So long, Charlotte

The last two days of the Queen Charlotte Track passed all too quickly. Yesterday we walked nine steep kilometres along a gorgeous ridgeline to Mistletoe Bay, bathing our faces in the occasional passing shower and appreciating the cool cloudy day. The rain began in earnest as we arrived, and we licked our obligatory ice creams as we watched the ground turn to mud. We spent a mellow afternoon in our cosy DoC cabin; Aurora did math problems while Tova and Sophia practiced pirouettes in the pouring rain. Zadie busied herself carrying the shoes one by one from the nice dry mat to the puddles under the veranda. Dinner and breakfast made us feel rather inadequate; we were stretching the last of our supplies (e.g., pasta and powdered soup) while two extremely competent young women bustled about preparing food for 100 wedding guests who were due to arrive shortly.

The final day was twelve fairly flat kilometres, but it rained ceaselessly and the trail was frequently washed out into mud pie. Tova was definitely a bit worn down by now, and the hours dragged on and on. We’d left at nine, figuring it would take maybe three hours to arrive, but by twelve I was starting to wonder whether our four p.m. boat rendezvous would somehow be in jeopardy. But eventually we made it, Tova and Sophia spurred on by no less than twelve stories about Sniff, the Moomins, and my newest character Pocusina, the good witch (artfully crafted to defuse the numerous witch terrors Tova has developed). Our made me realise how truly fortunate we were to have a perfect window of three clear days for the long walking; the 25km day in particular could have been a disaster had the mud slowed us down.

But we arrived in Anakiwa with time to spare, and congratulated the girls on having hiked 70-km; we are very proud of them! They seem to have come out of it happy, particularly Sophia who now wants to hike out to see gorillas, and Aurora who says she prefers longer, easier trails to steep ones. Tova, who is after all only 50 months old, already cares more about having won the colouring competition on the ferry to Wellington ($10 voucher prize rapidly converted into hatching kiwi egg toy).

It’s pretty sad that it’s over. We all had a lot of fun mixing hours of scenic walking with well-earned lazy afternoons and treats. No driving, no crowds, no chores, no responsibilities (well, few) – a family could get used to the hiking life! In a few years’ time we might be able to take on serious outdoor adventures together, and in the meantime these mellow ones are awfully pleasant groundwork.

Now we are in Wellington, which is the expected comedown. Cement and traffic and people, yuck. But we found solace in the library, and I had a great time with Aurora and Sophia at a nighttime festival in the botanic gardens. Tomorrow there’s a climbing gym, get-together with old friends, and more live music at night to look forward to – but now, I’m curling up in bed with Tamar, Zadie and P.G. Wodehouse, so goodnight

The misty version of the sounds

Tova, approaching the finish line, is storytelling in full flow