Day 4 - Havelock to Picton - Queen Charlotte Sounds

After leaving the Shoe Fence, Carol made her way back towards Havelock and eventually found the turnoff we were supposed to take to head over through the Sounds. Stunning views met us at the top of every hill - like this..



The colour of the water was amazing - a real mix of blues and greens. We were taken over to a beautiful bay where there is an outward bound course, and the start of a walk. It was very sheltered and there were lots of people around mucking about with boats...



Little boathouses dotted the bays as well...



The surrounding hills were a mix of pine forest and native bush giving an amazing variance of green hues...



The boats here were more like fishing boats than pleasure craft. But that may just be because Summer holidays haven't arrived yet..



However, I think it would just be fantastic to own a boat to simply explore the area, and all the little bays..



You could tie up at a different jetty every single night..



The bird life around here was scarce. I would have liked to have seen and photographed more. But what I did see was that the shags are very bossy. Get over there this one seemed to be saying...



What birds I did see I was lucky to get, as they seemed to take flight very quickly, not tolerating humans at all. I think these are spoonbills...



And the Blue 'white faced' Herons, even though they were across the water, and I took this image with my telephoto lens, they still took flight. I was pleased I got a pair in the wild though. Apparently a lot of birds are shot because people don't want them on the grapes at the vineyards. PRobably why I didn't see that many!



They were the only bird images I got. Here's another jetty i could tie my dreamboat up to...



The colour of the water is really quite something. I remember swimming in this water when I was about 15. Damn cold, but there were wild seahorses. I wonder if they are still there.



The colour of the water is so impressive I just have to show you again... Just in case you forgot...



I loved how every corner we turned, there was yet another sheltered bay, sheltering yet more boats. You can see why Ben and Olivia went missing around here. It would be easy to 'hide' in the sounds. Plenty of bays with no road access.



Here's the photo again with a bigger wide angle.. Fits in more boats!



Lastly - we arrive at Picton, to see one of the interisland ferries arriving, and one leaving, heading to Wellington through the Sounds.



All in all a fascinating drive, very beautiful, and on such a beautiful day as we had we just wanted to stop at every bay. I'd like to camp around there one summer!