QUEEN CHARLOTTE TRACK AND KENEPURU SOUND: 7-11 DECEMBER 2015
The Queen Charlotte Track is a beautiful several day hiking track along the Queen Charlotte Sound (Totaranui). We didn’t actually intend to ride it, as we knew it was rated a grade 4 mountain bike trail. Instead we took a road up the same peninsula that offered us beautiful views on the Kenepuru Sound. It was a comfortable ride gently up and down without much traffic bothering us. The scenery we were passing resembled to a Cote d’Azur before tourism got there, and the morning clouds moved quickly away, pushed by Southwesterlies (that is the kiwi for south west wind).
The first night we spend on a nice private eco campground were we left one of the bike bags with stuff we wouldn’t need the next days. We continued on the windy road to Kenepuru Head, a beautiful D.O.C. camping ground where Mihai found oysters on the beach. What a luxurious apero! Luckily we were just before high season starting at Christmas so the campgrounds weren’t crowded at all.
We crossed to the other side of the peninsula to a point where the Queen Charlotte Track is crossing the road and decided to get on the track for 3-4 km up to the Eatwell Lookout (scenic views N, S, E and W as the signs were promising), and then to take a path back down to the road. We had spotted a sign indicating a 4×4 road to the lookout on our way up the road.
The track hold it’s promises – spectacular 360 degree views over the bays and yes aswell steep, stony and windy paths. Even hiking this track in the midday sun wasn’t just pleasure. Mihai gave some of our water to a desperate tramper that we passed several times sitting breathless in the shade. The way all up to the lookout was very challenging, it took us several hours for a few kilometers and I had to walk several parts of it while Mihai bravely biked the two packed bikes uphill (one at the time folks, he’s not yet superman).
To our surprise the 4×4 road leading us back down to the road never showed up. We were caught on the trail having the choice to go all the way back or continue another 20 km to the next drop off. We continued knowing that we wouldn’t make it in one day. In the sunset we passed a D.O.C providing a little shelter to protect us from the strong winds. And as a reward we could admire the view on Picton’s bay and a marvelous sunset.
The next day we finished the remaining 4 km in the early morning, we passed at the eco campground to pick up our remaining bag and continued another 60 km leaving the Kenepuru Sound, passing trough “The Capital of the Hairy Mussel” (the city of Havelock), and finishing in the beautiful DOC campsite of Pelorus Bridge.
PARIS2BERLIN 