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Cooks Memorial
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Started off with a bright sunny morning as we walked down to the wharf to catch the 9.30 Beachcomber ferry to the start of the Queen Charlotte Track at Ship Cove. Unlike other tramps, for this one we had the luxury of having our bags transported between each nights stop, all in the price of our ticket. Got away on time at 9.30 and glided over a calm sea with a mist rising off it as the sun started to warm up the day. At 10.30 we reach Ship Cove and spent a quarter of an hour looking around at the monument to Captain Cook, who visited the cove on five occasions.
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Dense & Treasured Greenery
Here near sea level the jungle like forest is dominated by species which thrive in mild temperatures, rich soil, thick humus and salt laden breezes. As conditions change further up the walking track, so do the plant communities. Look for the damp gullies are dark and tangled with fern, and supplejack while drier ridges are dominated by more open beech and kamahi forest.
The forest here has changed little since the first Maori and European voyagers saw it. To Maori dwellers it was essential to survival. Apart from small north-facing areas which were cleared for cultivation and house sites the forest was kept as intact as possible, treasured for its resources.
Large trees such as totara and matai provided building material, nikau was used thatching, kiekie, flax and supplejack for weaving, and blue-black dye could be made from hinau bark. Kawakawa was vital for its medicinal properties.
Plants were also treasured for their edible fruit and berries, especially those like the porokaiwhiri and kohekohe. Some bright, fleshy berries also attracted birds which were easily snared.
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Set off climbing away from the cove and after a few minutes reached a broad track which took us up to the saddle passing first through native forests on the lower slopes, giving over to beech on the higher slopes.
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From a viewing platform we were able to look out over Resolution Bay to the west and back over Ship Cove to Motuara Island close by and North Island on the horizon. A pair of wekas scratted about in the undergrowth looking for grubs.
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Plants in Place
Compared to the dense tangles of the lower slopes, natural vegetation changes are quite evident here. The large-leafed, thick undergrowth of the lower forest is starting to be left behind. There are more open ground here. These changes are the plants responding to the land - finding places where they can grow best.
Why are these plants growing here?
You are standing on an area of ground that is not only higher up the slope from the sea but is also higher than its surroundings. Conditions are harsher here than in more sheltered gullies. Humus has been washed away by rain on this higher ground and soils dry out quickly in fine weather. Plants that need much moisture, humus and shelter from wind give way to other which can tolerate these less favourable conditions.
New Zealand beech, hinau and toro will all tolerate drier, cooler conditions and grow better away from salt spray. Taller trees such as beech form a high canopy blocking light below and restricting growth on the forest floor.
Plants are very sensitive to altitude, which means they are sensitive to temperature. The further up the hill from the sea, the cooler the air. We may not detect a change, but a shoreline tree transplanted to the top of this ridge could die from the 'cool' air as well as the wind, summer dryness and poor soils.
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Beech & Kamahi
This dry and wind-exposed ridge-top with its patch of beech and kamahi dominated forest is no place for the dense vegetation and tree ferns of the lower slopes. The ground is leached of topsoil and is infertile. Only resilient plants can make a home here. Walking off the ridge, be on the watch for forest changes as the open understorey becomes increasingly dense with ferns in damp sheltered gullies.
Why is the forest more open here?
Being a ridge top, the forest floor is dry for much of the year. Many young, understorey plants would die from lack of moisture.
Animals have browsed amongst these beech and kamahi trees, trampling young growth on the forest floor and breaking low branches. Possums have stripped leaves, making trees vulnerable to diseases and windthrow.
Why are some tree trunks black?
Beech trees are favoured by a thick, black, velvety fungus which blankets the trunk and lower branches. This fungus lives on the honey dew excreted from a small native scale insect that lives under the bark. Other insects, as well as nectar-loving birds such as tui and bell birds, also feed on the honey dew. Accidentally introduced German and common wasps compete with native birds for the sweet liquid.
Resilient beech forest
Beech is a hardy species with many survival skills. Beech seedlings wait patiently for a big tree to fall and create a gap in the canopy - then it is a race to reach the light. Beech are able to change their shape and growth habits to withstand extremes of cold or survive on poor soils. Because of this just four species manage to occupy a vast range of habitats from sea level to 1,500m high along both of New Zealand's main islands.
