Although relatively close to Wellington, a WTMC trip to the Queen Charlotte Track involves quite a bit of logistical organisation. It involves bookings the ferry, accommodation in Picton, and water taxis to and from the track. WTMC ran two concurrent QCT trips on the Matariki long weekend, which allowed us to incorporate the club van into the transportation mix, with a deft key exchange at the halfway point of the trip, when both groups passed each other on the track.
Thanks to the work of all of those involved in the planning, the trips ran seamlessly and very successfully.
Winter tramps are a bit of a gamble at the best of times, given the impact poor weather can have during the shortest days of the year. In good weather however, walking the QCT during winter has a lot of advantages – there are no crowds, the campgrounds are deserted, and the views from the open ridges and viewing points have a crisp clarity that is often dissipated when there’s a summery heat haze. In the end we got the lucky with the weather – a 3-day window of sunny days and cold (but not freezing) nights.
The trip started with the traditional gathering at Platform 10 at Wellington Train Station (at 2.45pm) and we then begin the interminable wait to drive onto the Interislander ferry. The ferry eventually departed after 4:30pm. Half of our combined group opted for the limited delights of ferry food, while the other half held out for the prospect of a meal in Picton. Due to the early nightfall, it was dark for most of the crossing. Although we’d more than make up for this with the water taxi to Meretoto / Ship Cove the following day.
We stayed the night at the Villa Hostel in Picton and the eleven of us organised ourselves in the one room – five bunk beds and one mattress on the floor. The large kitchen at the accommodation provided for plenty of room for a relaxed breakfast and lunch preparation.
Some of the group headed to Cortados for pizza and chips after 8:30pm. Niamh’s Mediterranean pizza looked like the best option, although the salmon lover’s pizza was also quite good.
Day 1
The Easy Medium (EM) group drove to Anakiwa to begin their trip. The Medium (M) group left the hostel at 8:10am for the short walk to the Cougar Line office – the water taxi company that would be transporting them to the start of their walk (at the opposite end of QCT). We opted for the pack drop-off service, although Jeremy had to convince the staff that we had made (and paid for) our booking the previous day.
The water taxi departed soon after its scheduled 8.45 am departure time and had did several drop-offs to some of the more secluded bays along the way.
We arrived at Meretoto / Ship Cove just after 10.15am and bid farewell to our packs, which we had arranged to be delivered to Punga Cove, near Camp Bay. We took note of the walking distance to Punga Cove, 29 km, and the estimate that it would take an 8 hour walk. Before starting the track we took a moment to have a look around the historic site and interpretation panels. Ship Cove was Captain James Cook’s base during his expeditions to NZ in the late 18th Century (Editor’s note – see: Ship Cove at Queen Charlotte Sound).
We were joined by a couple of mountain bikers who struggled up the hill right at the start of the track and made us feel better about doing it on foot.
After an extended slog uphill, we reached a well-placed saddle that made a scenic lunch break. Walking the QCT in bad weather can be an exercise in walking through clag with no extended views. We, however, were treated to every vista in the Sounds, firstly through Resolution Bay, Tawa Bay and into Endeavour Inlet. The group took a 5 minute walk to view a Rimu tree. I, however, used the time to visit the grounds of Furneaux Lodge – a site that makes an excellent night’s stop on a four day walk of the QCT.
At this point, our day was only half complete. We had at least another 4 hours (11.5 km to go). We would certainly be using all the available daylight.
By the time we reached Big Bay we could see our destination – although the distance proved to be deceptive, as we skirted around the lengthy inlet. Most of the group were prepared for the transition to walking in the dark and using their head torches as the midwinter nightfall snuffed out the light.
We arrived at the Big Bay campsite at exactly 6pm. We dropped our daypacks, and made our way along the short, steep and muddy track to Punga Cove, where our large overnight packs patiently lay in wait.
The campsite was already starting to be covered in dew, so we didn’t waste time getting our tents up. There was only one other camper in residence, Johanna, a fellow-Wellingtonian, who we would discover the following day to be a member of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. While the 3 sided shelter at the campsite was a little draughty on a winter’s night, its spaciousness served us well for boiling the club billy for hot drinks and a variety of dehydrated meals.
After dinner, those in the group with energy reserves visited the glow worms along the track to Punga Cove, while the rest of us made do with a spectacular Matariki sky. We were all well rugged up for a cold and clear night.
Day 2
We readied ourselves for our departure in the still murky light. Our hardiest group member Niamh, also had an early morning swim in the waters off Camp Bay.
