Queen Charlotte Track: Day 1-2 ~ Dec 22-23, # 13

T-minus 3 & Counting

This was our first big commitment to a pre-paid, multi-day trip and of course the next 3 days threatened to unravel it all. Day 1, the cold Nivaun had managed to dispel without too many symptoms, I now had in spades. Day 2, Nivaun’s camera died again, and this time the only option was to replace it while we were still near a city (which meant a “day trip” back to Wellington). And to cap it all off, Day 3, the heavens opened up and it not only poured all day but into the next morning, while we packed.

Needless to say, I was still not fully recovered and a bundle of nerves as we arrived at the boat dock for the first sailing at 8am to tag six of our fifteen bags and load our bikes onto the water taxi. For the next seven days, we were entrusting almost half of our gear to be picked up and dropped at each dock. This was another level of trust in a tour company not to mention everyone else along the way. Even Nivaun was a bit rattled, as he tried to remove his bike mirror so it wouldn’t get broke during loading, and then promptly dropped it on the concrete. In spite of it all, we were committed and excited for our first “Great Ride” on the South Island.

Day 1 - Ship Cove to Camp Bay

*28.5km=/18mi; 3,481ft/1,061m Ascent, 3,461ft /1,055m Descent*

We were the last to exit the water taxi, while the TA hikers and day trippers wasted no time disappearing into the bush. In theory, during the summer, cyclists are to be on the first sailing to stay “ahead of” the trampers - that was of course not the case for us. We were still on the dock, as our gear headed back out to sea and onto its first drop point. On shore, we met up with a young couple from the caravan park in Picton that had also just arrived via another water taxi. They were from the UK, riding in New Zealand for five months before continuing on to Nepal. In true bike packing form, and young - they were riding the QCT with all their gear in 3 days.

Ship Cove

Standing on the shoreline, Ship Cove looks like a small city park with a grassy lawn, a shelter and benches. A multi-panel display recounts the importance of this cove for the Maori’s livelihood, and by the 1700s the European explorers, as a refueling station and trading post. Captain James Cook visited the area on three different voyages and a monument was erected on site in February 1913 as a memorial to his explorations of the area. More than a decade earlier, in 1896 Queen Charlotte Sound was declared a reserve in memory of Captain Cook, to be retained “as nearly as possible in its natural state”. After several changes in land management over the centuries, the Sound is now under the management of DOC with support from restoration groups still in the process of removing invasive plant species, managing pests and restoring bird habitat following decades of logging, farming and mining - such is the never-ending cycle of humanity.

The QCT

The track itself first got its start in the 1960s after locals were granted permission by the Crown to cut a walking track from Resolution Bay to Ship Cove sparking further development that opened up old farm access and stock tracks along with cutting new tracks to complete the entire 73km route, officially opened in 1991 as the Queen Charlotte Walkway.

This first section, recently opened to cyclists in late 2023, is primarily single track, reportedly the most technical, and of course, more challenging in wet conditions. Unsure what to expect after heavy rain the day before, we too disappeared into the bush to begin the ascent from sea level. A few meters later, we were shedding layers, as the realization sunk in - “I probably hung onto more gear than I should have”. It wasn’t too long before we were walking. As even day hikers passed us by, I thought “it can’t be like this the whole way…”.

Before long, the views through the trees opened up at Ship Cove Saddle, followed by our first downhill to Schoolhouse Bay, putting us back in front of the day hikers, reaffirming hike-a-bike is worth it, once the downhill starts!

Ship Cove Saddle

Schoolhouse Bay

Tawa Saddle

Endeavor Inlet

Once we were past the biggest climbs of the day, the track wound its way along the Endeavor Inlet past resort/lodges, holiday homes and local residences tucked into the hillsides. A more idyllic setting, I could not imagine.

Just riding through the local’s back yards…what?!

Whether walking or riding, the track, and every bit of the surrounds was mesmerizingly beautiful. It was at times slightly muddy, but overall easily ridden, when the grade permitted. We were amazed to find all the streams flowing through this section even though drought conditions persist throughout New Zealand. By the end of the day, the clouds had lost their heaviness, floating lightly across the sky intensifying the colors reflecting below.

By the time we arrived at Camp Bay, my body was fiercely reminding me I was still recovering from a cold, my arms were done and my nerves were shot. In typical fashion, we were the last to arrive. The campground now filled with TA hikers and a few cyclists. As Nivaun began to scout for a site, my angst propelled me to the nearby dock to retrieve our gear, but there was nothing. I vaguely remembered some instruction from the tour company, but couldn’t quite remember what it was in the blur of prepping our bags that morning. After returning to the campground in a panic, finding the volunteer campground hosts knew nothing about bag drops (and no cell service), a hiker overheard my distress and explained he had found his pack at the next dock in front of the resort. I checked that dock, and nothing. It took yet another back and forth, before I found all of our gear stashed neatly in a covered seating area just across from the dock.

And then - magically - although we were the last to arrive, this was our camp spot for our first two nights on the QCT. Even more amazing, it turned out to be a front row seat for watching stingrays feed along the shoreline the next day.

Our first and most scenic campsite on the QCT

Day 2 - Rest Day at Camp Bay

As the campground cleared out early the next morning, we remained - sprawled out in our lavish beachfront abode. After a pancake breakfast with the resident Weka, we spent the rest of the day watching sea birds and sting rays from our front porch, and wandering the tracks along the bay, entranced by the beauty, trying to imagine life along these shores centuries ago.