TA Days 91 to 97: Starting in the South Island – Queen Charlotte Track to Pelorus Bridge

Instead of shopping on Boxing Day, we took a boat to Ship Cove to begin our South Island adventure with a walk along the Queen Charlotte Trail.

Unlike most sections of Te Araroa where you only see other TA walkers, the Queen Charlotte track is quite popular with tourists.

In fact, there are hostels, restaurants and even services to transport hiker’s luggage from one camp to another.

No, we did not carry our equipment by boat. However, we were able to enjoy some of the amenities, such as well-graded trails and outhouses with toilet paper.

I was having a little bout of diabetes our first day on the trail. Despite barely drinking anything all day, he still had to urinate every five minutes. Quite uncomfortable when there are so many other hikers on the trail!

Fortunately, the other days on the trail were met with more regular trips to the bathroom. Still, I didn’t feel very well. I’m normally the fastest one on my tram, but I was constantly low on energy and was the last one to arrive at camp while walking along the Queen Charlotte. I couldn’t keep up and kept falling behind. Why did I feel this way?

I guess you could say I overdid it a bit over the holidays, which led to a severe food (especially sugar) coma. I really found myself regretting all the cookies and candy I had eaten during Christmas.

Slow travel aside, the Queen Charlotte track had nice views and we were pretty lucky with the weather.

We spent our first night in a yurt. The next day the crew set out for the Bay of Many Coves camp. During lunch on the beach at Camp Bay campground, we saw lots of stingrays swimming in the shallow water, which was really cool.

As the day progressed, we went up and down hills. In the last few kilometers to the camp, I fell behind walking. Although I was feeling exhausted, I couldn’t pass up a detour to the Eatwells viewpoint. I went straight to the top of the hill.

Rod Eatwell, for whom the lookout is named, was instrumental in creating the Queen Charlotte trail, which officially opened in 1991. In addition to learning more about the history of the trail, I was rewarded with some incredible views. I was also able to call my parents to show them the sights, before eating a small snack and continuing on my way to the campsite.

When I arrived at the Bay of Many Coves campground, most of the spots in the main tent area were taken, so I ended up pitching my tent next to the shelter. Honestly, this area had the best views, so it worked out.

I was also very lucky because the main camp seemed to have a major weka problem. While we were sitting under the shelter, another camper came up and told Sarah that a weka had broken into their tent. The theft caused several holes.

Other campers also had things stolen, including a plastic bag and a sock that were taken to the weka hideout.

Along with the wekas, comments in the DOC (Department of Conservation) logbook (which we all sign); warned about possums.

Sure enough, as the sun began to fade and all the other campers settled into their tents for the night, the woods began to come to life. As dusk fell, I sat under the shelter and watched as the possums began to appear from the woods around me.

I sat watching a huge opossum come out of the trees and head towards my tent. Fortunately, a friend camping nearby came out of her tent; scaring him away

Although I never had any problems with animals there, I certainly saw plenty of possums and wekas. I also know that a couple of campers had to chase possums out of their tents in the middle of the night.

The next day we headed to Davies Bay. I again felt extremely tired and continued to lag behind my group. I actually thought about staying at a closer campsite, but unfortunately it was already full so I had to continue.

Once again, I was the last one to arrive at camp. Exhausted, it took me a while to set up my tent before preparing dinner and going to bed early.

Finally, the next day I started to feel better.

While the Queen Charlotte track had some nice views, it was quite noisy with boats and holiday homes below. I expected it to be busy with hikers, but I also thought it would be out in nature. Overall, as a spoiled American who has spent a lot of time in remote national parks, I was a little disappointed by the hustle and bustle of the trail.

Having been looking forward to the South Island for so long, I have pretty high expectations. Although Queen Charlotte was no match for them, I was pleasantly surprised by the walk to Havelock.

There was a nice link trail that went through the forest, around lakes and up into the hills. Although some parts were adjacent to the road, the path was very pretty and the fjords we saw in the distance were much calmer and more than I expected the previous days.

In addition to beautiful views and a couple of small waterfalls, we also passed by a tree with water falling from its branches. I sat for a while painting a small watercolor of the waterfall tree while I waited for my friends to catch up.

In Havelock, we set up tents in the holiday park and I went out for a little walk around the town. After exploring the town’s history museum, I returned to camp to prepare dinner.

It was very windy that night! Fortunately, there was a small wall near our tents that offered some protection.

The next day, on our hike to the Pelorus Bridge, evidence of the wind was everywhere. Many freshly uprooted trees and fallen branches littered the roads and paths.

Although there was a little less wind than the night before, it was still very stormy. I was hit back and forth several times and had to deal with a lot of rain.

Towards the end of the road a storm of thunder and lightning passed. Fortunately, I was crossing the last agricultural field about to enter the forest just before the Pelorus Bridge when it started.

From there, I walked a short distance to the Pelorus Bridge, where I sought refuge in the DOC camp’s main cafeteria. I met up with some other hikers we had been yo-yoing with since the Tararuas.

Being quite wet, it was nice to have a hot meal and a dry place to hang out. I also enjoyed visiting with the other hikers. We had gotten quite close to them over the past few weeks, but we knew this would be the last time we would see each other.

The next day, Sarah and I would hitchhike into Nelson to rest and resupply, while they would start on the Richmonds. It is usually possible to see the others again, but Pen, Nick and Kasper walk far and fast.

We had a great night playing farkle with them and ended up spending a lot of time under the shelter of the cafe. Even the main camp host brought us a bottle of wine and also came to chat.

Finally, the rain had disappeared and it was getting late. It’s time to cross the road and head down the trail to our campsite for the night. We were able to enjoy beautiful views from the campsite next to the Te Hoiere River.

The next day it rained again. Luckily, Sarah and I just needed to get hooked on Nelson.

It was my first time hitchhiking in New Zealand. A nice South African couple picked us up and brought us to the city.

We had plans to resupply before heading to Brook Valley Holiday Reserve for New Year’s Eve.

Due to the rapid change in Wellington we were both still feeling exhausted and were looking forward to a real rest day before heading up the Richmond Range.

We took care of all our errands and had lunch in town, before taking a bus to the nature reserve.

We spent New Year’s Eve in a small cabin; staying up until midnight, listening to the Easy Forgotten podcast and singing auld lang syne.

The next day we rested in the reserve. I made a nice breakfast and did some watercolor painting. Then in the evening we put on some masks for a little wellness day.

Cheers to a new year full of fun, friendship and adventure!