The Star: April 05, 2018
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302 Thursday [Edition datE] <strong>April</strong> 5 <strong>2018</strong> Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong><br />
Travel<br />
WEST COAST<br />
Shantytown Heritage Park<br />
FRISKY: A bottlenose dolphin escorts a cruise boat in the Marlborough Sounds.<br />
Right – <strong>The</strong> hand carved pou whenua at Ship Cove.<br />
Plenty to do in Picton<br />
• By Mike Yardley<br />
CHARMING: Furneaux Lodge offers a laid-back<br />
hospitality experience.<br />
THEY WERE frisky,<br />
playful and shameless<br />
attention-seekers. Your<br />
typical teenagers.<br />
A large pod of juvenile<br />
bottlenose dolphins<br />
turned on quite the show,<br />
as we purred through the<br />
Marlborough Sounds on a<br />
Beachcomber cruise boat.<br />
<strong>The</strong> frolicking dolphins<br />
basked in the boat’s wake,<br />
before unleashing their<br />
acrobatic impulses, leaping<br />
out of the water and flying<br />
through the air like trained<br />
circus-performers.<br />
Picton had dawned bright<br />
and brilliant. <strong>The</strong> glossy<br />
deep blue water surrounding<br />
Picton Marina, gleamed<br />
photo-shoot perfect. In a<br />
town that I have previously<br />
accused of resting on its<br />
laurels, Picton seems to<br />
have really hits its straps as<br />
a premium destination.<br />
<strong>The</strong> place was buzzing. I<br />
was joining a day trip into<br />
Queen Charlotte Sound<br />
with one of the region’s<br />
oldest tourist operators,<br />
Beachcomber Cruises, who<br />
offer myriad tours including<br />
their iconic rural post<br />
delivery service, <strong>The</strong> Magic<br />
Mail Run.<br />
Keen to combine cruising<br />
with a spot of walking,<br />
my magical day out would<br />
whisk me to Ship Cove,<br />
before re-boarding the vessel<br />
for the home-run from<br />
Furneaux Lodge. Departing<br />
from Picton, my ebullient<br />
skipper, Steve, peppered the<br />
cruise commentary with a<br />
feast of fascinating insights.<br />
Brimming with predatorfree<br />
islands and marine<br />
reserves, ogling precious<br />
wildlife is an undisputed<br />
magnet, luring the world to<br />
their crystal-clear waters.<br />
Steve remarked that alongside<br />
the hector’s, dusky and<br />
bottlenose dolphins, whales<br />
are a constant sight in the<br />
Sounds. As are seals, stingrays<br />
and orcas.<br />
We rendezvoused with<br />
some salmon farms, heavily<br />
fortified in perimeter<br />
fencing to stop the fur seals<br />
doing a drive-by feed. <strong>The</strong><br />
sheer size of the Sounds is<br />
astonishing, comprising<br />
20 per cent of New Zealand’s<br />
coastline, brimming<br />
with countless coves and<br />
secluded sandy bays. Thick<br />
native bush surrounds these<br />
ancient sunken valleys,<br />
where the calm, translucent<br />
water spans azure blue,<br />
vivid turquoise and shimmering<br />
emerald hues.<br />
Disembarking from our<br />
boat, I dabbled in the creek<br />
where Cook made home<br />
brew for his crew before<br />
surveying the magnificent<br />
Captain Cook monument<br />
commemorating his repeat<br />
visits to the area.<br />
Remarkably, one of the<br />
original cannons from<br />
Endeavour, adorns the<br />
monument. <strong>The</strong> cannon<br />
was salvaged from North<br />
Queensland, after the<br />
Endeavour ran aground<br />
on a reef and the crew<br />
had to throw numerous<br />
equipment overboard, to<br />
free the ship. A gorgeous<br />
carved pou whenua (pole)<br />
was installed at Ship Cove<br />
12 years ago, illustrating<br />
the legend of Kupe and the<br />
giant octopus he chased in<br />
these waters. Lacing up my<br />
walking boots, I struck out<br />
for a taster of the Queen<br />
Charlotte Track.<br />
<strong>The</strong> full traverse from<br />
Ship Cove to Anakiwa is a<br />
three or four-day affair, but<br />
