The following is reproduced
with the kind permission of The
New York Times Newspaper
This is what the New York Times had to say about Soundswild
.........
January 3, 1999
In a Wild, Watery Realm
By NATASHA NOWAKOWSKI
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Paddling among seals, sea birds and playful dolphins
through New Zealand's Marlborough Sounds
Look! Dolphins!"
My friend Bill is frantically pointing to a crowd
of seabirds diving into the blue-green water 50 yards
away. At first, all I see are birds, but seconds later,
five sleek graybacks leap and twist elegantly into
view. Not believing it, I race my sea kayak closer
for a better look, and sure enough, there are five
dusky dolphins indulging in a feeding frenzy with a
flock of gannets. It was a riveting sight, and it was
moments before I realized I was forgetting to breathe.
Family and guide paddle through Tawhitinui Beach.
Photo by
Grant Sheehan for The New York Times
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The circus of dolphins and gannets began to move northward,
presumably following the school of blue cod lurking
below. Bill and I decided to tag along, and much to
our delight, the dolphins acknowledged our presence.
Unafraid, the six-foot-long creatures flirted with
our sea kayaks, jumped high in synchronized pairs and
waltzed through the cloistered waters of the Marlborough
Sounds of New Zealand.
Within a few too-short minutes, the dolphins swam off,
but we caught up with them two miles later as they
fed again, and dallied with us again. Then they departed,
for good, leaving us with a memory and their stardust.
It was October and I was on a three-day sea kayaking
tour in the Sounds, at the top of South Island. In
a country full of wondrous natural phenomena, the Sounds
rank with the truly astonishing. The Sounds are part
of a drowned river valley, consisting of 930 miles
of coastline, bush-clad promontories, peaked islands
connected by narrow necks of land and sunken mountain
ranges. What used to be fertile lowland surrounded
by tall mountains is now home to a variety of aquatic
life. Geologists reason that the Sounds sit on a fault,
which has resulted in a constantly sinking landmass,
while the seas have continued to rise. The inundated
landforms make the Sounds a great place to paddle.
Maori folklore has its own explanation for the sinking
mountains. According to the myth, New Zealand's South
Island was formed eons ago when curious gods descended
from the heavens to explore, and being so far away
from their source of power, capsized their great canoe.
The giant keel rose to form the snow-bound Southern
Alps, and its intricate carved prow shattered and partially
sank to become the Marlborough Sounds.
We began our adventure in Havelock, a small fishing
village on a large estuary sheltered by round green
hills. Because Bill and I decided to go without a guide,
we met with Steve Maley, owner of the Wilderness Company,
the night before to discuss logistics and equipment.
The next morning, Steve picked us up outside our cabin
-- his van brimming with gear and a trailer toting
two single 13-foot sea kayaks.
Although I have done a fair amount of paddling, this
was my first time on an overnight trip. I took one
look at the equipment and declared, "No way all
that stuff is going to fit!"
"Wait and see," Steve countered, with Bill
nodding in agreement.
Sure enough, when we glided into the water later that
morning, we had a small tent, winter sleeping bags,
inflatable mattresses, a Coleman stove, first aid kit,
binoculars, food for three days, clothes, toiletries
and a bottle of red wine carefully wrapped in towels.
All of it fit into the sealed fore and aft compartments
of our kayaks, with room to spare.
We put in at Tennyson Inlet, one of the more remote
parts of the Sounds, an hour's drive from Havelock.
On the way there we passed patchworks of farms chiseled
into denuded hills, inhabited by droopy-eyed sheep,
frolicking lambs and grumpy cows. The road then wends
through the tangled podocarp (native evergreens) and
beech forest of the Opouri Valley, and climbs 1,700
feet to a plateau. The view was as sudden as it was
dramatic. Stretched before us were the blue reaches
of the inner Sounds with mountain peaks peering from
the depths and forlorn islands scattered about. The
scene looked like a remnant of the Great Flood, and
I imagined us to be present-day Noahs.
