February 18-22, 2001 - Picton to Marlborough Sounds
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| Lochmara Sound - Queen Charlottes Sound, New Zealand |
I got up this morning and packed and checked out. We boarded the water taxi at 1:45 and did some pick ups first before getting dropped off at Lockmara Lodge. I didn't see Patrick or Nickolo here and found out later that they left on the 11 o'clock water taxi back to Picton. I just missed them.
I'm lying in a hammock right now, getting cold in the shade but I have a nice lake view and buzzing of the cicada in the air. A bird just chirped nearby and a small stream trickled under the hammock. I don't know why I didn't enjoy settings such as this while I was in Bermuda. Perhaps it's because I felt a little trapped in Bermuda to really enjoy it, where as this is more like a vacation so I don't feel the stress. Then again, I've been walking around since I arrived, having that mentality that I should be doing something instead of sitting around. Maybe I'll go fishing - that'll be something productive.
(Evening)
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| Singing in the evening at Lochmara Lodge - Queen Charlottes Sound, New Zealand |
I'm typing this outside on the porch right now. The air is definitely chilly, almost frosty. I can see thousands of stars in the clear night skies from where I sit. I went kayaking earlier during dusk just when the stars started coming out. It reminded me a lot of Bermuda. I'm starting to wonder if I could ever find the place that I can be truly happy - of course with the right person. I guess only time will tell. It's getting too cold for me even to type. I'll probably turn in soon.
My days spent at Lockmara's Lodge just flew by. I had such a wonderful time there. It certainly was one of the highlights of my trip so far. During the day, people usually just lay around or participate in some sort of outdoor activities.
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| Hiking the Queen Charlottes Track, New Zealand |
There are things to do for people who wanted to be a little active during the day. The water provided sports such as kayaking, fishing, wind surfing, and swimming. There's also a path that leads from the lodge to the Queen Charlotte's Track.
I went kayaking for a few days, and also went out on a boat to fish for one day. We went out to an area that's at the mouth of the sound by some large rock formations. The Shags populate these rocks where hundreds of them nests. We can tell where the fish are by looking for the seagulls feeding on the minnows.
The minnows are also fed by the larger fish so we would drag our line close to the feeding frenzy. It was actually very exciting to get a hit and the fishing pole just pulls away from you by the fighting fish. There were two poles and we each took turns in manning the pole.
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| Fishing in the Queen Charlottes Sound (Dave & Maya at top, Seb and Me at bottom), New Zealand |
Dave & Maya, a nice British couple and Sebastian, a singing Dutch came along for the trip. We each caught 2 barracudas, and also a huge food fish named Kahawai (pronounced car-why - Thanks Dave). Maya caught a Scarlet Parrotfish too - she was the first one to catch each type of fish. We had enough fish between us to feed all our friends back at the hostel.
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| Nathan & Jaciman at top; Axel and Ludemilla at bottom - at Lochmara Lodge, Queen Charlottes Sound, New Zealand |
Axel (Swiss), Ludemilla (Russian/German), Chris (German) and I went hiking on the Queen Charlotte's Track, even though the track was officially closed. It was closed due to fire danger, and since we're only doing a day hike and didn't carry any fire, we justified it that way. The stretch of the track we did hike through was very nice and we took a few pictures at a lookout.
In the late afternoon, one of the workers would bring out baked goods for sale, followed by a volleyball match. I tried to play as best as I could, but always ended up on the opposite side of Nathan, a 6'9" Kiwi (still growing he said), who usually just dunks the ball on top of my head or swat it away from my grasp.
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| Andy & Chris at top; Tess and a quad of us at bottom - at Lochmara Lodge, Queen Charlottes Sound, New Zealand |
After the volleyball game, the losing team (to which I was part of every single evening) had to jump into the water via a swing. I refused to honor that tradition due to the frigidness of the water. Some people like Jaciman (Dutch girl) just do crazy things like doing back flips off the dock. A soak in the hot tub usually follows.
I also played pool with Andy a few times - I will eventually learn not to play pool with Brits because they pretty much grew up with it, in the pubs and stuff. After dinner, people would sit around doing puzzles (which still gives me nightmares to this day) or sit around listening to some nice live music.
Dave & Sebastian would break out their guitars, strum and sing some old rock songs and mesmerizing the audience. It was just a great atmosphere there, to chill out for the week and enjoy every moment of the day.
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| "Punga People" - carved from trees - at Lochmara Lodge, Queen Charlottes Sound, New Zealand |
I also told some people about the phosphorescent algae in the water. They would wait until when it's pitch dark; get on the swing rope aided by a torch, and jump into the water, resulting their whole body glowing in an eerie green light. I took Ludemilla out on a kayak one night and she gasped and marveled at the natural phenomenon.
I did end up in the water one day and it was the only time I was ever in the water in New Zealand. Chris, the crazy German pushed me into the water just because I said something rude to him in German. It was all fun and games and I got to pull him in along with me too.
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| Axel, Chris, Steph, Matt, Karsten, ?, Prisca- at Lochmara Lodge, Queen Charlottes Sound, New Zealand |
Prisca (Swiss), Karsten (German) and Matt (US) also made interesting company during my stay at the lodge. There were just so many interesting people there and for a change, nobody annoying. We all had a great time there and reluctantly parted company at the end of our stay.
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