Beech is however, devastated by fire. It rarely regenerates after such attack. Fire is more likely to take hold of a dry ridge and the resulting damage turns it into an extremely dry area where one of the few native forest species to regrow is manuka. Introduced gorse will grow easily in burnt, dry conditions
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Dropped down the other side of the saddle to reach Resolution Bay after 35 minutes. We didn't take up the offer of a cafe and sea kayaks but continued on to climb again on a bridle path through manuka and the hissing and clicks of cicada to the next saddle, this time with views over Endeavour Bay. It being 1.00 we felt it a good spot to stop for lunch.
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Our thanks to the family of Bing Lucas 1925 - 2000, an architect of the NZ Walkway system and international conservationist, the NZ Dept of Conservation and the World Conservation Union, who between them provided two seats on which to sit and relax in such a pleasant setting.
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I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121
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After 25 minutes we carried on down a gently descent which after nearly three quarters of an hour brought us to the shore of Endeavour Inlet. A further 15 minutes and we were strolling along in the open around the edge of the bay.
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Passed by Furneaux Lodge and at 3.10 arrived at Endeavour Resort, a collection of chalets and bunk houses which were clean but somewhat in need of modernising. The place had changed hands 9 months previous, the new owner said he used to take his children there 20 years ago, and it hadn't changed a bit!
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Deposited our bag for the pick up and at 9.20 made the short steep climb back up onto the track. The sun was shining and a few clouds drifted across the sky. Within 10 minutes we were at the end of the bay with a track that went up to an antimony mine. Stood around for a few minutes reading the information boards.
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What is antimony?
Antimony (Stibium Sb) is a metal produced from stibnite (antimony sulphide, Sb2S3) ore. The lead-grey ore is usually found in quartz rock associated with gold. It was used in manufacturing pewter, ammunition and print type and is still used in lead-acid batteries and solder.
Discovery of antimony ore in Endeavour Inlet
In 1873 ore containing 60% antimony was discovered in a landslide near the saddle between Endeavour Inlet and Port Gore. It was found during prospecting of the Queen Charlotte Sound Goldfield proclaimed in October 1872 and within a line of mineralisation running from Titirangi Bay through Endeavour Inlet to Resolution Bay. The discoverer may have been John Ashworth, who had settled Endeavour Inlet. There has been some mining activity at Resolution Bay and on the east side of Endeavour Inlet; however, the only significant stibnite production came from mines associated with the lode at Endeavour Inlet.
Mining history
John Ashworth and a local syndicate formed the Marlborough Antimony Company Ltd. Mining started in 1873-74 about 2km from the coast but within a few years the smelter failed and the mine was closed. Ashworth unsuccessfully attempted to resurrect the mine in 1877. In 1883 a small syndicate headed by Houston Logan of Wellington (and including Ashworth) established the Endeavour Inlet Antimony Company. The high prevailing antimony price facilitated raising capital to find the main ore body. This syndicate mined the number 1 level at the saddle and two lower levels. An extensive processing works including smelter was established 500m in land from the inlet. A fall in the price of antimony, low-grade ore and smelting problems forced the syndicate to seek English capital. The New Zealand Antimony Company was registered in London in 1888. This company developed levels 4-7 but found no source of high-grade ore. New Zealand Antimony was forced into voluntary liquidation in 1892.
A smaller New Zealand syndicate took over the mine and formed the Star Antimony Company in 1892. This operation survived until July 1901 when it to foundered. Several groups then attempted to revive the mine up until 1908 but failed. There has been periodic exploration since then.
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We had been told that it was not worth going all the way up to the mine but a look around the old smelting working might be worth while, so we set off up the track. After half an hour and 230m climb we had not found anything that resembled old buildings or machinery and so decided that with no way of knowing how much further it could be, or whether we had some how missed it we turned around. Five minutes before reaching the main track again we came upon what on closer inspection could have been a spoil heap and looking around we found a few fragments of broken ingots and other waste. This was the extent of the observable remains, not enough even to make a five minute detour worthwhile let alone a half hour one. However, it did give us a bit of exercise on an otherwise easy day. And we did get to see a llama and a wild boar in a field beside the track.
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Rounded the head of the inlet and climbed steeply for a short while to get us away from the shore. The route then continued on a wide track rising and falling as we followed the coast line.
