Day 2 - Furneaux Lodge to Camp Bay

This leg of the walk is the easiest and relatively short.  As we had plenty of time we went for a walk to a waterfall behind Furneaux Lodge.  It was an interesting walk through mature forest although the waterfall had absolutely no water going over it.  In the forest there were mature Rimu trees some of which were in the loose embrace of the vine Rata.  It is an interesting plant as it exists as either a tree or a vine.  Sometimes it smothers the tree to become a tree.  The flowers are a little like those of the pohutukawa.  Where the forest had lost its big trees there were young rimu reaching for the sky.  It was very nice as there are few places outside of Fiordland and the West Coast where there are these beautiful pockets of what NZ must have looked like before Europeans arrived cutting and burning the bush to create farms. 

Mandatory coffee before beginning

The walk to the waterfall was over a barely formed track so we had to be careful not to twist an ankle making it quite challenging for that reason. 

After our return we re-joined the Queen Charlotte Track which is like a motorway in comparison. 

We stopped for lunch at the head of Endeavour Inlet by a jetty.  A couple of men were bringing spoil and rocks to repair some erosion near it.  One of the men told us that the bach had been in the family for three generations and that it was able to used by all members of the family. 

A family heirloom?

Apparently a trust was set up in way that they could only sell their share for the original price, so effectively there was no capital gain in selling out . I guess this would mean that the property in theory would stay in the family in perpetuity.

It was an easy walk along the western side of Endeavour Inlet.  We encountered sheep, a lost pig dog with his GPS tracker, the owner of the dog with his other dogs, and a man with a rifle and suppressor in camouflage gear.

First sight of Punga Cove

Punga Cove was delightful from the receptionist with customer service skills to the very nice room with a wonderful view out on to the cove.  After showering we enjoyed a nice bottle of sauvignon blanc while viewing our day’s photos. 

Dinner was quite late for people like us who had an appetite from a day's walking. While the dinner was somewhat expensive my venison was superb. The others found the food to be interesting and well cooked.  For Bev and Trish the dessert was the highlight. 

After a windy and drizzly afternoon we were treated to a calm and clear night with the moon creating a beautiful reflection on the calm sea.  It was also very mild.  Being Saturday night and Easter there was entertainment down by the water in the Boatshed Café.  The guitarist/singer was very good and had people up and dancing dancing including the three of us. Conscious that we had a strenuous hike the next day and the music stopping we headed off to bed. 

Our unit at Punga Cove