south island hiking
Jan. 15th, 2009 07:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ilanaramaHi from the South Island. Yesterday we finished the Queen Charlotte Track - 71 km of hillside ridges along the Queen Charlotte Sound on one side and Kenepuru Sound on the other, drowned valleys between forested (and deforested, alas; much logging here) mountain ranges - and last night we came to the Anakiwa Lodge where the proprietor sold us a bottle of local Sauvignon Blanc and gave us a key to the spa tub. UTTER BLISS, I tell you. All hikes should end this way.
Natasha and Chris drove us up to Mt. Victoria, the highest point around the bowl of Wellington, where we had a gorgeous view of the whole city for about three minutes, at which point it started to pour rain. (We also saw an informational monument that said that Wellington has on average 173 days a year with wind over 30 knots. I BELIEVE IT.) They then took us to the ferry terminal, and politely waited until our (late) departure, then hugged us and waved, and bye-bye, come visit us in the US!
The rain quit shortly after the ferry pulled out of the dock, but mostly it was too cold and windy to stand around on deck much. But we did as much gawping as we could at the harbor mouth, and again, several hours later, as we pulled into the narrow entrance to the Tory Channel and cruised along in the Marlborough Sounds toward Picton. Picton did not endear itself to me as it was windy and cold and every place we called for a room was full up, but finally we got ourselves settled in a decent cheap motel and made dinner, and the morning was much nicer. I went to the grocery store to get food for our hike, Britt went to the i-site (the ubiquitous NZ tourist info/travel agency places) to arrange the details, and after a cafe lunch on the waterfront which did a lot toward making me like Picton more, we headed out on the water taxi to Ship Cove, the hike's starting point.
The thing about the Queen Charlotte track is that there are several points where there is either boat or road access, and there are a few lodges and hotels ranging from rustic to high-end (along with both private and DOC camp grounds, where as usual in NZ one is required to camp) and several companies have set things up so that one can hike along with only a day pack and have one's belongings delivered to the next stop. Needless to say, we did not do this, so we trudged along each day under our massive backpacks as cheery happy day-hikers carrying water bottles and cameras strode by us. Also, the i-site women had suggested a campsite that was 1) actually much farther down the trail than the map indicated, and 2) over 10 miles down the trail from the starting point, and 3) did I mention that we didn't actually get started until nearly 3pm? We ended up hiking past a different campground, looking in vain for the one we were to stay at, getting nervous after 20 minutes, hiking BACK, looking in vain, getting desperate, and finally staying at that first campground, setting up our tent at 8 freaking PM. Oog. And the next morning, 40 minutes in, we saw the sign for the intended campground.
I have to say that so far I am not very excited about camping in NZ. The spaces, whether at a hike-in DOC campground or at a commercial car camp, are right on top of each other. And on the more popular (and more spectacular, of course) hikes, you have no choice - you must stay at a campground. (Sometimes this is because there are no flat spots anywhere else!) Our second night we rebelled against our itinerary, which had us hiking some 15 miles, and stopped at 4 at Black Rock campground, which most people use as a lunch stop, and we had it ALL TO OURSELVES, and it was AWESOME.
Okay, not all to ourselves. There were several weka, which is a kind of flightless bird they have here, with pretty pheasant-like patterned feathers, and you will see them when I can post photos again. Weka in our minds are sort of the squirrel-equivalent of NZ. They come out at the campsites and lunch stops, looking for handouts and for shiny things they can make off with. At Black Rock, one weka decided it wanted Britt's towel, and tried to snatch it. (Also my shoes, and Britt's hiking poles, and our books...)
Our third night we diverted again and went down a crossing road to another campground, which was truly awful as it was shared with car campers and there were no designated spaces, so everyone was crammed in close and of course people stay up far too late and get up far too early and talk WAY TOO DAMN LOUDLY. But on the upside, there was a hotel nearby, and we limped there in our sandals and had a nice dinner in their cafe, with beers, and that does a lot to improve a backpacking trip.
The last day there were lots of mountain bikers, who trudged up the hills with us and then whizzed on by, and the weather was lovely, and our packs were by that time much lighter, and we had a nice long break at a beach stop before hiking in to the little townlet where we are staying.
I realize I haven't talked much about the hike itself! Wait for the photos. It's really nifty, lots of steep ridgeline between two big bays with little coves here and there, and in places longer views of farther sounds and sometimes all the way to the mountains of the North Island. In my US-analogy-verse, this is the San Juan Islands area in Washington State. The forest changes with elevation and aspect from fern trees (of which NZ has about a bazillion varieties) to beech, and back again. (Seekrit message to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
vuzh: Amanita muscaria, and lots of it, but that was it.) Lots of birdsong, interesting places where the bugs buzzed loudly, an occasional break-out onto sandy or stony beach. And markers every 5km, although the actual trail signage (as everywhere in NZ) is in hours and minutes rather than in distance, which in some cases is right on and other cases oddly off.
