Marlborough Sounds
Thank you to Boating NZ Magazine for this article!
A Cook’s Tour
In the second part of our tour of Queen Charlotte Sound in the Marlborough Sounds, Katie McNabb takes a Cook’s tour around its outer reaches. Photos: Rachel Russell (McNabb)
I guess most of us picture Captain James Cook as the stern-looking man that we have seen on bank notes or in a painting by William Hodges. I am sure he looked neither so stern nor composed after climbing the hill on Motuara Island to place a flag and claim the South Island for his majesty King George III. Being January 31, 1770, it was probably rather warm and one wonders if he kept on his full naval regalia as he ascended!
The outer part of Queen Charlotte Sound is rich in pre-European history and colonial history; Cook and his visits are pivotal, not only to the history of this area but to New Zealand as a whole.
In Professor Anne Salmond’s book The Trial of the Cannibal Dog the sections on the Queen Charlotte Sounds area make excellent reading, with the actual trial of the cannibal dog taking place at Ship Cove (Meretoto).
On some of this trip my brother Jamie Thomas and his partner Renee joined us. Jamie and I spent quite a lot of time in this part of Queen Charlotte Sound in another century, so it was particularly interesting to see if he found the changes in the vegetation and the general surrounding as noticeable as I had on my return. As there are no roads into this area, it requires bit of effort to get here.
Burney’s Beach
We started the Cook tour with a visit to Burney’s Beach, on the western side of Arapawa Island. Cook realised that Arapawa was an island after climbing a hill at the end of East Bay and seeing that the Cook Strait separated the two main islands of New Zealand. He then sent a long boat to confirm that Tory Channel was exactly that, and confirmed he was on an island.
Leaving Waikawa we sailed straight up the eastern side of the sound, past the Tory Channel entrance, and on through Pattern Passage between Blumine Island and Arapawa to Burney’s Beach. It lies just to the east of Pickersgill Island, and a mile south of Pickersgill Passage, which leads into East Bay.
As you are sitting enjoying a delicious lunch at anchor, and admiring the clarity of the water, it is hard to picture the appalling scene that greeted Lieutenant Burney on 17 December, 1773. With the best of intentions, and no doubt with scurvy uppermost in his mind, he had sent a party off on a boat from his ship Adventure (which accompanied Resolution) over to the eastern side of the sound to gather up some wild greens for his crew. The remains of the ten men who formed the party were found on Burney’s Beach the next day. They had met their end in Grass Cove (now called Whareunga) and were then taken around the corner to be eaten.
Cook never did get to the bottom of what caused the incident, but felt that there had been some departure from the way relations were normally conducted with the Maori. I suggest you take a row in your dinghy and have a look at the cairn and plaque which were put at the southern end of the bay some 200 years later.
Burney’s Beach is a great place to picnic, but only makes an overnight anchorage in calm conditions. It is open to all but south-west winds.
Heading north through Pickersgill Passage you arrive in the extensive reaches of East Bay. This is a large bay, and on the whole very exposed; it’s lovely for a sail, but doesn’t provide any particularly good shelter. The scrub that has been well sculpted by the wind gives you a good indication of just how windy it can be.
Wharekupenga is an enchanting picnic spot, but if you are really keen to stay in the bay overnight consult the Central Area New Zealand Cruising Guide select-a-spot.
If you take a beach walk and look hard, you can find small pieces of argillite or pakohe, which are flakes or bits left from the Maori who made adze heads from this stone. It doesn’t naturally-occur in this area, but comes from D’Urville Island. It is very hard and can hold an edge, so is ideal for making tools. The flakes can be used for filleting fish, or for preparing roots and vegetables. We spotted six pieces in about five minutes on Burney’s Beach.
Motuara Island
We left East Bay, crossing west to the south of Long Island and then turning north again to Motuara Island.
Not only is this very pretty island – and its islet Hippa – significantly historic, it is now a predator-free reserve, with saddlebacks, South Island robin and bellbirds prolific. Also definitely there, but not so visible, are Okarito brown kiwi, which use this island as a nursery.
There is a jetty on the western side for drop off and pick up only, and a small bit of beach you can pull your dinghy up on.
The track up to Cook’s Cairn should take about an hour return (fortunately you won’t be lugging up a flag as Cook did). Note: there are no facilities on the island, and the Department of Conservation ask that the only thing you leave behind is your footprints. Absolutely no dogs please.
At the time of Cook’s first visit on Endeavour, the islet Hippa, at the southern end of the island, was a functioning Maori pa. By the time of his next visit the pa was abandoned.
