Advertisement
Published: December 17th 2002
Edit Blog Post
The Queen Charlotte Track is a 72km tramp from Ships Cove in the north of the Queen Charlotte Sounds to Anawika in the south. One of the nicest things about the track is the native bush that lines the walk for most of the time, the views across the sounds, and the nice places to stay on the way.
The easiest way to walk the track is to catch a water taxi up to Ships Cove and spend the next few days walking back to Aniwaka. On the way to Ships Cove we were lucky enough to see a pod of Dusky Dolphins, they played for a while in the wake of the boat.
We decided to walk the track over three days and two nights, having purchased only enough trekking food (chocolate, cakes and tuna sandwiches) for this time. Freddy and I started off at a brisk pace leaving most of the other walkers behind, except
Anders, Anders is from Denmark and has just finished 9 months in the military. My new friends and I made good time from Ships Cove to Punga Cove, a 28km walk. We stayed at Mahana Homestead Lodge, run by John and Ann.
John is a retired West Coast farmer/Ecologist and told us lots about possums and the damage they are doing to the native flora and fauna. The department of conservation is running a poisening program, but really what is needed is for the possums to become valuable for fur ¨C the reason they were introduced into New Zealand. Again the story of introduced species running out of control in environments that never evolved with them. The lodge that John built is a really really nice place, great views, good beds and a nice lounge ¨C if I lived in the south Island I would stay there for weekends as it is so nice, and it is possible to get there by car.
Day two took us from Punga Cove to the Bay Resort hotel. I had to introduce Freddy and Anders to the concepts of meals between meals. Around 8am breakfast, 11am elevensies, 1.30pm lunch, 3.30pm afternoon tea (and scones), 6pm dinner time, 9pm supper and if still hungry at 11pm second elevensies. They said I sounded like a hobbit. I think Tolkien must have taken the hobbit idea from the country side folk of England at the time.
Kawaka
They go after your lunch So after lunch we all slept on the top of a hill, everyone passed by and then we passed them all again on the way to the Bay Resort Hotel.
Whilst walking we sang Monty Python¡¯s ¡°always look on the bright side of life¡± but we didn¡¯t know the verses so we had to make them up. So here for future reference are the lyrics ¨C it makes a great walking song.
Some things in life are bad,
They can really make you mad,
Other things just make you swear and curse,
When you're chewing your life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle,
And this'll help things turn out for the best,
And.....
Always look on the bright side of life.
Always look on the light side of life.
If life seems jolly rotten,
There's something you've forgotten,
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
When you're feeling in the dumps,
Don't be silly chumps.
Just purse your lips and whistle. That's the thing.
And...
Always look on the bright side of life.
Always look on the right side of life,
For life is quite absurd
And death's the final word.
You must always face the curtain with a bow.
Forget about your sin.
Give the audience a grin.
Enjoy it. It's your last chance, anyhow.
So,...
Always look on the bright side of death,
Just before you draw your terminal breath.
Life's a piece of shit,
When you look at it.
Life's a laugh and death's a joke. It's true.
You'll see it's all a show.
Keep 'em laughing as you go.
Just remember that the last laugh is on you.
And...
Always look on the bright side of life.
Always look on the right side of life.
Always look on the bright side of life!
Three days trekking and we made it back to Picton ¨C once again I stayed at the jugglers rest, more guitars and juggling.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.066s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 13; qc: 27; dbt: 0.0195s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb