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Published: December 29th 2013
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Monday 23rd December, 2013. Walking the Queen Charlotte Track, Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough Sounds.
We had come to the Anakiwa Lodge in Anakiwa for one reason and one reason only. it is the end of the Queen Charlotte Track (QCT) which was another item on M's bucket list. The Queen Charlotte Track, located at the top of New Zealand's South Island in the Marlborough Sounds, is a spectacular walk from the historic Ship Cove through to Anakiwa in the Grove Arm of the Queen Charlotte and Sound. The track runs along a thin, serrated peninsula dividing Queen Charlotte Sound from Kenepuru Sound. It is 71 km long so we did not have the time (or the inclination) to do it all. We had heard that the last stretch down in to Anakiwa was one of the most beautiful. The Queen Charlotte Sound is the more well known of the three Sounds, and is dominated by bush-clad shorelines, deep bays and coves, while the Kenepuru Sound is the smallest of the three Sounds. The track is renowned for its stunning views and contrasting landscapes, historical landmarks and wonderful variety of native bush and wildlife.
The warden of the hostel, Darryl,
offered cruises of the sound as well as a water taxi service to various drop off and pick up points along the track. We had negotiated a combo deal with him last night. He would take us on a cruise first and then drop us off at Mistletoe Bay so we could walk the 3-4 hours back to Anakiwa. We met Darryl at 10.30 on the wharf as agreed. All was going swimmingly (or boatingly) until he detected a shudder in one of the engines. As a result he aborted the cruise but limped in to Mistletoe Bay on one engine - so at least we would get to do our walk. Darryl gave us instructions on the route up and out of the bay and onto the track.
We disembarked the boat at Mistletoe Bay wharf and had a steep 1 mile climb to the start of the track. We started off and half way up realized we had forgotten to buy or QCT passes. We weren't going to do the climb again so decided that we would buy them at Anakiwa at the end of the walk. When we reached the start of the QCT we were
very close to the Te Mahia Saddle. From here we should be able to see down the other side to Kenepuru Sound. So we decided to continue up to the top of the hill and have a look before we started on the QCT proper. We got to the top and had to walk down the road a bit to get some decent snaps - as if we hadn't got far enough to walk today already! (13.5 km's back to Anakiwa).
We retraced our steps and started out on the track. It was a much narrower track than either of us had expected. It has also recently been opened up to mountain bikes so you have to have your wits about you to avoid being mown down. It was a really lovely walk through lush coastal forest and historic bays, with good views of Queen Charlotte Sound. For many, this walk is as much about a walking holiday as it is an environmental, cultural and lifestyle experience. We didn't pass many walkers coming in the opposite direction - there were, however, plenty of bikes coming at us from both directions. We stopped for lunch looking down over some farmland
that Darryl had told us, when we cruised up to Mistletoe Bay, had been in the same family for over a century and that it had only recently been sold because the younger generations didn't want to farm it anymore. This is the only farm in the area as the DOC want to remove the Wildings and return the area to native NZ vegetation.
After lunch we tramped on (and on and on) until we came to Davies Bay which is about an hours walk from Anakiwa. There is a campsite here so we stopped for a rest and soaked up the sun. We continued tramping until we got to the 1 km market post where M posed for a victorious snap. When we finally arrived we went to the machine and purchased the QCT passes.
After a rest we decided to take a drive up towards the Te Mahia Saddle where we had walked up to earlier. It was a lot further than we expected (over 50 km round trip). We didn't make it to the saddle but dropped down into Te Mahia village where we took some snaps and had a stroll around. We returned to
Anakiwa Lodge where, after dinner, we flopped into bed exhausted.
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