We dropped our packs off at the the Punga Cove jetty and then warmed-up with the short climb to Kenepuru Saddle. This would be a long day of walking along the ridge. A sign at the Big Bay campsite shelter had warned us that there would be no opportunity for a water refill until we reached Cowshed Bay – and this proved to be true.
The QCT website had flagged that the section between Camp Bay and Torea Saddle would be the longest and most arduous part of the QCT journey, and this certainly was the case.
Despite recent rain, the track was in good condition with only a few rutted sections caused by mountain bikers. We had a sunny day, and we ticked off more picture postcard views of the Bay of Many Coves / Miritu Bay, Kenepuru Sound, Ruakaka Bay, Blackwood Bay / Tahahua Bay and Kumutoto Bay. There were also occasional glimpses of the Kaikouras and views of Picton provided a reminder that we were halfway through our journey.
On cue, we crossed over with the other WTMC group as they made their way up the hill above Kenepuru Sound. The all important key swap was made between Regan and Jeremy and we turned our mind to the all important lunch stop location. We opted for a spot with a view overlooking Picton which had a makeshift stone slab seat. A few of the group delved into the first aid kit to obtain protective bandaging for feet not used to covering so many kilometres at such a clip.
After lunch we took note of a lovely wooden bench that was located on a sunny perch – however Jeremy pointed out that it was a much windier spot than the one we’d just left.
We reached Black Rock Campsite at about 4 pm. The water tank there was turned off, so we were unable to refill our water bottles. The final descent to Torea Bay was a bit of a slog. The final kicker for the day was that we had to walk downhill to Torea Bay jetty, collect our packs, heave them back up to the saddle and then carry them to Cowshed Bay campsite.
We had to spread out a little to each find a suitable campsite and any food left out was quickly claimed by the possum fraternity. The shelter at this campsite wasn’t quite as nice as the one at Camp Bay, but it still made for a good place to cook, eat and reflect on a heady day of Marlborough Sounds views. A few rounds of cards capped off the day and we had another early night.
Day 3
We were ready to go at 8.15 am, mindful that we’d be starting the day with a pack haul to Torea Bay jetty, where we would leave our packs to be collected and transported to Anakiwa.
From sea level we made steady progress to the day’s high point, which offered views of cold air clouds sitting on top of the Sounds (well below the ridgeline). For a track that has so many spectacular viewing points, this final day offered the most uninterrupted and aesthetically pleasing views of all. The ridgeline is a little more open and the consistent descent towards sea level offers a lot of glimpses of picturesque bays and inlets.
We made fast progress off the highpoint, following the stony switchbacks and avoiding the occasional mountain bike ruts. We encountered more mountain bikers on the final day than the first two combined, which meant we had to stay alert for bikes either ahead or behind us.
Our mission to find a sunny lunch spot with views of the sounds was made pretty easy when we came across a picnic table, which we had to time share with another group. Even some of the fitter members of our band took the opportunity to apply some protective tape to a few blisters and hot spots. While the walk isn’t technically difficult, covering 80 kms in three days will produce a fair bit of wear and tear on feet unused to such distances, so new insoles and comfortable boots will make a difference.
After lunch, the track took us down to Umungata Bay (Davies Bay) and then through beech forest to Anakiwa. Our packs were tucked away at the end of the jetty and we spent a relaxed half hour shedding our muddy tramping gear and returning to civvies.
Niamh capped off her swimming tour of the QCT with a dip at the end of the jetty, out and back to the pontoon. We bundled our packs into the van and Jeremy guided us back to Picton via the scenic route.
When we arrived at Picton, the EM group were still on the water taxi heading back to Picton. So we gingerly made our way to Cortados again and Jon shouted the group wedges and fried cauliflower. The kitchen also served us a reasonable Mediterranean pizza in 15 minutes.
Once the EM group (Regan’s group) arrived in Picton, they ordered pizzas to go, as we needed to make our way to the ferry queue. The waiting time was about a quarter of the time we had waited in Wellington – which left Regan scrambling to catch up to our moving van after a bathroom break.
A trouble-free ferry crossing had us back in Wellington by 10pm. This was the perfect coda to a very well organised trip. We had utilised all the available daylight and were blessed with three sunny days.
Timings:
Ship Cove to Camp Bay – 7.5 hours (with breaks)
Camp Bay to Cowshed Bay (with Punga Cove Jetty side trip) – 9.5 hours (with breaks)
Cowshed Bay to Anakiwa – 7 hours (with breaks)