Queen Charlotte Track: Big Bay to Black Water
Distance Covered: 21 km
The big event this morning was the arrival of two wekas and their three baby wekas. The adults scattered along the trail have already proved to be annoying with their constant running around, probing at ways to steal things. However, baby wekas are cute and endearing. They’re just harmless little fluff balls waiting to be cuddled, according to Emily. So we enjoyed their visit and tried to quiet the paranoid voices in our heads that suggested they only brought their babies to distract us while one of the adults attacked from the rear.
Now onto hiking. We started along the coastline, headed for the official campsite a few km down the trail. However, before we got there, there was a turnoff that let us bypass walking down there and let us start climbing the ridge. It said the next campsite with water and toilets was a couple of hours away. We didn’t have a lot of water, but that seemed reasonable. So up we went.
And then, about 30 minutes later, we came to the junction where the trail from the campsite merged with our trail. There was a sign there for us to read… it said that the dry weather on the ridge meant no water at any of the facilities for 23 km. Hmm… We had read that there was a section where that was possible, but without Internet service we couldn’t quite confirm the area. Also, a factor was that the tops of ridgelines don’t have streams to collect water from. So the prudent thing to do was to drop our bags, walk back to the coastline, fill our water, and then walk back up the hill. Which is what we did. About an hour later, we were back on track, now loaded with plenty of water. I had about 4 liters myself, which is twice what I need at this point in my hiking development, but I carried extra both for dinner and as backup for the group.
Then it was up and up to the top of the ridge. There were a few steep parts (which Rick has decided is not his favorite part), but the views were great. It’s true that there were a handful of short sections with no views. However, given the nature of our experiences with many other trails on the Te Araroa, this was a revelation in trail design. Emily and I (and Rick) really enjoyed the second day of hiking.
Plus, it was a second straight day of good weather, which almost never happened to us on the north island.
We chugged along on the ridge for the rest of the day, casually walking and stopping often on benches. Rick is now on day 2 and we probably pushed a little too hard on day one. Emily and I are having fun asking him how he’s feeling when it’s clear he’s starting to feel like we did. (Okay, I may be having more fun than Emily.) When he first saw us in Wellington he laughed about our little hobbles and the way we get stiff in our joints even with minor rests. He’s not laughing as much now… heh, heh, heh.
Our initial goal for the day was to get off the ridge where there was no water and camp in the saddle. However, around 6 PM or so, we came up to the last campsite on the ridge where there was supposed to be no water. But there were a few of our Te Araroa friends (a great surprise!) already camped there and they happily told us there was water. And they saved us a campsite. And they had games we could play. Well alright, we said… it looks like we’re staying here tonight!
We told Rick that the best part of the trail is the people you meet along the way. It was great to be able to show him what we meant with such a fun group of people. Throughout the evening we cooked, shared stories, battled the infernal wekas (they successfully stole food from two other campers), and played games. And watched the sunset from a great vantage point.
It’s hard to beat a day like today. I’ve been feeling saturated from a constant stream of adventure without a way to be productive. However, good times like today show that there’s still a little room for fun with friends.
Tomorrow we go down near sea level before climbing up to another ridge. We’ll likely make it to the end of the trail or very near to the end of it.