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| Signs to say where you are |
This day is reputed to be the most
strenuous of the days. The distance is
the longest of the four days. Unfortunately there was to be no easing into the walk, there was climb out from Punga Cove along the road to the
Kenepuru Saddle. The day was cool and
misty when we started out which was about an hour after T had left as she was considerably
slower than B and I.
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| The head of Kenepuru Sound |
As we turned on to the track proper the
mist turned to drizzle and then it was light rain at which point I decided that I
would put on a parka. Of course
two minutes after doing that it stopped, requiring yet another pause so that I
could take it off. The walk for the next
hour or so was a gentle climb up a ridge until we reached a spot above Deep Bay
in Endeavour Inlet where there was a table and toilet. It was nice spot to stop for a moment. Bev caused a moments hilarity when she burst into the toilet where there was a man sitting there
minding his own business.
It was here that came across the first of a series of very cute hand painted signs that provided useful and not so useful information about aspects of the trac. The ones at this stop described what was below us (Deep Bay)
and the direction to various cities around the world.
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| Walking through secondary growth |
The next part of the walk was the most
challenging with it being very steep and which seemed to go on forever. At times there were a few metres of respite and then we would go around a corner to find that we were climbing again. However, there were thosesigns saying,
for instance, that we were entering Pam’s Land and then another notice saying
we were leaving it. The worst of the
climb peaked out at Eatwell’s lookout which we would have visited but due to mist obscuring the view we decided there was
not going to be much to see which was confirmed later by some other trampers.
Our next stop was the Bay of Many Coves
Shelter where I changed my shirt as I was a bit chilly. We had a snack and some water while chatting
to some fellow trampers. From there on
it got a little easier. We stopped for
lunch at Manuka Lane about an hour after leaving the Shelter, where there was a
seat providing a view over the upper reaches
of Kenepuru Sound.
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| Lunch with the Weka |
The track undulated from there on, traversing through land that has virgin forest
on it as well as land that is in the process of regenerating after having been logged
and burnt for farmland. In several
places there was mature native beech forest that now has other predators, namely
the wasps that feed on the honey dew an important food source for our native birds.
We caught T a kilometre or so away from
Black Rock Shelter. By that time the
mist had cleared and there were lovely views of both Kenepuru and Queen
Charlotte Sounds. Black Rock was a
convenient rest spot before the last leg to Portage.
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| Trampers resting at Black Rock Shelter |
The climbs from thereon were relatively
gentle. We passed through Rimu Grove where there were huge mature rimus to be
seen. Clearly it had been too difficult
to harvest them in the previous 150 years and no doubt they are nursery for
seeds that will, over the next millennium, spread out over the regenerating
forest. Further along we came to a cliff where there was the rock was multicoloured. It must have been quite a task for the settlers to cut through that rock. Later it was another beech
forest where there was a mixture of beautiful bird song and the hum of
thousands of wasps stealing the honeydew.
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| Allports Island near Picton |
An hour later we were at Torea Saddle and
after a short walk down the road we were at the Portage Hotel.
The last hour of the walk was in some ways the hardest. My legs were
tired and I had to concentrate to ensue that I did not roll an ankle on
the uneven and rocky surface. However, there was a wonderful sense of
achievement when we arrived and had a moment to sit down and admire the
view from our unit. I was especially pleased with my performance as I
felt like I had lots of energy but also that I just enjoyed being
amongst nature with the sounds of bird and the occassional intrusion of
civilisation.
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| Coloured rocky cliff |
That evening we chose the bar menu of fish
and chips which was the right meal after an energy sapping eight hour walk.
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