Qualla: Meretoto / Ship Cove https://qualla.com/meretoto-ship-cove en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:28 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/r/b/e/y/meretoto-ship-cove-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Meretoto / Ship Cove https://qualla.com/meretoto-ship-cove Meretoto / Ship Cove: Introduction https://qualla.com/meretoto-ship-cove/ Photo credit Avenue, CC BY-SA 3.0. Captain James Cook kept coming back. Of all the harbors and anchorages he charted across three voyages to the Pacific, this small bay near the entrance of Queen Charlotte Sound drew him six times. He named it Ship Cove for the obvious reason: it was where he brought his ships. But the Maori name, Meretoto, predates Cook by centuries, and in 2014 New Zealand officially recognized both, renaming the site Meretoto / Ship Cove. Today it is a Category 1 listed historic place, managed by the Department of Conservation, and the northern starting point of the Queen Charlotte Track.

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Image: Avenue | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/b/e/y/meretoto-ship-cove-wp/rbey-meretoto-ship-cove-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Meretoto / Ship Cove: Before the Sails https://qualla.com/meretoto-ship-cove/ Photo credit Avenue, CC BY-SA 3.0. Maori oral tradition holds that the legendary Polynesian navigator Kupe was the first person to visit Totaranui, the broader area encompassing Queen Charlotte Sound. Long before any European vessel entered these waters, the cove and its surrounding bays served as seasonal gatheri...

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Image: Avenue | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/b/e/y/meretoto-ship-cove-wp/rbey-meretoto-ship-cove-before-the-sails.mp3 0:06 2 full Meretoto / Ship Cove: Cook's Headquarters https://qualla.com/meretoto-ship-cove/ Photo credit Avenue, CC BY-SA 3.0. When Cook first anchored at Ship Cove, he did more than resupply. He established a shore headquarters, ordered the planting of vegetable gardens, and built an enclosure for pigs, attempting to introduce European food sources to the New Zealand bush. The gardens were an experiment...

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Image: Avenue | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/b/e/y/meretoto-ship-cove-wp/rbey-meretoto-ship-cove-cooks-headquarters.mp3 0:06 3 full Meretoto / Ship Cove: Whalers and the Written Word https://qualla.com/meretoto-ship-cove/ Photo credit Avenue, CC BY-SA 3.0. By 1810, whalers had begun calling at Ship Cove, drawn by Cook's published descriptions and the sheltered anchorage. The contact between Maori and these visiting crews produced unexpected consequences. People from Anaho, a bay just to the north of Ship Cove, developed close relat...

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Image: Avenue | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/b/e/y/meretoto-ship-cove-wp/rbey-meretoto-ship-cove-whalers-and-the-written-word.mp3 0:06 4 full Meretoto / Ship Cove: The Monument on the Shore https://qualla.com/meretoto-ship-cove/ Photo credit Avenue, CC BY-SA 3.0. The story of Ship Cove's memorial to Captain Cook begins with a summer picnic. In 1906, the Blenheim Rifle Company held an outing at the cove that drew more than 500 people. At that picnic, plans for a monument were first discussed. Seven years of planning and fundraising followe...

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]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/b/e/y/meretoto-ship-cove-wp/rbey-meretoto-ship-cove-the-monument-on-the-shore.mp3 0:06 5 full Meretoto / Ship Cove: Trailhead at the Edge of the Sound https://qualla.com/meretoto-ship-cove/ Photo credit Avenue, CC BY-SA 3.0. Today, Meretoto / Ship Cove is best known as the northern terminus of the Queen Charlotte Track, the 70-kilometer walking and cycling trail that follows the ridgeline between Queen Charlotte Sound and Kenepuru Sound to Anakiwa. Water taxis from Picton deliver trampers to the cove...

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]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/b/e/y/meretoto-ship-cove-wp/rbey-meretoto-ship-cove-trailhead-at-the-edge-of-the-sound.mp3 0:06 6 full