{"id":615,"date":"2024-01-31T22:35:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T09:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/?p=615"},"modified":"2024-02-01T22:45:21","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T09:45:21","slug":"punga-cove-to-portage-hotel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/31\/punga-cove-to-portage-hotel\/","title":{"rendered":"Punga Cove to Portage Hotel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

January 31<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who have been following along every day, you may have noticed that the blog skipped a day. I was so exhausted after the third hike that I couldn\u2019t muster the energy to write about it. So I\u2019ll back up a day to get you caught up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But before I write about our arduous hike, I feel the need to write about what happened when I went to sleep the night before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picture this. You\u2019re sound asleep when you\u2019re awoken to an itchy bite on your ankle. You know it\u2019s new because you weren\u2019t scratching when you went to bed. So you double up your blankets, thinking you\u2019ve outsmarted the bug, and try to fall back to sleep with a smug look on your face. But\u2026 what if the little bugger (ha!) is under the blankets and you\u2019ve now created a hermetically sealed tent for its feast? So you throw off the covers and start flapping the blankets, hoping it will leave you alone and attack your spouse instead. That was at 3 a.m. and I think it was a sandfly even though I wasn\u2019t at the beach. They\u2019re everywhere. That was pretty much the end of my sleep for the night. My Night with the Sandfly. A new entomology genre?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After my miserable semi sleep, we awoke at 6 a.m. to get ready for our 15 mile hike. There was great cloud cover but no rain in the forecast. Mid 60\u2019s. Ideal hiking weather. I was tired and not in the best spirits to endure what lay ahead. We were warned that the day would be strenuous. Holy elevation gain Batman! 1600 feet? Mitch and I played word games to take our minds off the climb and it definitely helped. So did listening to a podcast and also music. Singing along with the Daves (Matthews and Grohl) also distracted me. So did cursing. Anything to take my mind off what felt like the hardest and longest hike of my life. Then the views came along and I was gobsmacked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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Morning start of the climb<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Clouds but no rain – perfect hiking weather<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Queen Charlotte Trail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Views from the trail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Scenic overlook at Bay of Many Coves<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bay of Many Coves<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Day 3 Summit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The sun came out!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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M\u0101nuka Lane<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Top of the ridge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Our hotel in the distance. Nearly there\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at the pictures now it doesn\u2019t seem real, the sheer beauty. Towards the end of the hike my feet really started hurting. The soles were burning and my calves were crying and every step was miserable. The last half mile was on a paved road, even worse for my feet than the trail. I could barely make it to the hotel and if I saw a car I would\u2019ve hitchhiked the last half mile. Strangely, I wasn\u2019t hungry for dinner and barely ate, really just wanted to get some sleep. I was worried about the next day\u2019s hike, wondering if I would be able to hack it or should we just skip it and take the boat back. I hoped for a good night sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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We\u2019ve arrived! Blisters, tired feet and all.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Portage Hotel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Another great view<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

January 31 For those who have been following along every day, you may have noticed that the blog skipped a day. I was so exhausted after the third hike that I couldn\u2019t muster the energy to write about it. So I\u2019ll back up a day to get you caught up. But before I write about … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-new-zealand-south-island"],"gutslider_comments":0,"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4371,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/02\/the-big-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":615,"position":0},"title":"The BIG day","author":"Victoria","date":"2 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"March 2 This will be the last post I write for the next 7 days. Pre-hike briefing & check-in for The Milford & Routeburn Treks Tomorrow we start our four-day Milford hike in Fiordland National Park. We will take a bus from Queenstown to Te Anau and then a 30\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_2457-1-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_2457-1-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_2457-1-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_2457-1-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10308,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/19\/collect-moments-not-things-rv-day-6\/","url_meta":{"origin":615,"position":1},"title":"\u201cCollect moments, not things.\u201d (RV Day 6)","author":"Victoria","date":"19 April 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"April 19 Good news! No one knocked on our door last night, so we had an uninterrupted night sleep at Woolleys Bay. And there was no ticket on our window. \ud83d\ude4c Woolleys Bay This morning we walked through the bush from Matapouri to Whale Bay. It was an easy 2.5\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_2817-1-3.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_2817-1-3.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_2817-1-3.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_2817-1-3.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5424,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/07\/life-is-either-a-daring-adventure-or-nothing-at-all-helen-keller-milford-track-day-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":615,"position":2},"title":"\u201cLife is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.\u201d Helen Keller (Milford Track, Day 5)","author":"Mitch","date":"7 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"March 7 A Day of Rest & Recovery Mitre Peak from Lodge Today was the first time in four nights that we had the chance to sleep a little later. Mitre Peak Lodge was once a hotel and it had all the comforts of that plus amazing views. This was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_3980-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_3980-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_3980-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_3980-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7342,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/19\/the-best-view-comes-after-the-hardest-climb\/","url_meta":{"origin":615,"position":3},"title":"\u201cThe best view comes after the hardest climb.\u201d","author":"Victoria","date":"19 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"March 19 Roy\u2019s Peak Summit Roy\u2019s Peak hike was a 10-mile combo of Day 3 of the Milford Track and Day 3 of the Queen Charlotte Trek, all rolled into an excruciating 4-hour climb, with an extra few thousand feet of elevation gain thrown in for good measure. 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Cougar Line Water Taxi Ship Cove The QC hike begins Resolution\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_4534-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_4534-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_4534-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_4534-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_4534-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6723,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/11\/baking-is-my-therapy-and-the-result-is-pure-happiness\/","url_meta":{"origin":615,"position":5},"title":"\u201cBaking is my therapy, and the result is pure happiness.”","author":"Mitch","date":"11 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"March 11 I slept through my alarm and Mitch woke me up 10 minutes before our prearranged breakfast at the main house. 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