Furneaux Lodge to Punga Cove
It was a relaxed start to the morning; since we only had a short days walk ahead of us with all day to do it in. Breakfast didn’t start until 8am and our only deadline was to return our bags to reception by 9am for their journey to the next night’s accommodation.
The weather didn’t look too good upon waking but, as we pottered around with morning preparations and took time to explore the grounds & beach, the clouds cleared away and the sun appeared resulting in a sunny day.
Photo by Brendon & Keryn
We decided to check out the waterfall track behind Furneaux Lodge before continuing on the main track. It was an hour return walk on what turned out to be an overgrown narrow and very muddy path. We got as far as what we think was the start of the falls, to see more of the falls required us to scramble down the bank and then cross the stream, neither of us were feeling particularly enthused at this point to continue so we headed back to the main track. I’m not really a morning person, so extra effort in the morning really does require some convincing 🙂
Today’s path took us further around Endeavour Inlet passing more holiday homes and farms, through open land and bush. It was a nice flat, easy & peaceful days walking in the sun. Parts of the path were still muddy from the previous day’s rain, so we had an interesting time walking down the hill to Camp Bay where the track was more mudslide than track – all part of the adventure.
Photo by Brendon & Keryn
Photo by Brendon & Keryn
We really did take our time today; we would stop to listen to the bird’s song, take photos of flowers, watch the wekas and generally take in the atmosphere. On route we were lucky enough to get very close to a talkative Bellbird. Also a pair of weka took interest in us, though the female got a little too inquisitive and took a peck at Janet’s leg.
Photo by Brendon & Keryn
Photo by Brendon & Keryn
We put on a burst of speed, when a light shower appeared, to arrive at Punga Cove before getting too wet. The resort is set into the hill side overlooking Punga Cove. The resort came across as a friendly laid back travellers retreat; there was a grassy area for people to sit and relax or for the more energetic to play games, a pool to cool off in and a cafe/bar overlooking the water. There was also a very strong contingent of Irish on the staff.
The receptionist informed us that other people had got a taxi rather than walking today, they must have been put off by the previous days weather and cloud cover in the morning. We struggled to understand why someone wouldn’t walk the easy day of the track, especially when it was such a nice day!
Our room, called the Bach, was across the grounds and up the hill from the reception. It was in a peaceful spot overlooking the cove. We had a wee kitchen, living area, single room & double room. I won the toss for the double bed – lucky me! Once we had rescued our feet from our shoes and sorted through our bags (which again had magically arrived to our room), we decided that a swim in the pool was in order to cool off from the heat of the day.
The bar was putting on a BBQ that night, so we decided that would fit the bill nicely. They provided a selection of meats; steak, chicken fillets and sausages, there was also baked potatoes, salad and not to forget Pavlova for dessert. It was a very relaxing evening sitting down on the Jetty with a drink, BBQ fare and watching people arriving from the boats moored in the cove, sometimes by a taxi service the staff provided.
After dinner we walked around the grounds with cameras in tow. We came across three wood pigeons chasing each other around making a huge racket; we assume that it was two males fighting over a single female. After the photo session we went back to the room and relaxed in front of telly for a short while before retiring to bed.
Photo by Brendon & Keryn
