NZ only has 5 million people, but all of those must be trampers; it is such a way of life for everyone. A town may have a small grocery store, maybe a clothing store (probably not), but three outdoor shops. High quality gear is not hard to come by. One thing we have not fully utilized in this glorious country is the shuttles and transport to and from hiking tracks. It was less available when covid was a worry and with it being the offseason, but when this country is in full operation, getting delivered to trailheads and picked up at the other end was commonplace. Plus a robust hitchhiking trade. Even the water taxis participate.
Abel Tasman Coastal Track
We have finally gotten a taste. We used a water taxi to deliver us to a remote hiking spot on the Abel Tasman Coastal track (another 5 or 6 day track), and picked up three hours later at another remote beach for a lift home. Worked like a charm. So we kicked it up a notch for our next bike trek.
Queen Charlotte Track
Queen Charlotte Track is a 5 day hike along the ridge top of some peninsulas in the Marlborough Sounds. At the end of the season (March 1) it is open to bikers. Rugged people live in this area without roads, so all goods and people are delivered by boat. Plenty of people camp, but a few resorts have been set up to cater to people on the hike or others just coming by boat for a remote getaway. We arranged bike rentals, lodging, and transport to do this track by bike. Easy peasy. We got up in the morning, ambled down to the dock and picked up our rental bikes right next to the water taxi. We were awoken the night before by an earthquake but really did not think much about it. NZ has lots of quakes.
Us and our bikes were delivered to the far end of the track (the middle of nowhere), accompanied part of the way by a pod of about 50 Dusky Dolphin, and our gear delivered to our first lodge waiting for us. The first day’s ride was short and pretty easy, 17K. Great for getting used to the bikes and terrain. Next day would be twice that. At nearing the day’s end, the trail was blocked by a quad bike with a sign on it that read “Tsunami warning, Furneaux Lodge closed, Evacuate to Rimu Tree”.
We had to ditch the bikes and hike up to higher ground to wait out the warning. Unbeknownst to us, there had been 2 more earthquakes, one triggering a tsunami warning directed at the Marlborough sounds (us). Nothing happened. But our cabin at this lodge was the closest of any to the water, probably 20 meters from high tide. I admit it was a restless sleep. Nothing happened.
Every morning a water taxi collected our gear and delivered it to the next lodge while we rode the track. The track was beautiful looking down at the gorgeous sound and steep mountains, hidden coves, and islands. Every night it rained making for a muddy ride, but we were lucky it never rained while we rode. On the third day we were picked up at a beach and delivered back to Picton to turn in our bikes and collect our stuff. After a hot shower and laundry, back to normal.
Mailboat Run
The mailboat run is a tourist attraction in Picton we were keen to try. We picked a day with nice weather to spend the day out on the water. Those folks living on the sound without access to roads get their deliveries once or twice a week by boat that goes right to their own docks. Someone decided to make a tourist spectacle of this by bringing tourists on the boat. All the tourists are taking pictures of their homes, boats, and them getting their mail.
I wondered why they put up with it until the boat captain mentioned that we tourists are paying for the service; there is no additional cost to the residents to get these deliveries. Genius. As we neared a dock inevitably a dog would come running. Turns out the boat captains had generations ago figured out that feeding the dogs made their jobs easier. The dogs hear the boat coming and expecting a treat, make a lot of noise and alert the residents that the boat is near. A lot less time wasted by the captains. The dogs love their jobs: a couple huntaways, collies, labs, fox terrier and a doxie all met us on their docks.
Each resident had two large mail bags that were swapped at each stop. The captain and the residents gapped a bit, probably exchanging news (about the quakes maybe). Mail, food and even dry cleaning were exchanged. It was a great day out on the water, and we helped support a way of life out on the sounds.
We start another round of house sitting tomorrow: first 5 dogs and 50 chooks. Then one yellow lab with a broken leg, and lastly our menagerie in Timaru: baby goat, baby calves, 2 donkeys, 1 deaf llama, 30 or so white doves, chooks, ducks, 2 Manx cats and 2 large dogs. I could be forgetting some, and who knows, there is always a possibility there will be new animals when we arrive; there always has been before. I always hope for a Kune Kune pig (“coon – ie”). We will see. Kune Kunes are called a native NZ pig, but there is no native pig. Just a breed that either has been here a long time, or mutated here. They have really squished faces. Ugly or cute, you decide. People keep them as pets. Once we saw a really big boar tending to a vineyard.
Hope you enjoy hearing about our exploits; we hope to inspire travel in everyone, and a love for this country. For extra credit: who was Queen Charlotte? Reply with your answers.
Cheers, Nomads (still happily marooned on a beautiful island)