CIRCUMNAVIGATING NEW ZEALAND
Part 6 of a six-part cruising series
After a month in the Fiords we were ready for the open sea and a taste of civilisation again. We set sail from Puysegur on dusk with a full moon, clear skies and flat seas. Upwind in 15 knots and heading for Solander Island 25 miles away. At midnight we tacked over and made for Oban via Foveaux Strait. The south wind dropped at 2am and we motor-sailed in calm seas the final 25 miles, with Stewart outlined against the moonlit night sky.
Dawn had us near Codfish Island with great coastal views of white sand beaches and dense native bush. At 11am the current turned and carried us the final 20 miles to Oban in glassy sea and sunshine. Wow – who’d have thought this about one of the windiest places in the country!
Entering Halfmoon Bay felt like arriving at Russell in the Bay of Islands, shallow clear water over sand with loads of really nice beaches. There are 170 islands scattered round Stewart, the majority near Oban. Thanks to typical Southland hospitality we were soon tied up on a local mooring right in front of the waterfront pub!
Five minutes later we were sitting there, drinks in hand, toasting to another great passage and the physical halfway stage of our journey. Six months of exploring this amazing country.
We have created boat routines which include listening to weather skeds on the radio and watching Predictwind on the Iridium. Tuning in with all the other boats on Mary’s Bluff Fisherman’s Radio, noting the boat names and where they anchored and, later, putting faces to names and catching up with these people in some amazing places.
It’s been as much about meeting people as exploring new places. Living on board is now our life and we have to make it sustainable. For us this also means eating well and getting plenty of exercise. Our goal is to be able to do this sort of thing in our 70s.
Our three nights in Oban included visiting the pub
every evening and meeting interesting people, both locals and some of the many visiting tourists. We did most of the short walks (some up to five hours) and also took the boat out to Ulva Island reserve.
This is about three miles from Oban and is the oldest island conservation project in New Zealand, dating back to 1892. The tracks and birds are amazing! We also stumbled on a white-tailed deer on one of the Oban tracks.
We quickly got town life out of our system, put our wallets away and headed for Little Glory on the SE end of Paterson Inlet. Upon arrival we got treated to an amazing sight of sea lions playing near the boat.
Like dolphins, they jumped clear of the water and splashed against the hull. They were totally aware of us and seemed to be putting on the show for our benefit. A little while later they went ashore and we followed in our dinghy to get photos. A younger one soon put a stop to that, chasing us out of the bay.
The barometer dropped 10 bars in just 12 hours and the forecast was for a storm warning. We hunkered down, preparing for a windy 24 hours. We moved in as close as possible and dropped the anchor over sand. That night we retreated to the aft cabin as the noise from the anchor was intense.
This was only our third windy night at anchor in six months since Auckland, so nothing to complain about! Cabin fever had set in as we poked our nose out the next day. Rugged up, we went ashore to bushwhack inland following a hunter’s trail and recording our track on the phone’s GPS.
It was hard work and made us appreciate all the good walking tracks of the past. Next day we explored Sailors’ Rest and then Prices Inlet. Ashore we found the remains of a Norwegian whaling base and a timber mill.
We walked the Rakiura Track along the first stage which follows Paterson Inlet from Oban, tackling it from Prices to west, and then from Kaipipi Bay towards the east. This is a fantastic track and easy to see why it is listed as one of the ‘Great Walks’. Both bays were remarkable in that they are completely landlocked with little coves and rivers to explore.
We couldn’t leave Paterson Inlet without another look at Ulva Island. This time we anchored overnight at Sydney Cove and ran the tracks the following morning, spotting the kaka and other rare beautiful birds.
A great 20-mile sail SW to Port Adventure followed. Port Adventure
is like a classic fairy-tale paradise with great little coves and harbours. All framed by white silica sand beaches, clear water and bush to the water’s edge with massive rimu trees towering overhead.
We got snug up into Oyster Bay with stern lines ashore, completely sheltered from the strong SW winds. We nipped over to Abraham’s Bosum that evening and walked the white sand beach enjoying a glass of wine and a great sunset. The next day we zipped up the Heron River for five miles to the waterfall. Amazing to drift back down with the river current and outgoing tide and just absorb the world round us.
Some 30 miles further south Port Pegasus is the very southern end of Stewart Island (beyond 47o South). The landscape is wild and remote with stunted vegetation – familiar to Ulrika from her experience of hiking inside Sweden’s Arctic Circle.
The bare cones of Gog and Magog protruded from mid-height vegetation. The climate here is way more extreme than Oban with more rainfall and double the wind. Most fishermen don’t venture south of Shelter Island.
Between 1888 and 1940 North Pegasus was mined for tin and, up on the mountain range, you’ll find the best-preserved, southern-most mining field in the country. Other industries that
followed included fishing and forestry. The refrigerator plant set up in 1897 used a Pelton wheel powered by piped water from the creek above Belltopper Falls.
We loved the extreme remoteness of the area, combined with really beautiful and snug little anchorages. The walking in the low, tussock-like vegetation made a nice change from the dense forests of Fiordland and northern Stewart.
We could imagine the wind blowing and the rain pelting down but luckily the weather gods smiled for our visit. The walk up ‘Bald Cone’ was a highlight. From our boat we studied the route up a bare chute near the summit where we could see ropes were slung. We quickly came above the treeline and followed cairns from rise to rise towards the cone. The summit of these extraordinary rocks – with views to die for – will stay with us forever.
Another highlight was the track to the wild coastal beaches through dense lowland forest. We arrived out onto a remote and pristine beach without one speck of human rubbish. We had fun with a sea lion that got too curious for his and our own good. Watching them surf and play in the clear blue water made us realise just how lucky we are!
A great overnight passage to Dunedin followed. We installed our Aries wind vane self-steering and I was impressed with how well it worked – 30 knots downwind with a cross swell on gybe point and it ate it up! The 90 miles in 11 hours was a new record for us!
We arrived into Dunedin before dawn using our radar to locate the channel marks and slipped into Port Charmers halfway up, well worth a visit. Eight miles further up and we moored in the marina at Otago Yacht Club, making it over the mud sill at high water. Five days in Dunedin was not enough but with another southerly weather window opening up we had to push on and cover the 160 miles to Akaroa.
Akaroa is one of our new favourites on the round voyage. There is wonderful walking, mountain biking and village cafes, pubs, restaurants and bars. The local sailing community opened its doors to us in every way. As with Dunedin, seven days was just not enough. We will be back!
LESSONS LEARNED ON THIS STAGE
Pink tape and a GPS for walking the very remote tracks. No shop equals baking bread. Great to have all the early European history books and bird and tree books. Great swapping knowledge with other cruisers and, as always, having patience and no deadlines.
SUMMARY STAGE 6
34 days. 18 anchorages, one marina, five cod, one perch, part of Rakiura ‘Great Walk’, Tin Range and Bald Cone, plus nine smaller tracks. Four rides in Akaroa, (always uphill) 10 cafes, one cinema, 20 litres diesel. B
“Five days in Dunedin wasn’t enough – we will be back.”