A labyrinth of waterways

Press, 18 December 1985, Page 46

A labyrinth of waterways

No visit to Marlborough is complete without some experience of the Marlborough Sounds. One visit is sufficient to generate an enduring interest in this labyrinth of waterways studded with bays and inlets surrounded by bush-clad slopes reaching to the skyline. The Sounds provide an idyllic holiday playground, particularly in summmer when boats and bathers bring movement and a splash of colour to their quiet green waters. More than 1000 km of coastline provide a tenuous thread linking clusters of cottages, isolated baches, farms, guest houses and scenic reseves with the main centres of Picton and Havelock.

The Sounds were rich fishing grounds for the Maori people whose historic association with the area adds much to its interest today. It is. still a favourite fishing ground for the casual and serious fisherman, especially in the outer reaches.

For those who prefer to watch rather than catch fish, tame and protected ones are an added attraction in some areas visited by passengers on excursion launches.

Captain Cook anchored

the ’Endeavour in a "safe and convenient cove” near the north entrance to Queen Charlotte Sound in 1770 and took possession in the name of King George 111, after whose queen the sound was named. The Guard’s whaling station in Tory Channel, established in 1827, is believed to be the first white settlement in the South Island. The large and intricate Pelorus Sound is ceentred on Havelock, a gold-rush town bom in the 1860 s. Most of the native bush reserves and islands are included in the Marlborough Sounds Maritime Park and offer picnic grounds, lookouts and forest walks. Land travel brings its own rewards in parts of the Sounds, but it can be a difficult and protracted undertaking in others. Frequently, the most practical way to get to a particular place is by boat, and most conveniently by launches operated out of Picton and Havelock. For many parts of the Sounds this is the only method of access, a welcome feature in itself for « generally harnessed e übiquitous motor vehicle. Arrangements can be made with the operators of

commercial and mail boats

for passengers to be set down and picked up at any given point. Day trips or stop-overs of several days or more can be made.

For those who prefer the dust of metalled roads to the tranquility of the Sounds waterways, a fairly comprehensive network provides access to much of the middle and outer Sounds region. A foreshore strip about 20m inland from mean high water has been set aside as public reserve along most of the Sounds coastline. This means that for the most fiart visitors are free to and on and use most beach areas. In one or two areas beaches are privately owned.

Holidaymakers are free to stop and picnic anywhere within the maritime park. Some of the more heavily used areas are reserved for day use only and generally have fireplaces provided. These areas in Queen Charlotte Sound with road and sea access are Ngakuta Bay, Governors Bay and Mistletoe Bay. Ship Cove has sea access only. In Pelorous Sound, the areas are Pipi Beach, Moutapu Bay and Jacobs Bay, all of which have sea access only. Road and sea access is available for Duncan Bay and Penzance Bay, in Tennyson Inlet. Camping is permitted on any reserve within the park with the exception of foreshore fronting private property, designated picnic areas and nature or scenic reserves.

Many areas have been set aside particularly for camping. They have been developed to varying degrees to provide a wide range of features from full development with all facilities to grassed areas with no servicing at all. The most extensive camping ground controlled by the Marlborough Sounds Maritime Park Board is in Momorangi Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound, where 150 camp sites are available and facilities include showers, power points, toilets, a shop and care- I" taker. Titirangi Bay and French Pass in the Outer Sounds each have 15 camp sites, toilets and cold showers. Other camping areas with toilet facilities only are in Queen Charlotte Sound— Whatamongo Bay, Aussie Bay, Davies Bay, Kaipakirikiri Bay, Ratimera Bay and Camp Bay. Similar limited facilities are available in Pelorus Sound, at Jacobs Bay, Fairy Bay, Nydia Bay and Waimaru; in Tennyson Inlet, at Elaine Bay, and in Kenepuru Sound, at

Cowshed Bay, Picnic Bay, Schoolhouse Bay, Wander Bay and Ferndale. Campsites with no facilities are provided in Queen Charlotte Sound at Bottle Bay, Torea Bay, Wharehunga Bay (Arapawa Island), Blumine Island, Ngaruru Bay (Arapawa Island) and Cannibal cove. Those in Pelorus Sound are Chance Bay, Woodlands Bay, Tawhitinui Bay, Beatrix Bay and Kauauroa Bay; and in Tennyson Inlet, at Ngawhakawhiti Bay, Godsiff Bay and Tawa Bay.