Queen Charlotte Track from New Zealand
One of the most impressive treks of the South Island of New Zealand that combines trekking and kayaking to travel 71 kms. spectacular landscapes along the northern coast. The Queen Charlotte Track is one of the best on the island along with the Abel Tasman NP, only the former has the advantage of not being as crowded or have restricted daily visits, and therefore much easier to do this and more wild .
WHERE
The track is located on the northeast corner of the South Island of New Zealand in the area known as the Marlborough Sounds, which is the most spectacular of the 3 “sounds” of the area. The nearest town is Picton, where you take a “water taxi” or a boat to “Ship Cove” the extreme end of the track from where it returns to Picton along the coast for the fjords along its sidewalks.
ROUTE
The tour I did with two travelers I met a few days before Nuria and Heather, good sidekick. After spending the night in the backpacker “Joglar Rest” of Picton, woke up early and we set off to the track, wanting to know if it fulfilled all our expectations and if he could go all the way without problems. From Picton wharf take a “water taxi” that leads to the far north of the island from there begins the trek is actually undo all that we have made that journey by boat but on a path parallel to the coast through valleys, fjords and spectacular landscapes through woods and meadows.
The trek takes place in three stages that can be done either by foot, sea kayak or a combination of both. We chose this option and decided to walk 2 days and kayaking the last stage. There are no villages on the way, nor are residential areas except for 2 family homes strategically located at the end of each stage. You can do it on your own without guides since the trails are well marked.
First Stage:
The first stage is 27 kms. that cost us almost 9 hours with rest included. The trail passes through endless forests always parallel to the sea while up and down hills. After the tour we expected a mountain home with stunning views and a grandmother who was waiting for us with tea and homemade cakes, delicious welcome after a long day!
Second Stage:
This stage is a little shorter, 23 km through forests full of Amanita muscaria and valleys changes finally reach a sort of village with a couple of houses where we stayed and ate a good dinner after such a long walk. The fatigue starts to go out and the legs begin to notice, so the option to rent kayaks for the next day is a good choice.
Stage Three:
Indeed, the kayak makes switch to relax your legs and we enjoy ourselves in another way, running the last 21 kms. by a very calm sea along fjords and observing small forests for which the previous days had gone from a different point of view. As the sea makes threading through fjords, the water is fairly quiet except when the wind picks up and it costs much progress. They are also waters which jellyfish the size of dishes are everywhere, luckily are not poisonous, and in this way with tired arms we got back to the beach in Picton, where we come to pick up and we can finally rest from our fantastic journey through some spectacular scenery as wild as.
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