Punga Cove is a small, pretty cove In Endeavour Inlet in Queen Charlotte Sound. It is best known for the presence of the Punga Lodge and restaurant, which sits astride the Queen Charlotte Track. The most accessible access is by boat, which takes about 1 hour from Picton. However, there is road access from Kenepuru Sound on slow, windy Kenepuru Road to Titirangi Road at the northeast end of Kenepuru.
Camp Bay is about 300 metres west of the lodge along the coast on Queen Charlotte Track. There is a DOC campsite and one of the few accessible beaches on the west side of Endeavour Inlet. Continuing on the track takes you to Furneaux Lodge, The Pines, and then around Endeavour Inlet towards Resolution Bay. Heading through Punga Lodge on the track takes you up to Titirangi Road, then to Kenepuru Saddle and the high ridge that runs most of the way down the north side of Queen Charlotte Sound towards the end of the track at Anikawa.
The forest around Punga Cove is extensive but all regrowth, with tree ferns and kanuka particularly prominent. These trees are typical of NZ native regrowth and will eventually be supplanted as larger trees grow. To the south of the cove are obvious examples of poisoned pinus radiata trees, part of an ongoing effort to give native forest recovery a helping hand.
