Marlborough Sound and Queen Charlotte Peninsula, the perfect mix

Head of Kenepuru Sound

In deference to James Bond who likes his martini shaken, not stirred; my blend is take 3 parts Southeast Alaska, 3 parts Caribbean, and one part Switzerland and mix it all together and the result is a cocktail of brilliant colors, mountains, water, sea, sky and grassland interspersed with native bush. It is beautiful here! After leaving the Nelson area and heading to the northeast we spent the night in Havelock, the Green mussel capital of the world! We found a room at the Garden motel which was off the road tucked in the forest, and thanks to a german couple, Ute and Bernd telling us about the glow worm grotto behind the motel, we hiked that night with a small flashlight up the side of a steep, walled creek bed to a basalt narrow canyon where the walls were covered by glow worms. They look like pinpoints of soft light with nothing but darkness behind, so it appears to be the heavens turned on their side as the overhead sky is obscured by the tree canopy. Really magical!

We’ve spent the last two days exploring the sound and enjoying some down time at a beautiful low key quaint hotel on the main bay. Te Mahia has a history dating back to the early 1900’s as a resort. It is much smaller now, but is a beautifully kept refuge with a few ground level units right above the beach. Well tended gardens look across to the mountains beyond. Our first afternoon included a hike up to Omapua point on the Queen Charlotte Track. It is misnamed as it isn't a point, but really a peak. The trail connects two points over the shortest distance--straight up. The pictures say it all! After a quick change we were taken on a tour of Kenepuru Sound by Pete who runs Kenepuru Water Taxi with stops to see some old homesteads, a reserve of native bush that was never cleared (rare in New Zealand) and a visit to his mussel farm where he harvested a bag of green shell mussels. This is a $500million industry in NZ. Mussels are even being evaluated for uses in the pharm industry as a potential treatment for arthritis. The evening ended with a drop across the bay at Raitai lodge where we had a wonderful meal on the veranda including goat cheese souffle, pasta and fish followed by a berry parfait for dessert and a boat ride back to Te Mahia.

Yesterday we decided to ride the Queen Charlotte Track from Mistletoe Bay to Anikawa. I must say, while it may have been on my bucket list, by the time we got back we felt like we could have kicked the bucket. A real thigh burner climbing on rocky narrow trails and a long descent with steep drop offs. Some good views, but when faced with doing it in reverse we chose to ride the road back which included a lot of climbing and descents over narrow, twisty roads but thankfully not much traffic. After 24 miles our final evening was spent nursing some achey muscles and enjoying the view from our patio and having a homemade pizza. Tomorrow on to Akaroa.