On the second voyage vegetables were planted on Hippa and Motuara by the crews of Resolution and Endeavour, two goats were released onto Arapawa Island, and pigs were released just a little further on at Cannibal Cove.
We introduced Renee to a tame ‘Captain Cooker’ pig during the trip. These rather hilarious-looking pigs are still abundant, and make great pets that – even when huge – think they can jump on your lap like a Jack Russell. Albert appeared galumphing and snorting out of the bush looking truly fierce, then promptly lay down submissively at our feet, waiting for a scratch.
Ship Cove
Just to the west of Motuara is the well-known Ship Cove (Meretoto), and on the way across you can get a great view out to the west coast of the North Island.
Ship Cove is truly a special place to be, and one can see why Cook used this as his replenishing base: fresh food and water, lots of good wood for repairs, spare spars, and an ideal tidal beach to lay the boats over on and clean – he spent a total of 100 days here over his three voyages. The same stream that Cook used to fill his barrels still flows fresh and clean today.
However, no matter where you look as you approach the bay, you can’t ignore the huge white monument to Captain Cook sitting just back from the beach. This piece of Victoriana is regarded as ugly by many, but is a place held in great affection by our family. The two canons that guard the monument made great places to sit on for the young Thomas family members, way back then.
The Department of Conservation has made a splendid job of this site: the story boards are informative and the structures (which include a double-ended, boat-shaped picnic table) truly fit with the environment.
We moored up in the north-west corner, which was comfortable in spite of a small swell from the strait breaking on the south-west shore of the bay. We lay back and enjoyed the peace, while little blue penguins popped up and down around the boat, and wekas strode up and down the beach looking terribly important.
The wharf is again only a drop-off and pick-up point, so I suggest you take your dinghy and row across to explore. The Queen Charlotte walking track starts just to the south-west of the wharf and you could encourage your crew to walk over the hill to meet you again in Resolution Bay, or run the steam off the junior crew. Or just take the 30-minute waterfall walk.
If you find yourself in this area in a southerly wind, you can find shelter in the bay on the south side of the cove.
Resolution Bay
Having reacquainted ourselves with the monument and having had a lovely night over-loading Renee with Captain Cook information, we decided to head south, just around the corner into Resolution Bay.
School House Bay in the north-west corner is a popular anchorage, and deservedly so. It has a good beach for swimming, warm and sheltered, and you can sit in the cockpit and admire all the hearty walkers who crossed over the saddle from Ship Cove. While you have just pushed the plunger down on the coffee pot, they still have a couple of hours before they collapse, crying for caffeine and water at Furneaux Lodge over the hill in Endeavour Inlet.
Take the dinghy and row over to the wharf, drop a little bread into the water, and you will be rewarded with the sight of huge blue cod rushing up to feed. Try not to think of how lovely they would look filleted and on your plate, as these are purely for veiwing.
Tawa Cove
Jamie and I decided there was just one more place we wanted to see, around in Endeavour Inlet, just past Marine Head. Firstly, because it is so charming, but also because we found out during a big winter storm last century that Tawa Cove is a safe place to ride out bad weather, and provides one of the few all-weather anchorages in the whole of Queen Charlotte Sound.
I must say that the night life wasn’t up to much in mid-winter; not another boat or human in sight. There is only room in the most sheltered part of the bay, at the extreme northern end, for four to five boats. Don’t park too near the beach as it is shallow.
We were blessed again with glorious weather for our trip, but to be fair it is not always so. As with my previous guest Anna, Renee was astonished during the Cook’s Tour at the vibrancy of the colours of the vegetation and the water, especially in Tawa Cove.
Wind Warnings
As I wrote in my last article (Boating, December 09), remember that wind in the Marlborough Sounds – wherever you are – is changeable, and affected by the hills and gullies.
All anchorages are to be treated with caution, and constant monitoring of the weather is essential.
An excellent local weather forecast is given on Marlborough Marine Radio on VHF Channel 63.
Other useful information
If you need stores you can ring the Fresh Choice Supermarket in Picton, who will happily take a telephone order (03 573-6463) with credit card number, pack (small charge) and deliver down to London Quay.
From there, Endeavour Express
(03 573-5456) or Beachcomber Cruises
(03 573-6175) will receive your much-needed bread and milk and bring it out
to the outer Sound for you.
Endeavour Express and Beachcomber can also be contacted on VHF 63. They come out several times a day during the main season, and are very good at delivering and retrieving crew as well.
As with the last trip it felt as though we had only just started to really explore the area again as, with the wind dropping, we sailed back to Waikawa.