itching for a sample of this<br />
celebrated trek, I embarked<br />
on the first day’s section to<br />
Furneaux Lodge.<br />
<strong>The</strong> lookout point at<br />
Tawa Saddle serves up seraphic<br />
views across Queen<br />
Charlotte Sound, while pixel-burning<br />
vantage points<br />
loom large as your descend<br />
into Resolution Bay. In the<br />
higher reaches of the track,<br />
the elevated views serve up<br />
mouth-watering glimpses<br />
of some of New Zealand’s<br />
most remote holiday<br />
homes, glorious little escape<br />
pads of supreme seclusion.<br />
From Resolution Bay,<br />
the final stretch followed<br />
a well-graded old bridle<br />
path over a ridge and into<br />
Endeavour Inlet. An unexpected<br />
surprise was the<br />
short detour to ogle one of<br />
New Zealand’s largest and<br />
oldest trees.<br />
A 1000-year-old rimu, in<br />
Howden Forest. A viewing<br />
boardwalk was recently<br />
built around the tree to<br />
safeguard its ancient roots.<br />
What a stunning specimen<br />
it is. I toddled across the<br />
finish line with a flourish,<br />
sweetly surrendering to the<br />
laid-back hospitality embrace<br />
of Furneaux Lodge.<br />
Built by the Howden family<br />
110 years ago, the original<br />
homestead was thronging<br />
with thirsty patrons,<br />
chilling out and swapping<br />
tales, before boarding the<br />
boat at 5pm for the return<br />
run to Picton, as another<br />
pod of frisky dolphins<br />
shepherded us home.<br />
FAST FACTS:<br />
•Where to stay? Slap<br />
bang in the heart of<br />
Blenheim, just around<br />
the corner from that<br />
glorious urban oasis<br />
of Seymour Square,<br />
Blenheim Palms Motel<br />
delivers a delightfully<br />
relaxed. Ann and Ian<br />
are charming hosts,<br />
who will go out of<br />
their way to ensure<br />
your Marlborough<br />
getaway is a<br />
memorable one. www.<br />
blenheimpalmsmotel.<br />
co.nz<br />
•Planning a trip to the<br />
Top of the South?<br />
Check out the region’s<br />
official website for<br />
the latest visitor tips<br />
and insights. www.<br />
MarlboroughNZ.com<br />
No visit is complete without experiencing Shantytown Heritage<br />
Park, an interactive museum in the guise of a replica gold rush<br />
village set in the late 1800s.<br />
Shantytown offers insight, information<br />
and fantastic experiences to thousands<br />
of visitors every year. Step back in time,<br />
discover legendary stories of pioneer West<br />
Coasters through a fascinating mix of<br />
experience and display.<br />
Shantytown is set on 500 acres of<br />
native rainforest. Experience the beautiful<br />
short bush walks at your leisure. Or<br />
take a steam train ride along an original<br />
tramway through a native rainforest, get<br />
a photo with one of two working steam<br />
trains or talk to the friendly drivers.<br />
Experience the sights, sounds and<br />
smells of a working sawmill, watch the<br />
mighty sluice gun blast gold-bearing rock<br />
and soil from the earth, then follow the<br />
water races to the gold claim, learn a little<br />
gold panning and pan for your own gold.<br />
<strong>The</strong> village, with 30 shops and builds<br />
to explore, displays some of the 10,000<br />
objects and 1000 photos in the Shantytown<br />
Museum Collection. <strong>The</strong> on-site café<br />
sells postcards that will be stamped with<br />
the Shantytown Post Mark. For the perfect<br />
memento, grab a costume and get an oldtime<br />
photo.<br />
Experience the sights, sounds and smells of a working sawmill,<br />
watch the mighty sluice gun blast gold bearing rock and soil<br />
from the earth, then follow the water races to the gold claim,<br />
learn a little gold panning and pan for your own gold.<br />
Visit www.shantytown.co.nz to purchase<br />
discounted online entry tickets<br />
Rutherglen Road, Paroa (10km south of Greymouth)<br />
Open 7 days 8:30am - 5:00pm<br />
Phone 03 762 6634