New Zealand Hikes: The Queen Charlotte Track

From Gisborne, I flew to Welllington on an Air New Zealand Beechcraft 1900, and then made the short hop over Cook Straight to the town of Blenheim, in the center of the famed Marlborough wine growing region. But my goal was another classic hike, so I made the half hour drive to the resort town of Picton, the South Island terminal for the ferries coming over from Wellington. I had an afternoon to catch up on my notes at the comfortable Yacht Club in the heart of funky, laid back Picton before departing early the next morning to do the Queen Charlotte Track with Ray Waters, a guide for Marlborough Sound Adventures, and New Zealand's masters-level half-marathon champion. We caught the Cougar Line shuttle out to Ship Cove, a famous bay that became Captain Cook's base of operation, a place he stopped five times between 1770 and 1779. Most people take four days to do this impressive 71 kilometer route up the spine of the peninsula separating Queen Charlotte Sound from Kenepuru Sound, but if you make the long trek out to Punga Cove on day one you can do it in three long days, about 23 kilometers per day. A unique feature of the route is that it's a bit like trekking in Nepal--you can do it with a day pack, while the boat, and not a yak or a porter, takes the rest of your gear onto the next stop. The light load makes the long days no problem. Ray and I hiked up and over the ridge, then made a complete circuit around Endeavor Inlet, arriving in Punga Cove by 4. Yet another unique feature of this relatively new route, built in 1995, is that it connects a number of former boat-in only accommodations that are way beyond the level of hiking hut. At Punga Cove, as at all the stops, you get a resort quality room, with food and wine to match. It's positively sinful, but this civilized style of hiking can be habit forming. Ray, who's actually run the entire trail in a day, has been doing the hike since it first opened. His grasp of the history and geography of the region makes doing the hike even more interesting than just cranking it. Our day 2 is considered the most challenging, as the route follows the dragon like spine of the ridge up and down, with the turquoise water of Queen Charlotte Sound to the south, the blue water of Kenepuru Sound to the north, for a full on 24 kilometers. If you prefer, you can just take a tent, or camp in the trail shelters along the way, but with all that comfort awaiting, only the most single-minded hikers will choose that option. By 3:30, Ray and I entered the tony resort known as the Portage, our last overnight stop. The final day climbs out of the resort on a steep, continusously uphill route to the crest of the 407 meter summit, follows the ridge for a few kilometers before gradually winding down to the road end and the track terminus at Anakiwa. From here, the shuttle makes the short run back to Picton. This will be my last night in New Zealand, after overnighting here, I'll make the drive out through wine country (making a few stops to sample the famous wineries) to the small airport at Blenheim. From there, it's on to Aukland and then to Los Angeles on Air New Zealand flight 2. The long ride home will give me ample time to reflect on the four routes done during this hiking safari to this friendly island country. I'll wrap up the blog when I get back to Seattle on Tuesday.