Walking through the long silences
BY MAIKE VAN DER HEIDE
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Ladies and gentlemen, I'm back in cellphone land.
I know this because at the Bay of Many Coves shelter, a couple of hours into yesterday's 23-kilometre walk on the Queen Charlotte Track, I was greeted by the distinct sound of an arriving text message.
As I emerged from the bush I saw the shelter was filled with people, many of whom were on the phone or sending messages. One British woman had just found out how her pregnant sister's scan went; others were updating family members.
Some, more sensibly, were enjoying the view.
Since Ship Cove there had been no cellphone reception, a convenience that all except Telecom XT customers had not been without for some time.
I feared turning on my phone. I didn't know if I wanted to deal with whatever real-world information it had to tell me. So I walked on. But about five minutes later I folded: the Nokia welcome tune rang through the bush. Welcome back.
Like me, many of yesterday's walkers, their feet already sore after the trek from Ship Cove, felt some level of trepidation over the route from Punga Cove to Torea Bay.
I was sad to leave Punga Cove Resort where my family suite – yes you read that right – made a fabulous makeshift office with tranquil views over Endeavour Inlet and where chickens and weka socialised on my deck at dusk.
Yesterday's walk was undulating and the contour map on the track brochure had some nasty-looking spikes on it.
But kudos must go to those who built this track. Not only were the spiky bits kept to a minimum, what started as a walk through scrub soon dipped into amazing tall native forest and offered great views over Queen Charlotte Sound to Picton. Some sections also wound to the Kenepuru side, making for a unique route between two Sounds.
Nevertheless, the talk at Black Rock Shelter mid-afternoon was all about how much longer? Between phone calls, of course.
One Aussie man offered his theory that Kiwi miles are longer than international miles, which is why the walk was taking so long. We left him to think about that a bit more.
At the Portage Resort Hotel I was made very welcome by managing director Alison Evans, who said the hotel had recently earned its fourth Qualmark star. The views from my room alone are worth five stars.
Today there are 20km to the end of the track, at Anakiwa. Here's hoping my feet hold out and if not, then rescue is only a cellphone call away.
- The Marlborough Express