The Sounds have long been a popular summer destination
for Kiwis. Summer houses decorate the shorelines, and
the outer reaches are playgrounds for large sailboats
and motorboats. But the Tennyson Inlet remains virtually
untouched and unpopulated. In the three days we paddled
there, I saw only three recreational fishing boats
and two other sea kayaking parties.
Tennyson Inlet, where the author spent three days,
is one of the more remote sections of the Sounds.
The waters are rife with fish -- 200 species -- as
well as dolphins, seals and whales. The more exotic
fish include the blue-green butterfish, groupers, blue
cod, dogfish and fearless leatherjackets. Rays settle
on the sandy bottom, warranting a cautious check before
stepping out of your kayak. While whales tend to stay
in the outer Sounds, orcas are sometimes seen in the
inner Sounds where we were, especially after a storm
in the Cook Strait.
Four species of dolphins make themselves at home in
the Sounds: bottlenose, dusky, common and one of the
world's smallest dolphins at an average of three and
a half feet, Hector's dolphins. In spring and fall,
dolphin sightings are common. They can often be seen
riding the pressure wave at the bow of motorboats.
At the turn of the century a famous dolphin, nicknamed
Pelorus Jack, escorted boats regularly through Admiralty
Bay, just north of Tennyson Inlet.
The wealth and diversity of fish in the Sounds make
it a seabird's paradise. Gannets dive-bomb from as
high as 40 feet to catch fish well below the surface.
Long-necked pied shags grace the beaches in giant flocks,
hanging out their huge wings to dry in the sun like
clothes on a laundry line. Black-winged petrels glide
and soar above the water like hang gliders. Chicken-sized
and flightless, wekas fearlessly and noisily scrounge
the beaches and campsites for food. Rare little blue
penguins, white-fronted terns and white-faced herons
swam alongside our kayaks.
We also spotted a family of large seals basking in
the sun. Draped on a cluster of boulders, the seals
gave us a lazy, relaxed glance, muttered a few barely
audible grunts and resettled themselves. One flopped
heavily into the water with a splash. As he lolled
around in the water, we could see a long scar across
his mottled belly. Keeping his distance, he soon disappeared.
We paddled a leisurely 30 miles over three days, taking
our time to explore every nook and cove. Each day,
we launched our kayaks in late morning and set up camp
in early evening. Lunches were quiet picnics on pebbled
beaches tucked away in small bayous and consisted of
peanut butter and honey sandwiches. We were determined
to take the rush out of our lives, even if just for
three days.
For the most part, the Sounds are fairly easy to paddle,
the shore always within short reach and the maze of
headlands providing a buffer from the winds. There
are some open and exposed sections, however, such as
Tawhitinui Reach, a mile-and-a-half-wide roadstead
where wind coming from the Cook Strait can make waves
boisterous. The Strait, a 13-mile narrow stretch of
water in the outer Sounds, is a virtual wind tunnel.
Northerlies and westerlies are sped up and twisted
in "nor'westers," and wind from the east
and south into the severe gales of "southerlies." In
the spring, long periods of gusty westerly winds are
common. From the beginning of summer in December through
autumn, sunny, breezy weather is the norm.
On the second day of our trip, we found ourselves
crossing Tawhitinui Reach in slanting rain and misty
fog. A stiff wind blew at our backs and whitecaps filled
protected coves. We could just make out the shoreline
as three-foot waves surged our kayaks toward Waoina
Bay, where we planned to camp. The rhythmic lifting
of my stern and the ensuing rushing bow speed was exhilarating
and made up for the rain pelting in my face. We crossed
three miles of water in less than an hour (it should
have taken us almost two hours).
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Once we reached shore and rounded a promontory, the
weather did a curious flip-flop with a quickness that
is typical in New Zealand. All became calm. The rain
dried up and the white mist lifted and drifted away.
Camping in the Sounds is an intimate and rustic experience.
The two campgrounds where we stayed were situated just
above the beach line and offered vistas of forests
and bays. We had them to ourselves. A narrow trail
petering out to the woods led to the outdoor bathroom,
and a fire grill made it easy to build a fire in the
cool night. Each morning I was greeted by a weka poking
around for breakfast and the gentle sound of the water
lapping on the sand bar.
