Marlborough Sounds
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Sea kayakers in the Marlborough Sounds. |
The
Marlborough Sounds is an extensive network of s at the north of the
South Island of
New Zealand.
Covering some 4,000 km² of sounds, islands, and peninsulas, the Marlborough Sounds lie at the South Island's north-easternmost point, between
Tasman Bay in the west and
Cloudy Bay in the south-east.
The steep, wooded hills and small quiet bays of the sounds are sparsely populated, as access is difficult. Many of the small settlements and isolated houses are only accessible by boat. The main large port is
Picton on the mainland, at the head of
Queen Charlotte Sound. It is at the northern terminus of the South Island's main railway and
State Highway networks. The main small boat port is
Waikawa which is one of New Zealand's largest and provides a base for leisure sailors and vacationers.
The main sounds, other than Queen Charlotte Sound, are
Pelorus Sound and
Kenepuru Sound.
Tory Channel is a major arm of Queen Charlotte Sound, and between them they isolate the hills of
Arapawa Island from the mainland. Other islands in the sounds include
D'Urville Island.
The Marlborough Sounds are connected to the
Cook Strait at the north-east extreme. At this point, the
North Island is at its closest to the South Island, and the inter-island road, rail, and passenger
ferry service between Picton and
Wellington travel through the sounds.
Marine farming is increasingly common, although the wake caused by fast
catamaran vehicular ferry services to the North Island has been alleged to damage farms, and has resulted in a dispute heard in the environment court. The fast ferries (which only operated for the summer season) were restricted to a lower speed in the sounds, reducing their time advantage over the conventional ferries and have since been discontinued.
The main channels of the Marlborough Sounds have calm water and are popular for
sailing. Cook Strait, however, is infamous for its strong currents and rough waters, especially when the wind is from the south or north. Because of this, some of the narrow channels closer to the Strait are notoriously dangerous. Notable amongst these is French Pass at the southern end of D'Urville Island, which has several
vortices.
The most notable shipwreck in the sounds is that of the Russian cruise liner
Mikhail Lermontov, which sank in
1986 in
Port Gore, close to the mouth of Queen Charlotte Sound, after striking rocks. One life was lost in the incident.
*
NZ Maritime Museum's article on the Mikhail Lermontov*
Vist Picton Site