Anyway, I must shower and go fix breakfast now. At 9:15 we hitch a ride on the mail bus to Havelock, which is apparently the Green-Lipped Mussel Capital of New Zealand (and therefore the world) so I am looking forward to lunch; and then we catch a bus for Nelson where we have a few days before our nextround of torture hike. I will try to answer comments in Nelson, but if I don't get to it, thank you all for reading and gawking at photos!
ETA: Photos to gawk at: Queen Charlotte track
Natasha and Chris drove us up to Mt. Victoria, the highest point around the bowl of Wellington, where we had a gorgeous view of the whole city for about three minutes, at which point it started to pour rain. (We also saw an informational monument that said that Wellington has on average 173 days a year with wind over 30 knots. I BELIEVE IT.) They then took us to the ferry terminal, and politely waited until our (late) departure, then hugged us and waved, and bye-bye, come visit us in the US!
The rain quit shortly after the ferry pulled out of the dock, but mostly it was too cold and windy to stand around on deck much. But we did as much gawping as we could at the harbor mouth, and again, several hours later, as we pulled into the narrow entrance to the Tory Channel and cruised along in the Marlborough Sounds toward Picton. Picton did not endear itself to me as it was windy and cold and every place we called for a room was full up, but finally we got ourselves settled in a decent cheap motel and made dinner, and the morning was much nicer. I went to the grocery store to get food for our hike, Britt went to the i-site (the ubiquitous NZ tourist info/travel agency places) to arrange the details, and after a cafe lunch on the waterfront which did a lot toward making me like Picton more, we headed out on the water taxi to Ship Cove, the hike's starting point.
The thing about the Queen Charlotte track is that there are several points where there is either boat or road access, and there are a few lodges and hotels ranging from rustic to high-end (along with both private and DOC camp grounds, where as usual in NZ one is required to camp) and several companies have set things up so that one can hike along with only a day pack and have one's belongings delivered to the next stop. Needless to say, we did not do this, so we trudged along each day under our massive backpacks as cheery happy day-hikers carrying water bottles and cameras strode by us. Also, the i-site women had suggested a campsite that was 1) actually much farther down the trail than the map indicated, and 2) over 10 miles down the trail from the starting point, and 3) did I mention that we didn't actually get started until nearly 3pm? We ended up hiking past a different campground, looking in vain for the one we were to stay at, getting nervous after 20 minutes, hiking BACK, looking in vain, getting desperate, and finally staying at that first campground, setting up our tent at 8 freaking PM. Oog. And the next morning, 40 minutes in, we saw the sign for the intended campground.
I have to say that so far I am not very excited about camping in NZ. The spaces, whether at a hike-in DOC campground or at a commercial car camp, are right on top of each other. And on the more popular (and more spectacular, of course) hikes, you have no choice - you must stay at a campground. (Sometimes this is because there are no flat spots anywhere else!) Our second night we rebelled against our itinerary, which had us hiking some 15 miles, and stopped at 4 at Black Rock campground, which most people use as a lunch stop, and we had it ALL TO OURSELVES, and it was AWESOME.
Okay, not all to ourselves. There were several weka, which is a kind of flightless bird they have here, with pretty pheasant-like patterned feathers, and you will see them when I can post photos again. Weka in our minds are sort of the squirrel-equivalent of NZ. They come out at the campsites and lunch stops, looking for handouts and for shiny things they can make off with. At Black Rock, one weka decided it wanted Britt's towel, and tried to snatch it. (Also my shoes, and Britt's hiking poles, and our books...)
Our third night we diverted again and went down a crossing road to another campground, which was truly awful as it was shared with car campers and there were no designated spaces, so everyone was crammed in close and of course people stay up far too late and get up far too early and talk WAY TOO DAMN LOUDLY. But on the upside, there was a hotel nearby, and we limped there in our sandals and had a nice dinner in their cafe, with beers, and that does a lot to improve a backpacking trip.
The last day there were lots of mountain bikers, who trudged up the hills with us and then whizzed on by, and the weather was lovely, and our packs were by that time much lighter, and we had a nice long break at a beach stop before hiking in to the little townlet where we are staying.
I realize I haven't talked much about the hike itself! Wait for the photos. It's really nifty, lots of steep ridgeline between two big bays with little coves here and there, and in places longer views of farther sounds and sometimes all the way to the mountains of the North Island. In my US-analogy-verse, this is the San Juan Islands area in Washington State. The forest changes with elevation and aspect from fern trees (of which NZ has about a bazillion varieties) to beech, and back again. (Seekrit message to
vuzh: Amanita muscaria, and lots of it, but that was it.) Lots of birdsong, interesting places where the bugs buzzed loudly, an occasional break-out onto sandy or stony beach. And markers every 5km, although the actual trail signage (as everywhere in NZ) is in hours and minutes rather than in distance, which in some cases is right on and other cases oddly off.Anyway, I must shower and go fix breakfast now. At 9:15 we hitch a ride on the mail bus to Havelock, which is apparently the Green-Lipped Mussel Capital of New Zealand (and therefore the world) so I am looking forward to lunch; and then we catch a bus for Nelson where we have a few days before our next
ETA: Photos to gawk at: Queen Charlotte track