QCT Day 1 to No Road Inn

Late post due to lack of internet! This post should have been posted at the end of Saturday, March 25th.

Picton

We got pies! The bakehouse that we missed out on last night was open early, so after we got showered and packed, we walked over for a mince and cheese pie; a steak, bacon, cheese pie; and a sausage roll. They were delicious! We took our time and enjoyed our coffee since we were a bit early.

Heading to the QCT

At 8:30 am, Wilderness Guides picked us up from the hotel and drove us the one block to their office. It was close, but since we had re-packed for the hike, our luggage count was higher, so I appreciated the ride.  We met a couple, Geoff and Ros, who were doing their orientation. They are doing the same package that we are, so it will be nice to have familiar faces every day, at least at dinner, if not on the trail. They’re here from Sydney and wondering why they haven’t been out to NZ before.

Our ferry, operated by Beachcomber (unrelated to our hotel) left promptly at 9 am. The four of us opted to sit up top, outside, until it started to look like rain was impending. Inside, we could get a better look at the captain we’d been listening to. Funny guy. And there were a few others in there: a couple, who looked like serious hikers because they didn’t seem at all interested in the view out the windows; two Aussie mountain bikers who had GoPros and a lot of gear, a guy from Wilderness Guides, and the captain’s assistant or something.

We saw a seal but I didn’t catch him on camera, and a rare type of cormorant (New Zealand king shag) which is estimated to be at only 6,000 remaining. We picked up a group of people in Bay of Many Coves. It was this group of 3 girls, 2 boys, and a pair of parents who belonged to the Wilderness Guides guide on board. He went over the map with them and talked about the plan for the day.

New Zealand king shag

The captain was knowledgable and kept up a steady stream of current facts, like home prices, agriculture information, and wildlife information.

For sale

The prices out here range wildly so it’s not all super rich folks, but building out here is getting more and more expensive, so the new houses are probably wealthy people. You could always buy land and get a boat instead of building anything.

Ship Cove

Pulling into Ship Cove

At 10:30, we arrived at Ship Cove. Some folks set right off, but Mike and I took time to read the signs at the Captain Cook memorial. This historic reserve is a special place to the Kiwi. Captain Cook used this as his base of operations when he visited in the late 1700s.

Queen Charlotte Track

I think every post for the track will start out with this map:

Setting out!

Today we went from Ship Cove, down around Bottle Rock Peninsula to Endeavor Inlet, with a side stroll (half a km out, and another back) to School House Bay where we ate lunch.

Toilet with a view

Weka checking me out. They are notorious thieves.

The forest we got to trek through today was lush and noisy. The bugs and birds make such a racket sometimes. It’s some of the oldest native forest left in New Zealand because of deforestation which, of course, most countries experienced when settlers came. Protecting native ecology wasn’t something people used to be concerned with. There are pine trees out here from Monterey, California, which they are now slowly trying to kill, one at a time, by drilling into the trunks (to avoid putting down poison). When we were on the north island, we saw tons of pine, some for lumber and some which had been put up as erosion protection.

Walking through the forest was lovely but it’s the scenic lookouts that were incredible.

It wasn’t a perfectly clear day, so we couldn’t see the North Island, but it was clear enough to be gorgeous.

These trees develop beautiful formations where fronds grow and fall off. We saw bowls and plates in gift shops with this wood, showcasing this pattern.

Weird berry things or flowers that I had a tough time getting a photo of.

Max 5 persons

There were a few of these little beaches right off the trail. As we got closer to the residential area known as "The Pines," there were more and more water access points.

Imagine sitting here for your morning coffee

No Road Inn

Arrived!

Upon arriving at the boutique waterfront lodge, we were greeted by our host, David, with beer or wine. An ex-chef, he now runs a boat brokerage but takes care of the inn every other week, alternating with owners Garry and Barbara, who aren’t usually on-site if David is; but the helpers left the day before, so Barbara was helping for the day in between helpers. It was so peaceful having a beer with this view and chatting with David, Ros, and Geoff.

I love our room!

Our view

Our breakfast basket

Common room / lounge

Looking up at the lodge -- On the second floor, right in the window, is a huge sunroom/patio. That's where we wound up having dinner later.

The hot tub, a century old timber wine barrel crafted from native totara timber, is set over a stream in the forest. It's drained and filled with fresh spring water daily, so it's chemical free.

Path to the hot tub

In the hot tub, we met a couple from Canada. They were mountain biking and wrapping up the South Island. They mentioned they did the Fox Glacier instead of Franz Josef because they wanted to go to a natural hot spring. They stayed in a hut out there for two days.

After showering, we met everyone upstairs at 6:30 for dinner. David made an incredible meal.

Here's the upstairs patio from inside

Dining room, kitchen, upstairs lounge.
Before we decided to move the table setting to the patio.

Whitebait fritters with sweet pickled cucumbers

Salmon rillette

Dry-rubbed lamb, carrots, beets in balsamic reduction with white sesame seeds, hasselback potatoes with delicious herbed butter

The best pavlova Mike has ever had, with sour cream, blueberries, a surprising passion fruit filling, and vanilla ice cream

There's that filling

Chatting at dinner was really nice. It was 4 couples. At the end of the meal, David pulled up a chair to explain how to work the automatic egg cooker that everyone has in their kitchenette. He was a hoot, and the whole meal was spectacular.

Tomorrow we head to Mahana Lodge.