Royal Cruising
In the second part of our new series exploring New Zealand’s best anchorages, Katie McNabb takes a voyage down memory lane through the southern end of Queen Charlotte Sound.
So who was Queen Charlotte anyway? Many of us are familiar with this glorious part of New Zealand, but few know much about the lady for whom this sound is named.
Queen Charlotte was the wife of George III of England, who sat on the throne at the time of Captain James Cook. George III was the rather daffy gentleman who took to the hills in his night attire followed by a retinue of servants. You may remember him portrayed by Nigel Hawthorne in the film The Madness of King George. Cook, meanwhile, first dropped anchor in the sound on January 16, 1770, at Ship Cove.
The Marlborough Sounds make up one-sixth of New Zealand’s coastline, which gives the cruising boater an amazing amount of territory to explore. Having lived in the area many years ago, returning last year, I never cease to be surprised by the lovely nooks and coves that abound here. The colours of the water and the bush change all the time. Today, as I look out, the water is a bright turquoise, and the hills very green. Sometimes the water and the hills are dark and rough; sometimes, it’s so still you can’t believe that there has ever been any wind, or that it will ever come again.
In this article we are going to explore the southern part of Queen Charlotte Sound. The Grove Arm is an area of Queen Charlotte which runs in a westerly direction as you come out of Picton. It is widely regarded as being less windy than the outer Marlborough Sounds, and on the eastern side of the arm there is road access running from Picton around to Anakiwa. If you go on via Linkwater you can go over the hill to Kenepuru.
If you wish to have extra crew or a change of crew mid-cruise, there are several water taxi operators who provide a wonderful service into this area, and all parts of this sound.
Port Marlborough provides a number of visitor berths if you are planning to start your trip from Picton, or stop as you progress around the sound. There is a supermarket and all the usual services. Fuel is available in Picton, and at Waikawa Marina. Waikawa Boat Club, situated at the far end of Waikawa Marina, welcomes visitors, and has visitor berths.
Wind warning
Remember that wind in the Marlborough Sounds, wherever you are, is changeable, and affected by the hills and gullies. All anchorages are to be treated with caution, and constant monitoring of the weather is essential. An excellent local weather forecast is given on Marlborough Marine Radio on VHF Channel 63.
I was joined by Anna MacNeil from Charterlink South (www.charterlinksouth.co.nz) as crew for the trip to revisit some of my favourite spots in the Sounds aboard our in-charter Beneteau 331, Follow the Sun.
A recent arrival from Canada via sea, Anna was only too happy to drop her boat maintenance role for a chance to explore her new backyard; she finds the turquoise colour of the sea in this area quite astonishing, so vibrant and clear when you are looking down into it.
In absolutely perfect conditions we pottered out of the marina towards the Grove Arm. We turned down the Grove Arm and, after a short distance, we came to Beck’s Bay on the eastern side. This bay has a lovely anchorage which gives shelter from sou’east and easterly winds, and up to 20 knots in a northerly, the prevailing wind direction.
While extremely attractive, and high on the list, it comes second to my favourite bay just around the corner, the heavenly Governors Bay.
This is a scenic reserve and a favourite place to spend a day or a night, if the conditions are right. It’s a northwest-facing anchorage that comes with all the sun you can handle when you face in this direction.
Governors Bay gives some shelter from southwest and westerly winds, but the prevailing northerly to nor’westerly winds make it a lee shore, and undesirable for overnight stays in those conditions. However, there is sufficient water up to 20 metres from the shore with good holding, so lie back and enjoy the scent of the honeydew from the surrounding bush.
The golden beach is a lovely place to go ashore to stretch the legs, or to simply lie in the sun. The combined McNabb tribe chose this bay for our Christmas dinner a few years back, half of us arriving by a boat we had chartered, while the others came via a track down the hill from Queen Charlotte Drive.
Rowing ashore in a very small tender with hot vegetables was easy, and the tender then became an excellent table for the turkey (which arrived via road), and the rest of the trimmings.
When you leave Governor’s Bay, take time to cruise gently down towards the head of the sound, and have a look at Ngakuta and Momarangi Bay. Ngakuta and Momarangi have lots of houses and moored boats, and have been hugely popular with boaties, campers and holiday house owners for many decades. Watch for low water. While very pretty, these bays are probably less attractive to the cruising boat as you’ll find them busy during the holiday season.
The head of Queen Charlotte is very tidal, and while there are a few boats permanently moored at the Grove Arm Wharf, it is an area to approach with caution, especially if you decide to visit the wharf at Anakiwa. There is some good water to give you a short stopping place so you can go ashore and have a walk around the Outward Bound School at Anakiwa. The Queen Charlotte Walking Track also finishes or starts here, depending on where you are coming from.