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Parts were like walking along an old green road in England, except that the flora was completely different with manuka, punga and kamahi replacing ash, oak and hawthorn.
At 11.25 we reached a point with a particularly good view down the inlet where we could sit on a bank beside the road to eat a snack whilst having a ten minute rest.
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Queen Charlotte Sound
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Drowned Valleys
The landscape before you was once a series of river valleys separated by high hills. This land has since been depressed and the valleys flooded to form waterways known as sounds, as distinct from fiords which are drowned glacial valleys.
The sounds have made convenient transport routes for centuries. Maori also favoured the sea and forest resources, and the good defence positions provided by islands and promontories. Tracks across ridges linked isolated bays where spare canoes were kept, and reduced paddling distances. Maori knew Queen Charlotte Sound as Totoranui - big (nui) totora - the sounds representing the branch of the totora tree.
British navigator James cook preferred the Sounds over any other part of New Zealand, making five visits between 1770 and 1777. On the first occasion he raised British flags at Ship Cove and on Motuara Island, claiming sovereignty over the surrounding area. Cook renamed it as Queen Charlotte Sound in honour of King George III's consort.
The latter half of the 19th century brought farmers who cleared and burned the land for pasture. Bridle tracks were formed along the coastal edges. Some farms flourished, others were abandoned long ago. Motuara Island has regenerated as a scenic reserve and is managed as a wildlife sanctuary. The bridle tracks have been linked to create today's Queen Charlotte Track.
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After almost another hour we reached the head of Camp Bay and turned south on the final leg. Punga Cove could often be seen in the distance but always there was another small inlet between us. But at last it was 1.15 and we were there.
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Punga Cove Resort has been well thought out to provide a wide range of accommodation from backpackers to self contained chalets with a bar, shop, restaurant and small pool. The backpackers that we looked in were neat and tidy, though the kitchen was not too well equipped. Because all the backpacker units were taken we had the sole occupancy of a 5 bed dorm, as far from the backpack kitchen as it was possible to get.
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The grounds of the resort were set out with various tables and chair and so we found ourselves a spot out of the brisk wind blowing off the bay and spent a couple of hours relaxing with our books.
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As a luxury for tramping, we ate at the restaurant for our evening meal. Very tasty but a bit slow and the fish portion wasn't very large, however the view was excellent.
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As our room was at the opposite side of the resort from the backpackers kitchen which was also on the direction to the track we packed up our gear, left our rucksack for collection by the bar and then stopped off for breakfast on the way out.
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Kenepura Sound
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The sky was a light grey, but not threatening rain, as we set off at 8.45 out past an area that looked set for development and a car park. Followed an unsealed road up to the Kenepuru Saddle at 180m and then a track up the ridge to the south, a steepish slope at first but eased off after a while. This part of the track could also be used by mountain bikers but only two of them past us during the day.
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And so it continued with a good track all the way rising and falling, mostly gently but sometimes more sever. Sometimes the views were to the north over Kenepuru Sound and sometimes to the south over the many bays of Queen Charlotte Sound; Bay of Many Coves, Ruakaka Bay, Blackwood Bay, Kumutoto Bay and finally Torea Bay. When we were on the Queen Charlotte side a cool south westerly wind dissuaded us from lingering, when on the Kenepuru side the wind was moderated by the ridge. Small patches of blue appeared in the sky but the sun had difficulty finding them
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Queen Charlotte Track
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At 1.00 we reached Black Rock Shelter which provided a reasonable wind break and so we spent 20 minutes there eating our lunch. From then on it was only one more climb and then a gradual decline to Torea Saddle 95m where at 2.20 we came to a sealed road. The track continued on the other side but we turned right down the road for 10 minutes to reach our stop for the night at Portagebay Shop Backpackers.
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Bay of Many Coves
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The hostel was a wooden construction next door to the Portagebay Shop and appeared to be relatively new with a total of around 12 beds mostly in 2 bed rooms. The rooms though small were adequate and clean. The kitchen and dining room were comfortable. There was however no views from the windows.
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Although still cloudy there was less than the previous day. At 8.30 we set off back up the sealed road to rejoin the track at the top of the saddle after 15 minutes. Turned right onto the track and climbed steeply up to 410m over the next 40 minutes before dropping 200m down again to the saddle above Lochmara Bay with many holiday homes scattered around the waters edge.
