A mere flesh wound (or three)

March 24

Havelock Holiday Park to Davies Bay DoC Campsite

KM 1780

Distance: 22.6km 

Elevation: ascent 489m, descent 500m

Steps: 32,900

Time: 8:40am - 3:40pm

Today was a slow, lazy, relaxed amble down the road just past Anakiwa to the doorstep of the Queen Charlotte Track. Knowing that we had plenty of time to do this walk today, we had a lazy start at the Holiday Park, with breakfast (we are experimenting with muesli instead of porridge for breakfast, just for a change!) and a cup of (instant) coffee before we packed up.

We then went across the street in Havelock to a cafe to have a "proper cup of coffee from a proper coffee shop"* before heading on our way. Since we passed the iSite as well, Eliza dropped in to purchase the Queen Charlotte passes - as much of this track runs across private property, there is a separate, but very small, fee to walk the track.

Just as we walked out of the iSite, two women walked up, one working for the local business association; and the other a photographer. They wanted to take photos of the iSite for promoting the town of Havelock, and asked if we would mind posing for the photos as well. Who knew that by walking Te Araroa we would become celebrities, sought out to give a bit of glamour to local tourism!

In any case, we finally actually left Havelock nearly an hour after we left the holiday park. The trail then took us along a walking and mountain biking path that parallels the main road, but kept us off of the road for the most part. This was greatly appreciated, since the main road is barely two lanes - one each direction with not much of a shoulder - and narrower in many places due to washouts. Granted, even the walking path had its washouts.

(Yes it was slightly amusing seeing this level of signage for what is still quite a wide track, after what we've done lately! But this track is for a very different user group, so the level of care is appreciated.)

The walking trail also gave us good views of the lowland podocarp forest that makes up much of the vegetation here. It is an interesting change from the nearly all-beech forest we have been walking through for so much of recent weeks. Seeing a variety of podocarp trees, manuka scrub, and palms and tree ferns as well, is a different but still beautiful feel to the forest.

Once we were walking along the road itself, where the shoulder was a bit wider, we encountered some blackberry vines. Eliza had the first encounter:

And Vaughan had his own shortly thereafter:

We also saw this adorable little Hobbit Hole.

For this short 4-day section, we are carrying nearly half as much food as we carried for 11 days through the Richmonds. Lots of yummy things to eat, including some fresh bread! (trust me, we've been missing that!) So sitting down for lunch in a very light drizzle overlooking the Sound, with freshly made sandwiches - delightful.

We also stopped at the Queen Charlotte Hotel along the way, just after noon, for a sit-down break. Eliza got a coffee and Vaughan had a beer, and we probably sat there for about an hour, enjoying the view and the ambiance.

Shortly after, we finally arrived in Anakiwa, but not before literally having a quick jaunt down the Garden Path and to have a moment at the Seat of Contemplation. While there, we were also able to contemplate some developing bruises on Vaughan's hand and leg, as the Garden Path was steep and covered in slippery, wet leaves, so he took a slip on the way (Eliza had only just avoided the same by grabbing a nearby branch).

Anakiwa is the home of Outward Bound, which Vaughan attended nearly 20 years ago, in December 2002. Outward Bound is an international outdoor education organisation. The course Vaughan participated in included tramping, sea kayaking, abseiling, sailing and leadership development. He has fond memories of the people and experiences.

One of those memories is of the jetty we all had to jump off after each early morning fitness run.

It wasn't far from there to the Davies Bay Campsite, where we could relax for the rest of the evening. Our tent is just out of picture to the right of the photo. A weka is calling from the forest in this photo, but you also cannot see that. We will be securing all of our food tonight...

 

We also wanted to share a bit of a thought, looking back on the Richmonds. From St Arnaud to the Pelorus Track trailhead (or trailfoot I guess, the way we did it) took us 8 days, and traversed 126.2 km. This included 7,637m ascent, 8,161m descent. For comparison, Mt Everest is 8,849m above sea level, so we practically climbed and descended Everest. Take that, Sir Ed!

*lyrics from Midnight Youth, Cavalry