Two At Sea

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

We were anxious to walk a bit more on the Queen Charlotte Track where it dips down near sea level by the Furneaux Lodge. The vegetation along the track changes with it’s altitude: dense and jungle-like near sea level, drier and more open along the high ridges. We’d done some walking along the ridge and now looked forward to walking closer to shore level.

As expected, this area of the track was thick with ferns and trees draped with plants like kiekie (looking a bit like spider plants growing along the trunks and branches of trees) and viney supplejacks. We detoured off the track to visit the Rimu Viewing Platform. It was a short hike up a trail thick with tree ferns to the viewing platform. Since the forest has grown up around the platform, the view wasn’t very impressive. What was impressive was a giant tree right next to the platform; it was massive. It was worth it to come up here just to see this tree!

After our detour, we walked another mile or so, seeing some pretty little bays with boat houses near an area with vacation homes. It would be neat to stay another day and head the opposite direction on the track, but we planned to head on tomorrow.

Below, a gallery of photos from our hike.  (Click to enlarge and scroll.) -Cyndi

March 31, 2016

Our next destination (after the Bay of Many Coves) was way up in the Endeavour Inlet, nearly four miles from its entry (see previous map). It’s a long way to travel into a bay, but the trip here is worth it.

By definition, the sounds are drowned valleys amid sinking mountains; so we’re always surrounded by mountaintops. But some of these mountains are larger, more magnificent, and particularly striking, as is the case near the head of the Endeavour Inlet.

Below, a gallery from the mountainous interior of the Endeavour Inlet (click to enlarge and scroll).

Our first stop here was the Furneaux Lodge, right in the midst of these mountains. Besides the scenery, it has some other attractions. For one, the Queen Charlotte Track. While much of this track runs along mountain ridges, it dips down near the shoreline around the head of the Endeavour Inlet and is only steps away from the lodge. Second, there are moorings available for visiting boats, a big plus in an area where it could be difficult to anchor. Finally, the lodge welcomes visitors to its restaurants and bar.

We called and were welcomed to pick up any mooring of our choosing. It would be $25NZD a night, but we thought it was a fair price, and we liked not being obligated to eat here. This was another restaurant I’d researched online and found it’s pretty expensive for dinner. Maybe we’d go in for lunch or breakfast, but we weren’t sure.

After getting our mooring we took our dinghy and tied up to their very nice dock, then went to find the reception area. This place was pretty and very casual, yet upscale enough to appeal to its wealthier clientele along with the Queen Charlotte backpacking crowd. There were cabins along with a central bar and restaurant, plus a covered deck with tables outside.

We paid our fee and asked about meals. Come to find out there’s a “bar menu” (aka cheaper dinners) that was available until 6pm. Perfect. After a walk on the track (post coming), we had our dinner on their sunny deck while their helpful dog stood by to help clean up if we accidentally dropped any food on the deck.

The fish and chips were just OK. The Thai beef salad was not very authentic, but it didn’t matter because it was really tasty, like having an entire marinated steak on salad greens. I tried a beer called Murphy’s Irish Stout. I’d never heard of it before, and now I knew why. I had major beer envy over Rich’s Corona (yes, it’s available throughout New Zealand, even in the depths of the Marlborough Sounds).

Below, a gallery of photos of the Furneaux Lodge area. Click to enlarge and scroll. –Cyndi