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At last the sun, accompanied by a gentle breeze, rose above the clouds on the horizon. The waters on the Sounds lay still below us. Bell birds provided us with a melody whilst cicada in squadrons overhead provided the percussion of clicks and hisses.
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Climbed again and again dropped down, this time, after 2 hours, to the Te Mahai Saddle where we came upon an unsealed road on which we turned left for 100m before turning right again back onto the track, following a coastal bridle track as it climbed gently south until we reached the headland with wide views over the Queen Charlotte Sound. As we were making very good time we stopped for half an hour to relax and admire the views.
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Slowly the track descend until we reached the Davis Bay camp site and the waters edge. We then finished off the last 2km of track walking around the shore line to arrive at the information kiosk at 1.30.
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Battleground to Outward Bound
Anakiwa Pa
Sited near the waterfront here, Anakiwa pa was once the largest settlement of the Rangitane people. It was a place rich in food and material resources from sea and forest.
The name Anakiwa refers to "the burial place of Kiwa", also "the bay of Okiwa".
Those who lived here did not escapee the frequent inter-tribal wars, and subsequent cannibal feasts, which marred life up to the early 19th century. About 1828-1829 the Rangitane with their traditional Maori weapons were no match for the Northern Tribes that invaded the top of South Island. Among these tribes were the Ngatitoa, under the all-powerful Te Rauparaha and the Te Atiawa under Te Manutoheroa, Te Hawe and others.
Te Atiawa are the iwi of Queen Charlotte Sound today.
A visitor in 1853 described more peaceful scene, with a Maori church amidst a cluster of huts, and a large garden of Kumara, potatoes and corn. A low, thatched shed at the edge of the beach housed the settlement's treasures waka (canoe), about 21m long with bright red sides and superbly carved bow and stern posts. A fleet of smaller canoes lay by the beach, ready for use.
Farming
Timber milling, gold mining, fishing and farming attracted Europeans in the late 1800s - farming lasted the longest. Cattle from as far away as Kenepuru Heads would be driven via a network of rough bridle tracks, past this spot to the Blenheim saleyards.
The Famous Guest House
The late 1920s saw the establishment of one of Queen Charlotte Sound's most famous guest houses - Anakiwa Homestead. Guests from all over the world enjoyed fishing trips, croquet, tennis, bowls and the occasional social wedding.
The buildings were taken over in 1962 by Cobham Outward Bound Trust to establish a school dedicated to the development of fitness and self confidence through outdoor activities.
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History of Anakiwa Outward Bound School
Anakiwa (The cave of Chief Kiwa, or his burial ground)
It is understood that the Ngatimahoe Maori held power over the general area of Nelson and Marlborough until the early 1500s. During the next two centuries the Ngatikua tribe became paramount in the Pelous Sound area and the Rangitane tribe in Queen Charlotte Sound.
By 1770, when Captain Cook first sailed into Queen Charlotte Sound, large Maori settlements had been established at Waitohi (Picton), Ngakuta, Anakiwa, Mahakipawa and Orua Puputa, all in the upper reaches of the Sound.
1840 Joseph Toms, a sealer and whaler was granted "about 400 acres" in the general area of Anakiwa, Linkwater and the Grove.
1864 Craddock Beauchamp and his wife Harriet received a Crown grant of land at Anakiwa for farming purposes. The Beauchamp homestead was built on the Anakiwa Pa site and it was in this setting that Craddock and Harriet raised a family of six sons and four daughters.
1925 John Hazelwood succumbed to the imploring of Ethel and agreed that a guest house be built on part of her 100 acre property in Anakiwa. The guesthouse, designed for some 20 guests and built largely with timber recycled from the old freezing works at Shakespeare Bay and a house (Waitohi house) in Picton, which was being demolished, was finally completed in 1928.
1962 The Anakiwa guesthouse is purchased by The Outward Bond Trust of New Zealand.
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As our boat back to Picton wasn't until 4.00 we first kicked our heels for a bit around the kiosk area and then took a 1.5km stroll along the road to Tirimoana to the Blist'd Foot Cafe where we sat in the garden with a drink and muffin before walking the 1.5km back to the jetty.
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Caught the 15 minute late ferry and sailed back to Picton in the sunshine with views back up to the Queen Charlotte Track.
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