Marlborough Sounds

So I've just spent the last 10 days or so in the Marlborough Sounds. And it was so beautiful! It didn't rain at all, and most days were sunny and hot (just how I like it!). I started off by spending 2 nights in Okiwi Bay, on the road to French Pass. Most of the visitors and locals that live around the Okiwi Bay / French Pass area live for fishing. And they love their boats. The lodge where I stayed in Okiwi Bay constantly had the radio tuned into Maritime Radio. I didn't do much the first 2 days, except relax in the sun and take the drive to French Pass, which was really beautiful. Below are some pictures from the drive to French Pass.

After leaving Okiwi Bay, I spent the next 5 nights at a backpackers called Hopewell, which is also in Marlborough Sounds, just along Kenepuru Sound. Even though Okiwi Bay and Hopewell are really close to each other on the map, it took me about 4 or 5 hours to drive to Hopewell because the road is all windy along the coastline. Marlborough Sounds is cool like that because it has hundreds and hundred of kilometers of coastline, even though it takes up such a small space on the map. Anyhow, Hopewell was the best backpackers I've stayed in since I've been here in New Zealand. It was a remote, small retreat, with plenty of activities, and plenty of time to relax. I did alot of reading (and sleeping) in the super comfortable hammock, some soaking in the hot spa, kayaking, fishing, hiking, and eating fresh seafood!

On my first full day at Hopewell, I went on this motor boat tour around Kenepuru and Pelorus Sounds. The guide has his own motor boat, and then 2 people pair up and ride in their own motor boat, staying within 500 meters of the guide. I got paired up with Willy, a 16-year old from Switzerland who had never driven a car before! He and I split up the driving of the motor boat, and when I was driving, we were going all slow and steady. But when he got behind that motor, we were zippin' all around the Sounds, which was so much more fun! So I was happy when I wasn't driving the boat, and just enjoying the wind blowing through my hair. We made a stop at one point to see a 1,000+ year old rimu tree! And we also saw some stingrays floating along the surface of the water. Below is a picture from the boat trip.



The following day, I woke up at 5:30 in the morning (!) to go fishing with 2 blokes from the UK (Joel and Ray), and one guy from Japan (Ryo). Ryo also works at Hopewell in exchange for accommodation, and he was really hospitable. He did most of the work on our wee fishing trip--rowed the boat, cut up the bait, etc. And he was the best fisherman. He caught 3 snapper (we called him Captain Snapper, cuz he had also caught 6 snapper the previous morning). Joel caught 1 snapper on our trip. And well, me and Ray, we just caught some tiny kowhai that we threw back into the water. So we got 4 snapper for our boat, and upon returning to Hopewell, we each gutted and scaled a snapper, to be cooked and eaten later. I cooked mine the next day in olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon, and it was gooooood! Below is a picture of the snapper I cooked and ate, after it was gutted and scaled, but before it was gracefully beheaded and put in the oven. :)



Another treat at Hopewell was the green mussel nights, compliments of the hosts. On 2 of the nights I stayed there, one of the owners went out and collected hundreds of mussels from one of the many mussel farms in the Marlborough Sounds. When he brought them back, they steamed them and served them to all the guests with red curry, garlic butter, and other great sauces. All the guests sat around a huge table covered in newspaper, and ate these green mussels that were each the size of a cell phone. The cutest thing was when the 2 cats belonging to the owners got up on a chair around the table, waiting to be fed some mussels. And plenty of mussels they got, those spoiled little cats. :) Even though I'm not a huge fan of mussels, I really liked these mussels. It was a meal in itself. And it was a great way for everyone to get to know each other. Below are pictures from the mussel feast.





On my last full day at Hopewell, I went on a hike to Pete's Peak, which is 520 meters high, and about a 5 hour return trip from Hopewell. I started hiking with these 3 girls, and the dog belonging to the owners of Hopewell (his name is King) started following us. I had taken King for a walk earlier that day, and I was afraid he thought we were taking him for another walk. So about 30 minutes into the hike, I took King back to Hopewell, because I really didn't think he would be able to make it on a 5-hour journey, climbing 520 meters. After taking him back, I started on the hike again, by myself. About an hour later I bumped into Christian (from Germany) who was also staying in the same room as me at Hopewell. Christian was also going to Pete's Peak, so we hiked together. Christian was hilarious, so it was alot of fun hiking with him. He kept talking about how he wanted to hurt himself climbing the peak so that he could get a helicopter ride, like I did on the Milford trek. When we got to the top of the peak, after a long, hard climb, the views were beautiful and we met the girls who I had started hiking with in the beginning of the day. We found a bottle under a rock at the peak, which contained a bunch of notes from people over the past few years who had reached that peak, writing their impressions. Alot of the notes talked about how King (the dog belonging to the owners of Hopewell) had also come to the peak! So maybe I should've let King come after all! Anyhow, below are some pictures from Pete's Peak.

After returning to Hopewell, Christian and I were limping around, in pain from the long hike that day. That night, there were 2 American girls also in our room, one of whom was from Maryland and the other from Virginia. They were hilarious, and that night the 4 of us just joked around and laughed so hard it hurt, for at least an hour before going to bed. It felt like we had all known each other for a long time, and it was good fun.

After leaving Hopewell, I went on to stay at Mahana Homestead, which was also really beautiful, for 2 nights. Mahana Homestead is on the Queen Charlotte track, so while there, I took a 4 hour walk from Punga Cove to Furneaux Lodge. Below is a picture from the walk, which was pretty flat and easy.

So that was my trip to the Marlborough Sounds! I'm in Kaikoura right now, and will do some whale and dolphin watching tours while here. Stay tuned....