Nydia Track is a picturesque 27 km two- day walk.
On Friday, the group left Wellington on the 3.45pm Interislander ferry sailing. It was a calm, quiet and sunny crossing. We stayed at the Villa Hostel in Picton, in two bunkrooms – which was a great place to stay.
On Saturday morning, we stocked up on delicious food and coffee from the bakery next door and then the 12 of us drove to Duncan Bay via Queen Charlotte Drive – a very scenic, narrow and winding coastal scenic route, with lots of fabulous views of various bays in the Sounds. We were lucky to have great weather and you could see views of the waterways and land which make up the Sounds for as far as the eye could see. There were a number of slips on the road along the way which were being repaired – so we needed to pause and wait at several places along the road where road works had been set up.
We arrived at the Duncan Bay Rd end at 11am. Duncan Bay is in Tennyson Inlet. While 2 people in the group then drove the van round to the Kaiuma Bay Rd end, to start the walk from that end, the remaining 10 of us started out from the Duncan Bay end. The plan was for all of us to meet in the middle, later in the day, at the DOC Nydia Lodge. This is where we would all be staying that night.
The walk from Duncan Bay to the DOC Nydia Lodge was along an undulating, well-formed track. For the first hour, the track skirted the edge of the water and there were amazing views quite often, through the trees, of the nearby water and land in the Sounds. After this, there was an approximate 300m climb to Nydia Saddle. Once we went over the Saddle and started heading down the other side towards Nydia Bay (which is in Pelorus Sound) there were glimpses of the Bay below through the trees.
When you get to the sign indicating you need to turn off the main Track to get to Nydia Bay campsite, it is still a further 2 hour walk to the DOC Nydia Bay Lodge. A large part of this next section involves walking right beside the shoreline and is very picturesque. There are a number of private baches here. There are some 4WD road-type sections of the track here and sometimes it’s tricky to work out whether you are on the main track or are walking on private property.
We stopped for about 10 mins to relax and enjoy the views at a long jetty, which is about half an hour from where you turn off the main track to head towards the DOC Nydia Lodge. You can see right down Nydia Bay from here and it would make a good lunch stop – although there is no toilet.
As we kept walking on the track along the side of Nydia Bay, we came across a small waterway on the right hand side where a big fat eel lives (obviously well fed on tramping snacks). There is a sign on a nearby tree alerting you to the eel’s presence. The eel enjoyed the attention of the group as it came up to the edge and stuck its head out of the water – as if to indicate it wanted a pat (or to bite fingers).
We were very pleased to arrive at the DOC Nydia Lodge – and were lucky to have it mostly to ourselves (apart from 2 other people) so we were able to spread out among the cabins. The Lodge has the capacity for 50 people and you need to book your accommodation ahead of time. It was a bit of a luxurious tramping experience for such reasonably priced accommodation – with electricity for cooking, lights in the bunkrooms, hot showers, flush toilets and even a functioning landline. There is a generator on site which provides the power. There was also a table tennis table in the large common room that is attached to the kitchen and good cooking facilities (including plates, pots and pans, cutlery and a jug).
On Sunday the main group of 10 had an 8.10am start and walked from the Lodge to the van at Kaiuma Bay Road end. This section was a bit hillier than the first day, but shorter (about 4 hours) and was much less scenic. There was a stretch of walking through paddocks (following orange markers) and a 300m or so climb to a saddle (Kaiuma Saddle). There was a lovely view from the Saddle back down to Nydia Bay and we stopped at the Saddle for a break. We had expected to be able to look down into another bay (Kaiuma Bay) on the other side. However, you can only see forest.
Once we reached Kaiuma Bay road end carpark, the waters of Kaiuma Bay became visible. It was then an approximately 19 km drive, on a gravel road, to Havelock. Havelock is known for its green lipped mussels. Most of us spent a couple of hours here checking out the shops, marina, museum, art gallery and cafes whilst Jude and Jane drove the van back to Duncan Bay to pick up our other 2 trampers (who had walked from the DOC Lodge out to the Duncan Bay end of the track).
The group of 12 joined together again in Havelock at about 4pm and then drove to Picton, which took about one hour via SH1 and SH6. We spent an hour having dinner and roaming Picton and then got into the queue to drive onto the ferry at 6.15pm. Our sailing was at 7.15pm and we arrived in Wellington at about 11pm. So it had been a really long, but enjoyable, day!
Highlights of the trip for our group were the stunning views through the trees, being blessed by the weather gods, the brilliant blue water, singing bellbirds, the dog guardians near Nydia Lodge, the reflections in glass-like Nydia Bay, good company, an island in Nydia Bay which looked just like a piece of cake, and taking over the Lodge!
We felt it is best to start the walk at the Duncan Bay end of the track – as when you head down into Nydia Bay the views are amazing. It would probably also have been a good idea to drop some of the group off at the Kaiuma Bay end of the track first, and then drive round to Duncan Bay and leave the van there – as this would have shortened the time spent driving.
Timings:
Sat – Duncan Bay Rd end to DOC Nydia Lodge: 11am – 4.50pm (approx 6 hrs – incl lunch)
Sun – DOC Nydia Lodge to Kaiuma Bay Rd end: 8.10am – 12.10pm (4 hours)