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Published: April 20th 2007
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Ships cove
Cpt Cooks favourite place, apparently! Certainly a quiet bay for ships South Island start
Anna Caswell
Malborough Sound Photos have arrived!
I finally arrived in the South Island on Tuesday afternoon, on the huge ferry that chugs its way across from Wellington to Picton. I attempted to sit out on the deck, and reminisce of another ferry crossing in Costa Rica. However the thick grey cloud and grey sea, cold wind and smell of diesel fumes made things too different to compare. In recompense there was a distraction towards the end of the journey - a pod of dolphins appeared, and not just one or two but hundreds following the boat at a distance! I’d been warned that there were large pods of dolphins all around the South Is, but it wasn’t until I saw them that I could actually believe it. Unfortunately we too soon left them behind, there are no photos that can really give you a proper idea.
The South Island is bigger than the North, but has only one quarter of the population. This is partly due to the landscape- plenty of high mountains, glaciers and flooded river valleys that mean facilities are scarcer and more difficult to access. It also means that the South Island is considered by many to be
The Sounds in the sun
Early morning, befor the sky has fully cleared, but already the sea is a far more appealing colour than yesterday
one of the most beautiful places in the world.
The Malborough Sounds are at the top of the South Island. Once rivers and valleys, the rising of water levels over thousands of years has created numerous ‘Sounds’ - sort of like the branches of trees, and named as such in Maori folk lore. The ferry from Wellington spends the last hour or so of its journey moving through these sounds following the ancient valleys further inland towards the port at Picton. So after five months in New Zealand I finally landed on the South Island, ready to start the next leg of my adventures.
I arrived in the grey, cloudy climate, and was doubtful as to the beauty of the place. The following day I went for a short walk from Picton overlooking the sounds and the famous Queen Charlotte track. For the most part all I could see was grey - the sea and sky merged into one at the horizon, and the land in between was a dark dull green. Not so appealing. But I decided that as I had another day here I would get the water taxi to the start of the Queen Charlotte
Waterfalls
Pretty little waterfalls trickle down the mountainside track, and see it from up close. Such a good decision!
The Queen Charlotte track was originally a bridal way connecting the port of Picton with the outlying reaches of the land, known as Ship’s Cove. The walk starts at Ships Cove, Captain Cooks favourite part of New Zealand (article from magazine - “So Cpt Cook, what is your favourite part of this new land you have discovered, and why?” Cpt C “ Well, I would have to say the Ships Cove would be my favourite. There’s this great sheltered bay for my ships to anchor and be repaired, I met some great new friends there, even if they did accidentally murder some of my crew, and of course now I’ve planted a few veggies there it really starts to feel like home.”) OK, the claim to fame is that it was his favourite, merely because he spent more days there than anywhere else, who knows if it was because the place is beautiful or because it was a suitable place for boat repairs…
I start the track in the cold early morning, but soon warm up as the initial part of the track had a distinct upwards
Autumn colours
A home on the Sounds, remote but beautiful theme. The path winds up the headland through greenery in the thick, fern-dominated growth of the lowlands. The smell is of humous, damp soil, a distinctly 'green' perfume As the hill climbs upwards the undergrowth becomes sparser and the beech trees start becoming more prominent. These huge towering trees have adapted to grow in the cold, dry poor topsoil, and their large canopies prevent enough light for dense undergrowth to flourish. The air is fortunately cooler, as I am now a little warm from the climb but the few Manuka (tea tree) shrubs perfume the air with the odd pine tree too. The day is now bright and sunny, and the views over the Sounds are completely different to the views of yesterday. The sky is a deep blue, punctuated with the odd fluffy white cloud. The sea has turned turquoise, giving the bays a tropical feel, and I start to understand the rave reviews.
As I descend again into the gullies the scent changes again. The overpowering one is familiar, but almost out of place here in the woodland, that of honey. The insects burrowing in the bark of the beech trees create a honey like substance that
Me posing!
Climb to the point overlooking Endeavor Inlet attracts fungus to the tree bark, and numerous birds and wasps to the tree. It is sweet, but the sea breeze prevents it becoming too sickly. As the gully walk becomes lower and I approach sea level again the sea air is clean and salty. The sea is clear enough so that standing on the jetty of a personal home I can see starfish and sea cucumbers lying on the bottom. I see a bird swimming and diving for fish. All of a sudden a school of fish start circling the bird, in a strange role reversal the fish swim around and around the bird, almost chasing it as it dives. Very bizarre!
The final couple of hours of todays walk is along the water edge, in front of privately owned homes, and it is stunning. It must be one of the most beautiful places to live, although the necessity of a boat to get everywhere may put off many people, there are no roads up here. There are however a large number of fancy hotels and restaurants along the track, which in total is 70km long. This means that you can take several days meandering along, and there
Turquoise waters
A glimpse of the stunning water through the trees on the path are even water taxis to carry your luggage from one place to the next so there is no need to carry anything! I only had a day, but will definitely go back and stay longer next time.
The boat on the way back stopped off along the way dropping people off, picking up others, delivering groceries and mail. Drawing into the marina we were joined by a mother and baby dolphin. The baby started showing off, leaping out of the water and completing back flips much to every ones delight before slowly leaving again. A magical end to a perfect day.
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marisa
non-member comment
wishing was there:)
hi anna hope you are well......im really happy receiving your emails probably you asking to yourself who im i! well the last time we met was in august in bolivia villa tunari we worked together in the park........in the begining of march i returned back home and i already missing south america:) enjoy your travels and be smart as always:)