Queen Charlotte Sound in B.C. is the body of water between the end of Vancouver Island and Haida Gwai (Queen Charlotte Islands).   In New Zealand, there is another Queen Charlotte Sound that is part of a series of sounds (sort of drowned river valleys) that extend inland at the north end of the South Island, protected from the prevailing winds from the Tasman Sea.  For kayakers, there are 1500km of shoreline to paddle.   Queen Charlotte Sound is the most accessible.   The ferry from the North Island goes up the sound to land at Picton, where kayakers can also launch.   We launched instead from Anaikwa at the end of the Sound and paddled east out toward Picton, going in and out of bays along an out-and-back route.

We spotted sting rays under the water and shags (cormorants) nesting on the bluffs above the sea.   One of the bays was a sacred spot (tapu) where Maori warriors were purported to have eaten the hearts of their conquered enemies.   We avoided that landing.

The Sounds offer paddlers an opportunity to explore the ocean shores without the challenges of big waves and strong winds.  On the day that we ventured out, it was quite windy so we just stayed near the shoreline in our tandem.

The air in New Zealand seems always clear and fresh, surrounded by the ocean.   There are no cities in this area, only small towns and villages.   Our camp was in a small holiday park in Linkwater called Smith’s Farm.   This was a good basecamp to hike and paddle from.   In fact, we liked the whole coastline from Picton to Farewell Spit so much that we would happily hike and paddle in only that area in a visit to New Zealand.

The area is sometimes called the Marlborough Sounds, which includes about 4000 square kilometers of peninsulas, islands, and sounds. The complex and ragged coastline was formed by a combination of subsidence (sinking and the opposite – uplifting) and rising sea levels.   All of the sounds run southwest to northeast out to the Tasman Sea.   Some of the Sounds are only a hike over a low serrated ridge to the next Sound and where a lower area lies between Sounds a small community (like Portage and Linkwater) often serves as a base to support paddlers, hikers, fishermen, and tourism.   Hiking trails follow some of the ridges and one of New Zealand’s newest Tramps is the Queen Charlotte Track, a 70km trek from Ship Cove to Anaikwa.  We hiked one leg of the track (article to follow).

Visitors often drive off the ferry and continue all the way west to Nelson without stopping at the peaceful and scenic villages on the sounds.   For those who love to paddle and hike, the Sounds are a wonderful destination for a few days of exploration.