Two At Sea

April 2 and 3, 2016

Every few days a particular weather pattern affects the Sounds (at least at this time of year). It starts with a day of strong northerly winds, followed by a day of strong southerly winds. The northerly winds aren’t very cold, but they may bring some rain. The southerly winds are drier, but they’re also quite cold. This windy period is generally followed by a few days of beautiful weather: warm, sunny, and calm. These are the days where one can enjoy cruising the sounds without worry about the wind.

We’d been out for a few days now, and the next round of winds was due to arrive. One complicating factor in this weather pattern: the switch from northerly to southerly winds often happens during the night. The best thing to do in this case is find an “all weather anchorage.” There was one in the Endeavour Inlet across from Punga Cove called Tawa Bay.

We planned to head there after our first night in Punga Cove, but one of the resort’s workers had advised us to take one of their moorings that was tucked behind a headland. We already had southerly protection here, but at this particular mooring we’d have northerly protection, too.

Once we’d settled in on our new mooring, we realized we could be very comfortable here during the windy weather. The disadvantage was, without having dinner at the restaurant, it would be $25NZD per night. The advantage was Rich managed to get pretty good internet access here.

In the end, internet access, afternoon pizzas at their Boatshed Cafe and Bar, a walk on the Queen Charlotte trail to nearby Camp Cove, and the convenience of not having to pick up and move won out. We stayed put in Punga Cove. (Below, photos of our rainy day. Click to enlarge and scroll through any gallery.)

We ended up having a very nice time. The rain passed, and while we could see whitecaps in the middle of the bay, our area behind the headland was calm. The seas were a bit sloppy by the dinghy dock, and we were concerned about our dinghy getting banged against it. No problem; we just hauled it up and let it sit on the dock. We could now enjoy pizza and a walk to neighboring Camp Cove on the Queen Charlotte Track with no worries about our boat or dinghy. (Below, photos from Camp Cove.)

We ended up staying here three nights in all. After the rainy period we enjoyed some nice sunsets . . .

But the most impressive night was the indigo blue night we had after our first dinner. It’s not often I’ve seen a night this blue. –Cyndi

April 2, 2016

While it is fall down here on the underside of the ball we live on, and while these are kind of pretty, they’re not fall colors…

Much of the Marlborough Sounds are great big timber farms. Seeds from these farmed, non-native trees spread as they are designed to do. These runaway trees are called wilding pines.

In an effort to restore or maintain native vegetation, these wilding pines are poisoned and left to die off. When we first saw it, we lamented the disease that must have infected these trees. Now we know the disease is us – either in their spreading in the first place or their deliberate distruction. Oh well, the colors are pretty for a while. -Rich

April 1, 2016

When evening came, we had a final hike to do: the climb back up through Punga Cove Resort to its main restaurant.

The restaurant building is like the rest of the resort: older, a faded yellow color, with some cute, funky murals along the walkway below it. We were expecting homey backpacker-style dining area inside.

Thus, it was quite a shock to open the front door and find a beautiful, somewhat elegant-looking dining room. It felt like we’d gone through a wormhole to another restaurant! Lanterns hung from the ceiling, and the tables were bathed in candlelight. The sliding glass doors opening to a wrap-around deck made the astonishing view the main feature. We chose a table next to a glass wall and spent our first few minutes gaping at the view, then taking turns going outside on the deck for photos.

The setting and scenery were so incredible that we no longer cared about the quality of the food. But as it turned out, the food was as amazing as the scenery. The green-lipped mussels and blue cod were delicious, and the steak was as good as it gets. Then there was the baked cheesecake, which we had to agree had bested our favorites in America. The service was also top notch.

I know I’m gushing on and on about this restaurant, but it was such a surprise. It seems they have a new chef; so maybe they don’t have a following yet. This was not only one of our best dining experiences in New Zealand, it was one of our best dining experiences ever.

