We had a perfect hiking, or in NZ speak, tramping, day today. The Queen Charlotte Sound is so pretty, with sparkling water and hilly terrain with lush green vegetation reaching down to the sea. The time consuming effort is in reaching the section of track we were hiking. We took the “mail boat,” a ferry service that delivers people, along with the mail, to the areas along the sound that have settlements. The Queen Charotte Track (ie. trail) is a beloved outdoor area, used by hikers and mountain bikers.
Once we got started, we had a lovely, undulating path for about eight miles. When the track opened up, the views were vivid blues and greens. Even when there were no vistas, we were all really happy to see the plant life and hear the birds. Every so often other hikers or mountain bikers would pass us. The hardest part for Americans is remembering to move to the left instead of the right, to give way.
At our lunch spot we were joined by a bold mother weka and three chicks. They were very eager for crumbs, but perhaps far too bold for wild animals. One chick ran right over my leg. These birds definitely filled the niche that squirrels or chipmunks would fill on a North American hike.
Our destination was a former summer home, now a lodge, named Furneaux Lodge. It was a beautiful setting and they had a bar with several beers on tap (everything at the lodge has to be delivered by boat, so several is pretty impressive.) I had a New Zealand cider called “Crushed,” that was a very clear cider with almost no yeasty flavor at all. It was wonderfully refreshing after the tramp.
The other treat at Furneaux was to pay our respects to an enormous and ancient rimu tree. Because they are so slow growing, and because their timber was prized for its hardness and resistance to rot, large rimu are very rare. This tree was a real beauty.
The mail boat took us back to Picton for dinner and a good nights sleep.
