Queen Charlotte Track – Days 2 and 3 and back to Picton

I finished the Queen Charlotte Track today. Last two days were good – 23 k km yesterday, 23 km today, and good weather for the most part. Great views, easy track, overall enjoyable walk.

I arrived in Picton in the afternoon and had some very interesting news by email. There’s been a search and rescue going on for the last 3 days looking for ME! It was REALLY a good thing that I checked my email today because I almost didn’t. So, remember how I was supposed to do the Harper Pass Track but I didn’t? Well, I filled out an intention form with the DOC office before I left Arthur’s Pass and when I got to Kaikoura on the 19th, I went to the DOC/Info Center there to let them know that I was out and fine. Trouble is there were only Info Center folks working there, no DOC workers, and the woman had NO idea what an intention form was and thought I was some stupid backpacker trying to get her to make a free call for me. I said look, all you need to do is call DOC in Arthur’s Pass and tell them I’m out. She said you have to come back in 4 hours and talk to the supervisor. I said what?? And I tried to explain to her again but she gave me the same robot answer so I said forget it, I was trying to do my part but what the hell, let them look for me. And she said OK, Thank you!!!!

Well, I didn’t actually think that they’d look for me, after all if they don’t care about you siging out then obviously they won’t be looking for you either. Wrong.

Emails today, all from my dad’s friend in Christchurch (who I left as a NZ contact): Police are looking for you/ search and rescue has been notified/ 4WD vehicles and helicopters going out today/ weather in Harper Pass has been bad so everyone is worried. Holy SHIT!!!

Right away I called the police number he left in the emails and spoke to a guy in the station explaining what happened in Kaikoura and that I had been out on a different tramp the last 3 days. He said did you notify search and rescue? I said no, this was the only number I had. He said well they’ve had helicopters looking for you. What could I say? The thing about NZ is that all of their payphones use calling cards and not coins and I don’t have a card and the number was not a toll-free number so you see it wasn’t as easy as me picking up a payphone to even call myself. Of course I feel HORRIBLE that this happened. I don’t even want to think about it anymore. Well, in all my many miles of hiking I’ve never had a search party looking for me, and I certainly hope that it never happens again.

I think I need a few beers to de-stress.

Looking down into the sounds

The incredible Marlborough Sounds

Another amazing New Zealand moment

Add comment February 23rd, 2003

Queen Charlotte Track Day 1 – Camp Bay Campsite

Today was the start of the Queen Charlotte Track for me. Left Picton this morning on a one-hour boat taxi to the start of the tramp in the middle of the beautiful Marlborough Sounds. There were about 8 other people on the boat with me, most of them carrying day packs for either a day walk or in conjunction with the pack ferrying service. Started to walk just before 12 noon. It was a very pretty trail through the forest with occasional views of the sounds. It’s an easy trail with good grade, SO much different than the other ones I’ve been on recently – no river crossings, no 3-wire bridges, no cableways, no alpine crossings, nothing. 27 km today. Almost boring compared to what I’ve been doing, but I enjoyed being able to cruise. It wouldn’t be a day in New Zealand without a bit of rain, and sure enough we had a few showers in the afternoon, some of them quite heavy. And then the Southerly came in, that freezing cold wind straight from Antarctica, and it was quite cold in the rain. I hereby request that they eliminate the word’summer’ from the New Zealand vocabulary.

Got to the campsite here around 6:30pm and thankfully the rain stopped while I set up my tent. It’s going to be a bitter cold night, I can feel it. But I’ve heard that it’s supposed to clear tomorrow.

Views of the Marlborough Sounds

More of the same

Add comment February 21st, 2003