were certainly not afraid of humans. One came up and pecked at my foot quite persistently, to the point where I had to remove it from his (her?) reach. There were also many traps along the route, again to catch the nasty predators, using a cheaper method than high-cost fencing.

Memorial to Cook's landings

A weka (not the one after my shoe)

Predator trap (one of many)

Views along the way

The section of the walk I did was about 15 kilometres and took me roughly 4 hours. The destination was a lodge (Furneaux) which had food and drink, always a motivator. The track itself was excellent. I passed some men working on it and was told that just a few years ago the path was so narrow you had to walk single file. Now it is certainly wide enough for two. That makes this route particularly suitable for older walkers and I'm guessing from the people I saw along the way that the average age on this track is rather higher than on some of the others. That's one of the wonderful things about this country, people appear to be active well into their senior years.

Furneaux Lodge

The well groomed trail

At the lodge I had a two hour wait for the boat returning to Picton, so certainly enough time to get some food. And I was afraid I might arrive too late, and be left behind! During that time I was talking to a couple from Vermont; it turned out she was originally from Truro!! One of the very few Nova Scotians I have met in NZ. The boat arrived back in Picton after 6:00 so this turned out to be a full day venture.  I hope to do something similar along the Abel Tasman Coast Track.  It is one of the Great Walks. Tomorrow I leave Picton for that area. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the weather is good. Whatever, there should not be snow. The same I understand cannot be said back home.