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Blenheim to Picton via Port Underwood
Dorothy 19/03/04
While you are in Marlborough do plan to take time to drive from Blenheim to
Picton on the coastal road through Port Underwood. This drive takes you
from the beach and cliffs at Rarangi to the sheltered and scenic Whites
Bay, terminal of the first telegraph cable that linked the North and South
Islands, on to the beautiful bays of Port Underwood, where whaling took
place in the 1820s and 1830s. A signpost indicates the site of the
declaration of British sovereignty over the South Island and a cairn marks
the place of the early mission station. The road then leads over the hill,
down to Queen Charlotte Sound, past Karaka Point and Waikawa to reach
Picton. The distance for the round trip returning to Blenheim by S.H.1 is
103 km.
Of course the sea and sky look best on a fine day, but there is interest in
this trip whatever the weather. When we last did this trip the road was
sealed from Blenheim to Whites Bay and from the uphill turn-off leaving
Port Underwood for the rest of the journey.
Go with enough petrol and food and drink as there are no shops on this road
until close to Picton.
Blenheim to Rarangi
The advantage in starting from Blenheim is that you have the inside running
on a road which can be narrow with steep drops to the coast.
Follow the main road to Picton for 10 km until you reach Tuamarina. Turn
right and follow the signs to Rarangi. Old bone and paua fish hooks found
here are thought to have been made locally and possibly used for trading.
The beach sweeps south from here for several kilometres along Cloudy Bay.
The wind sweeps along the beach. The mean annual windspeed here is 8 or 9
knots, half of the average for Cook Strait.
The beach offers good opportunities for surfcasting, The first baches here
were built in 1924 and for some years after World War 2 Blenheim people
used to come to the settlement here to buy fresh fish.
Watch for the sign to the Monkey Bay Walk which takes you past a deep sea
cave and round the rocks to Whites Bay. If you want a short walk you can
go up the sixty four steps made of concrete and local siltstone to a
viewing point from which you can view the dramatic cliffs and look across
to the North Island. Walking a short distance along the Whites Bay track
gives you a view of the deep sea cave.
The signpost gives historical information and has a map showing the coast
as far as Cape Campbell and the mouth of the Awatere River.
Whites Bay
Start your trip to Port Underwood by taking the winding road on the left.
About 4 km further on take the road on the right hand side of the road and
drive the short distance to Whites Bay. This sheltered bay is a most
inviting place to stop. There is safe swimming with shallow water for about
200 metres and then there is a steep drop to deep water. In the Rarangi
Surf Lifesaving Club building close to the beach there are dressing sheds
and toilets for all swimmers. There are good spots to picnic or to camp.
Historic telegraph
The first telegraph cable to link the North and South Island came ashore
here at Whites Bay. The link was established in 1866 and the cable station
was built the following year. The building is preserved and is a museum
displaying some maps of cable lines and pieces of old equipment.
Whites Bay walks
Pukatea Bush Walk - 20 minutes return
This is an easy walk beside the Pukatea Stream among kanuka and manuka
trees to a huge pukatea tree at the far end. Return is along the same track
or by the road.
Black Jack Track - 1.5 hours circuit
This walk starts from the Pukatea Bush walk and climbs to a lookout with a
view across Cook Strait to the North Island and then to a seaward ridge
which leads back to Whites Bay.
On to Port Underwood
The unsealed road from Whites Bay winds over the hills through plantations
of pinus radiata. then above a valley with cattle grazing and down to
Robin Hood Bay which is surrounded by bushclad hills with ferns and
tree ferns adding to the beauty. There is a DOC camping ground and picnic
area.
Ocean Bay, so named because it faces the open sea, today presents a
peaceful farming scene, but a whaling pot on the beach is a relic of a time
of violent episodes in the whaling days.
Horahora-Kakahu Island
A sign post indicates the view of this island where on 17 June 1840 Major
Bunbury proclaimed British sovereignty over the South Island - a
comfirmation of Captain Cook's claim to the island. He had been further
south collecting signatures to the treaty and after some persuasion gained
the last South Island signatures here. British sailors erected a flagpole,
flew the Union Jack and fired a twenty one gun salute. A white memorial
which marks the spot can be seen from the road near the signpost.
Kakapo Bay
This bay is named after a flightless New Zealand parrot, now very rare.
The name does not indicate the history of the bay which is the site of the
second whaling station established by John Guard in the late 1820s. The
first was at Te Awaiti
on Tory Channel. Port Underwood, a deep sheltered harbour protected from
the northerly wind and sheltered by high hills, was preferred to Te Awaiti
because access by ship there was easier in bad weather. Also Port Underwood
was a resting place for whales in winter.
The son born to John Guard and his wife Betty is believed to be the first
child of European parents born in the South Island.
The whaling industry began to decline in the late 1830s and the Guard
family turned to farming. There is still an entry under Guard in the White
Pages for Kakapo Bay.
A tiny cemetery in the bay is where John Guard and some of his family are
buried.
Oyster Bay
Baches along the shore and nine fishing boats in the water proved the
popularity of this bay. There are camping facilities and a backpackers to
provide for visitors, but remember that you won't find a shop here.
The road continues along the shore to other bays, but to reach Picton you
need to watch for the road uphill on your left.
Detour to Ngatuka Bay
If you detour along the shore some 11 km to Ngakuta Bay you will see a
cairn marking the site of the first mission station. There was no mission
station in the area until the arrival of Samuel Ironside, a determined
young minister. He had quickly become fluent and able to preach in Maori
and many Maori people became converts to Christianity. In 1842 a permanent
church was erected and at its opening nearly two hundred people were
baptised and forty couples married. After the Wairau Incident the mission broke up and many of the Maori fearful of reprisals returned
to the North Island.
Road uphill to Queen Charlotte Sound
After your return to the Picton turn-off the sealed road winds up steeply
among ferns, bush and pine plantations to reach the summit (300 metres).
Pause here for a wonderful view over Port Underwood and out to the open
sea.
Downhill to Karaka Point, Waikawa and Picton
The road winds down and along the shore of Queen Chqrlotte Sound and 7 km
from the summit you reach Karaka Point, a beautiful reserve with a board
displaying the history of the area. There was once a sizable Maori pa on
this headland. If you follow the twenty minute walk to the end of the
headland you will see the sites of middens and storage pits and a ditch
which was built across the narrowest point. The tracks also give access to
little beaches around the headland and according to the wind direction you
can choose a sheltered beach to pause and enjoy the view across the waters
of the Sound.
Waikawa until recent years was a quiet bay, but the slopes around the bay
are now covered with large houses and there is a large marina filled with
expensive boats. From there to Picton the road passes housing, motels and
Queen Charlotte College. The Victoria Domain and the tracks along the
headland known as The Snout offer further opportunities for walks and views
over the water before reaching the Picton township and the road back to
Blenheim.
Photos Source: Peter Hunt
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