Above, a gallery of photos from the Punga Fern Restaurant (click to enlarge and scroll) and below a panorama taken from the deck. –Cyndi

April 1, 2016

A mountain range divides the Queen Charlotte Sound from the neighboring Kenepuru Sound (in the Pelorus Sounds), and the track that runs along its ridge has some beautiful views of both areas. Here, above the Punga Cove Resort, a saddle of land sits between the head of the Kenepuru Sound and our current location in the Endeavour Inlet, and it seemed a given it would have a good view.

We began our hike with the “easy” walk up through the resort to the parking area. If this was the easy part, I was afraid to see the rest of the hike. We passed the restaurant as we neared the parking area and realized if nothing else, our dinner would come with an amazing view. After that steep climb through the resort we were now pretty high up.

From the parking area, we walked up a road for about 30 minutes, noticing the vegetation become more dry as we gained altitude. We made it to the top and were disappointed to find no view! There was, however, the Queen Charlotte Track; so we decided to walk it for awhile and see if we’d come across any views of the Kenepuru Sound.

It didn’t take long before we came to a great viewpoint near a spot called the Gatenby Gulch. There was even a bench constructed there to serve as a viewing platform. Spread out below us was a wide, deep valley leading to the head of the Kenepuru Sound, surprisingly far in the distance. We didn’t feel like we were that high up until we noticed the black spots on the valley floor below us were, in fact, cows. They looked like ants.

Now that we’d come this far, we decided to continue on the Queen Charlotte Track for awhile and see if we could find any good views of the Queen Charlotte Sound nearby. We didn’t, but we did enjoy the fantail birds flitting around us and the most amazing-looking mushrooms we’ve ever seen. Their big bright orange tops with white poka dots looked like something out of Disney’s Alice in Wonderland ride.

Each walk generally brings some new discovery, and this time it was orange mushrooms. (Later research revealed that these are a mushroom called “fly agaric” and we might have missed out on a good hallucinatory experience!)

Above, a gallery of photos from our climb, including the Kenepuru Saddle, our climb up to the saddle, and views of the Endeavour Inlet. Mr. Grumpy Bird is a fantail (and he really wasn’t grumpy but very friendly).

Below the psychedelic mushrooms. (Click to enlarge and scroll though galleries.) –Cyndi

April 1, 2016

Today we moved further out and across the Endeavour Inlet to a place called the Punga Cove Resort. The attractions: their funky little deck cafe on the water (recommended by our mail boat crew) and access to the Kenepuru Saddle, which we hoped would be a good viewpoint.

Like the Furneaux Lodge, Punga Cove Resort is on the Queen Charlotte Track, right at the spot where the track angles from the shore back up to the mountain ridges. It’s more casual than the Furneaux Lodge, older and more rustic but with lots of charm. Its tiny A-frame cabins perch on the hillside, the guests are mostly Queen Charlotte Track hikers stopping for in a night.

We picked up one of their moorings and headed in to check out the cafe and hike up to the saddle. The cafe was cute and laid back, specializing in homemade pizza, sandwiches, etc. We found out the mooring would be $25 a night, but if we ate in their main restaurant for dinner it would be free for that night. We didn’t even know they had a restaurant besides the cafe; so we knew nothing about it. The nice girl suggested we could head to the lodge’s main office to look at the menu and make a decision.

The menu didn’t have many items, and while the restaurant wasn’t cheap it also wasn’t outrageously expensive–$25 would about pay for one of our meals. We decided we could find things to order and made reservations for dinner, hoping it would be worthwhile. It was. (More on that in a later post.)

We also got advice on getting to the Kenepuru Saddle: take an easy hike up through the resort to the parking area above it, then head up the unsealed road to the saddle, about a 40 minute hike in all.

Below, a gallery of photos of the Punga Cove Resort, the anchorage, and of course . . . the pizza from the dockside cafe. (click to enlarge and scroll).–Cyndi