On the Queen Charlotte Track

Day 1, Ship Cove to Furneaux Lodge. 15 kilometres

After days of rain, we really lucked out today. It was warm, shiny, breezy and enticingly turquoise green. All that remained of last week’s weather was the muddy, chewed-up track.

The boat ride over to the trailhead had the best of omens: only thirty feet from the stern a huge ridge of spouting midnight blue arced out of the water. “Massive!” shouted Tova. She was relieved to learn that humpback whales are not sharks.

Queen Charlotte snagged herself a pretty good track. Steep and single-track at first, progressing to wide and graded, we enjoyed several views of the hilly sounds on either side of the island. By the end of the walk the girls were getting pretty tired, but Tova was a trooper and walked further than she’s ever done in her life.

Our accommodation turned out to be right on the beach and offered popsicles, which was the perfect comedown around 3pm. We spent the afternoon lounging on the dock and jumping into the water, which was very clear and crispy as a spring leaf. We decided to get the girls to bed early, but then gave them cocoa AND popcorn for dessert so there was much running around, collapsing in heaps and incandescent screaming hilarity before they eventually wound down and fell asleep.

As a random sidenote, we have made it all the way to the very last book of the Chronicles of Narnia, “The Last Battle”, but it may be the one that beats us. It’s depressing and Tova’s got nightmares. So we’re taking a break and starting Harry Potter instead. It’s nice to get a break from reading C. S. Lewis after four solid months, but I will be bummed if we get this close and then drop out. 

Day 2, Furneaux Lodge to Punga Cove. 12.5 kilometres

It’s not a bad life, this luxury backpacking thing, especially when you walk an easy dozen kilometres on a mellow track following the shoreline. The sun shone on us again, and the girls tramped along with various encouragements: Moomin stories, Hakkebakke skogen, lollies every now and then. Tamar read part of A Little History of the World out loud to Aurora while they walked ahead. Today’s prize was a yo-yo, which has caused much fun and some frustration.

We arrived at Punga Cove around two, and started our afternoon’s leisure with ice creams and a game of Scrabble. Later came tag in the pool, kayaking around the cove (stingrays!), a swim out for Sophia and Tamar (discovery: an eleven-sided starfish!), a very processed dinner of ramen with tofu, bathtime, and now a rather failed attempt at early bedtime.

It’s funny how the other hikers on the trail look at us like badass parents, since we spend half our day lounging in the lap of luxury. But tomorrow will be a true challenge: 23 hilly kilometres to Portage, almost the same distance and elevation gain as the last two days combined. It’ll easily be the hardest day the girls have walked, but we are armed with brownies, lollies, and an array of promises, threats and cajoleries to make it through the day. 

Last night's sunset over the Marlborough Sounds

These views peep out every time we crest a hill