With the pots and pans supplied by Soundswild, we
managed to feast on pancakes with strawberries, pasta
primavera and s'mores, with juice, our bottle of wine
and coffee.
Because Bill cooked, I washed, using stones and pebbled
sand, which make excellent scouring pads. The trick
is not letting the screeching noise of rock scraping
against metal get to you.
However, because I am deaf, I only needed to turn
off my hearing aids to avoid the metallic squeak. With
my hearing aids on, the chuckle, crackle and whistle
of the water, birds and wind all came alive. Even though
I wear my hearing aids when kayaking, Bill and I developed
a series of signals with movements of our paddles that
proved to be very effective, particularly during the
rainstorm, when I could not hear Bill's voice over
the wind.
On our third and last day, we circled Maud Island,
a wildlife sanctuary six miles in circumference. As
tempting as the white beaches looked, the island is
completely off-limits to people in an effort to provide
a predatorless home for rare creatures such as the
parrotlike takehe, and the flightless kakapo, New Zealand's
largest and the world's heaviest parrot. Maud Island
has somehow remained free of introduced predators like
rats, despite having been grazed by sheep for centuries
before becoming a designated sanctuary. On the island's
northern terminus is a decrepit World War II cement
gun placement, used to protect the entranceway into
Marlborough Sounds against Axis invasion, and now standing
guard for the island's endangered species. We spent
the afternoon weaving through mussel farms, which lace
miles of the shoreline. The farms consist of columns
of dangling ropes tethered to a main rope line stretched
out across tiny coves. The plentitude of green-lipped
mussels in the Sounds give Havelock the boasting rights
as the "Green-Shelled Mussel Capital of the World," as
local town entrance signs proudly declare.
Too quickly, it was time to head back to the put-in
site where Steve would be waiting. The wind blew at
our backs, as if making sure we would not turn around.
I kept my eye out for a flock of gannets feeding, a
tell-tale sign that dolphins might be nearby -- but
to no avail.
As we pulled up to shore, Steve paddled in with two
clients whose wide grins threatened to run off their
faces.
"Dolphins!"
Kayaking in Marlborough Sounds: four ways
Getting There
The Marlborough Sounds are at the top of New Zealand's
South Island. The nearest city with an international
airport is Christchurch, a five-hour drive from Picton.
Air New Zealand has the most frequent flights into
Christchurch.
Grant Sheehan for The New York Times
Kayakers' camp, Tennyson Inlet, South Island, New Zealand.
You can take a bus or train from Christchurch to Picton.
The drive is wildly scenic as you will find yourself
going through rolling farmland, over craggy hills and
past seal colonies on the rocky Pacific shore.
Kayaking
The Soundswild Company, based in Picton, is the main
outfitter in the Marlborough Sound.
For reservations or inquiries, contact the owners,
Steve Maley, at (64-3) 573- 5577,
fax (64-3) 573 5577 or FREEPHONE 0800 018 092
Post Office Box 533, Picton, Marlborough, New Zealand.
The company offers four types of kayak rentals. Independent
rentals (when you rent and travel on your own) cost
$20, calculated at the rate of 1.98 New Zealand dollars
to the dollar, for one day, $40 for two days, $56 for
three days, $71 for four days, and $12.50 extra for
each additional day. (We bought our food for the trip
at the supermarket in Havelock.)
Full-day guided trips cost $38 and include lunch.
Overnight guided trips cost $48 a day (this package
does not include food or camping gear). Deluxe overnight
guided trips cost $71 a day and include food, camping
gear and lodging if you prefer to sleep indoors. Guided
overnight trips range in length from two to five days.
The kayaking season generally starts in October (New
Zealand's spring). If you choose to go during the spring
or fall, you have a much better chance of encountering
dolphins and whales. By New Zealand's midsummer (January
and February), dolphin sightings become less common;
however, the weather is much drier and calmer than
in the spring or fall.
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