The Queen Charlotte Track: Furneaux Lodge to Ship’s Cove

The sun was shining on easter Sunday so when better to walk The Queen Charlotte Track.  

We’ve wanted to do the Furneaux to Ships Cove leg of the Queen Charlotte track ever since we came to the Marlborough Sounds. Our journey is in reverse to the typical route you’d take when walking the track.

This article is going to give you some useful information for if you ever decide to do the walk. Things like how far between each stopping point, where there are benches and toilets, and the best places for photo opportunities are all included. We’ve also included elevation graphs from our watches because who doesn’t love a graph, and a video of the walk which was captured on Gary the GoPro.  

Useful information

We have compiled all the information we think is useful into the table below.  As you can see, I think our definition of a stopping place is based on whether it has a bench or not! We set off and had no idea if there were going to be many stopping points or toilets along the way as there are no signs. Don’t worry about that… We’ve got you covered! (Ben also really wanted to put a table in…) 

The Best Stops

Stop three, five (Resolution Bay), six and eleven (Ship’s Cove) all complete the mighty trio; however, these are not (in our opinion), the best stopping points. For the best photo opportunities, we recommend stop seven and eight (12km and 14.5km). Our favourite of them all was at 14.5km because it had a cool information stand, a bench and not to mention the insane views from both sides of the track. Looking in one direction you could see the North Island so clearly and it honestly blew us away. If you have snacks, save some for here. 

The next category of stopping places are the ones with views that are worth a quick water break and photo opportunities are stops 1 and 10, at approximately the 3km and 16km mark.  

The stopping points and picnic benches that have no views are at 4.5km, 7.9km and 15km so you could honestly just plan to walk on past these ones unless you are struggling.  

The 6.2km stop is a significant stop at the Tawa Saddle because it has a cool information sheet about some of the local creatures and trees as well as multiple benches and a toilet. 

Another significant stop is at roughly 11km (Schoolhouse Bay) which is a beautiful area at the bottom of a big hill with a couple of benches and a toilet (the mighty trio). Ben made friends with one of the many Weka here- which can be seen in the video below.  

The Walk

We left Furneaux Lodge at 9am. We couldn’t help but walk at a leisurely pace as the views are stunning!  

There is a stop just before a small bridge (we mean really small) where you are right on the water front and can look back towards Furneaux, so we stopped here to check it out. 

This was the first time we had left the lodge since Jess’s birthday trip to Wellington in February, so it was great to get out and see a change of scenery for the day. Ben’s favourite thing about the walk was easily the amount of Weka’s we saw. We’ve decided that the best way to describe them is “wild, dinosaur-like chickens.”  

The walk is about 17.5km and took us about 4.5 hours to complete with plenty of stopping for photos and slowing down for the sake of our legs. The track itself has two large hills, but still get walked by young children and older adults so they aren’t that bad if you can go at your own pace.

If you do want a coffee break like we did, Resolution Bay is around the halfway point (10.5km) between Furneaux and Ship’s Cove. It is a stunning place to stop, even if it is a slight detour off the track itself- so depending on the time you may or may not get chance to stop by. If you do stop here, it’s worth noting that the steps down to the café are steep so just go careful.  

What to Expect

Terrain

For the most part, the path is pretty easy to walk. The path can be a bit slippery when wet and there are some pretty steep drops on the side. Don’t be stupid on the edge here. We also did notice the track getting quite rocky from around the 13- 16km mark. 

Signs

The video does a really job at showing the best parts of the walk. There are a few bits that we think are worth chatting about to avoid confusion on the walk. Before our stop at Resolution Bay, there was a sign that said ships cove was 4km away, so we stopped for a coffee and lunch break thinking we had plenty of time. We then got back on the track and we saw another sign near Schoolhouse Bay (stop 6), there was a sign which said that ships cove was 6km away- despite being further along on the track. We were definitely slightly confused, and the boat for us was in two hours so we decided it was time to pick up the pace or risk missing the boat.  

Once we completed the track, we realised the second sign was the correct time so bear this in mind if you do the walk the Queen Charlotte Track.

We’re not sure if we accidentally went down a slight fork in the road or something, but it made us rush up the second big hill. 

Cyclists/ Other Walkers

The Queen Charlotte Track is open to cyclists as of the 1^st of March to the 30th of November so be careful/ mindful as there may be mountain bikers swerving around you or coming around corners. Likewise, if you are on a bike watch out for the walkers. I actually screamed when a cyclist came zooming round a corner and had to slam on his brakes to avoid the sharp turn. I thought it was a big animal on a rampage or something! 

Phone Service

There is no phone service so if you are walking the track try to make sure someone knows what you’re doing. Having accommodation booked is good; on the off chance a situation occurs, wherever you are staying will be expecting you if you do not arrive. Having worked at Furneaux Lodge, we have seen first-hand how important this is. The number of guests who twist an ankle or something and then do not arrive when expected is crazy, but because they are booked to stay we know that they are somewhere on the track so can send help if need be.  If you are not staying its a good idea to have the boat booked in advance, for similar reasons. 

Ships Cove

The walk to Ship’s Cove was on our list of things to do when we were looking at jobs in the Marlborough Sounds. It is quite significant in local Maori culture. It has direct ties to Captain James Cook because it was used multiple times during his exploration voyages. As well as having fun meeting people and creating cool memories a huge part of travelling is to visit places of historical significance such as this. Naturally, we are really happy that we managed to squeeze in this walk before leaving this part of the country!  

Ben also fed a Weka from his hand here, so this is going to have personal historical significance from now on!  

Top Tips

What to Bring

When going for a hike its always essential to bring a few things. For us that’s a coat and jumper in case the weather turns, a first aid kit, plenty of water and snacks and a camera of some kind to document the moments. Annoyingly, and this happens so often, we forgot to use our Instax camera on this walk (despite carrying it the entire 17.5km) so we don’t have any fun pictures on that.   

Some of our favourite snacks to bring are energy balls, fruit and nuts. Having a little carton of juice can also really help in terms of sugar and taste to make a change from the water and is a lush little treat at the end when tucking into a picnic.  

I’m very clumsy and you’ll never know when the first aid kit comes in handy. Ours is full of plasters, antiseptic and all the usual little things as well as painkillers and antihistamines.  

Good luck on any section of the Queen Charlotte Track you walk!