For a diversion, a day on the track is a way to stretch your legs and enjoy the bush. You could either anchor out in the bay at Anakiwa, and do an out and return, or walk and arrange to be picked up by your boat up at the head of Onahau or further on at Torea. The Queen Charlotte Walking Track has opened up the western side of the sound, and can be accessed from many points, either right up the top at Ship Cove or in Endeavour Inlet. Considered easy walking providing you are not in a hurry, all ages seem to cope with the terrain. The iSite office in Picton or any of the tour operators on the Picton foreshore can give you comprehensive information.
The first bays after Anakiwa, as you head up the sound again, are set in scenic reserve and covered with wonderful bush. Davies and Bottle Bay are subject to strong, funnelling winds in nor’west to northerly conditions but in times of little wind, are absolutely beautiful, albeit a little shady in the afternoon.
Flipper Bay is the last bay before turning into Onahau. With bush right to the shore, and no houses, as it is scenic reserve, it certainly is a wonderful place to drop in for a day or an evening. With deep water close to land, you can take a line ashore, but it’s best not to stop here in sou’west to westerly winds.
Onahau is a long, deep bay made up of many smaller coves – Waterfall, Mistletoe and Fence Bay. There are holiday houses dotted around, but there are plenty of places to go without parking on someone’s front lawn. Take care when negotiating the entrance to the smaller coves as they are narrow, with rocks visible on each side just under the water.
I find Onahau, and its sister bay Lochmara, two of the most inviting places on the Grove Arm. As they are close to both Picton and Waikawa, they are ideal places to spend your first few days in the area.
Lochmara
We couldn’t go past the McNabb’s best dining spot in the area, the water access-only Lochmara Lodge and Café
(www.lochmaralodge.co.nz). Dining out by water is a popular pastime in Queen Charlotte, with a number of resorts having opened their restaurants to visiting boaties in the last few years.
A quick radio call (VHF Channel 63) secures a mooring, and a pick-up by the resort tender to get ashore.
Lochmara Lodge and Café is a must for any visitor to this area. It is not situated in Double Cove as the chart says, but very firmly on the western side of Lochmara Bay, about halfway down towards the northern end. It’s formerly a family holiday house, and I can remember sitting on the veranda as a teenager with friends, sampling beverages in large brown bottles. Renovated in 1997 by Shane Olsen and Louise Bright, Lochmara Lodge and Café is a credit to their vision and energy – a top-class café-restaurant which still retains the character of the original house, and situated on a sunny slope just above the jetty.
There is something for most visitors: free kayaks and a dinghy for the smaller crew, and a great rope swing out over the water for the more energetic. There’s also a pretty little beach where you can sit and take in the surroundings; you can go for a walk through the art park for wildlife recovery, or access the Queen Charlotte Track.
Shane offers shower facilities to boaties for a small charge, and you can moor free if you are lunching, and also use the mooring at no charge overnight if you are dining in the evening. No bookings are taken, so don’t dally!
As it was by now moving well into caffeine deficit time, and I could see Anna hanging out to have a look at Lochmara Lodge, the radio call was made, we picked up a mooring and were collected by the resort tender in a few minutes.
We did the coffee and chocolate brownie thing, as one does at 11am on a lovely spring morning. Water-only access keeps the atmosphere here very special; sitting at a table outside, enjoying the sun and the surroundings, having a glass of Marlborough’s finest sauvignon blanc, is about as energetic as most patrons get.
If you wish to anchor in Lochmara itself, the bay with the red boathouse just before Lochmara Lodge is a good place to do so, but watch for winds anything more than 20 knots from the south. Alternatively, West Bay is safe in all winds, except in a gale force sou’easterly. Karamu is suitable in northerly winds, but not from the south. East Bay can collect a bit of sea from the sou’west, but otherwise gives good holding and shelter.
Sadly, it was time to return to the berth at Waikawa, so with a fabulous 15 knots, we sailed back to our berth and look forward to exploring Queen Charlotte Sound in January.
Katie McNabb
Katie McNabb grew up sailing with her parents in Lyttelton and the Marlborough Sounds and had her own jet boats for 15 years before returning to sailing. She is a tutor for Coastguard, specialising in teaching women, and a Safe Boating Advisor for Maritime NZ. Katie’s husband Ian is the CEO of Port Marlborough. The couple live alongside Waikawa Marina in Picton and have their 36ft Beneteau “Follow the Sun” in charter with Charterlink South.
