Welcome to Aotearoa

The first four days of our hike across the South Island of New Zealand has been a dream. Some call it The Land the Time Forgot because of its prehistoric beauty. The Maōri, the indigenous Polynesians of New Zealand, call it Aotearoa: The Land of the Long White Cloud.

We started the trip on ferries from Wellington on the North Island to Picton on the South Island where the Queen Charlotte track begins.

Ferry dropoff at the trailhead

The Queen Charlotte track follows the shoreline along the Marlborough Sounds at the north end of the South Island. We couldn’t believe the richness of the blue water and the greens of the ferns, trees, and underbrush. It was impossibly beautiful.

Tree fern!

Day 1 was a short 6km walk to camp on the water.

We rested up before a big hike day 2. We had 30km (19 miles) to camp. The views of the sound were more than enough to keep spirits and stoke at a maximum.

We stopped for lunch with a view that I’d pay good money for. They didn’t charge us to use the picnic table.

Ham and cheese taco with burger flavored chip rings is the pinnacle of backcountry cuisine

The whole hike felt like walking through the Land Before Time. I half expected to run up on a dinosaur around every turn.

We took a side quest up to a lookout at the top of the ridge overlooking the sound and were not upset about the extra climbing. The views were worth the sweat.

We camped on top of the ridge night 2 with incredible views of the Bay of Many Coves.

The next day was full of more views that had us constantly questioning whether any of this was actually real.

We ended our first leg of the trip at a small roadside farm with rooms next to goat pens and a private walk to a waterfall with glow worms. A surreal end to the daydream that was our first week in Aotearoa.

Now it’s time to resupply before we head into the high country. Here’s a few more shots from the first leg. I’ll post more next time I have service. Thanks for reading!