Days 63 - 68, Jan 23 - Feb 3 2010
I needed to regroup and consider my next moves. A crossing of the Cook Strait would mean two days paddle, passing Wellington and a launch from either Makara or Titahi Bays. The small amount of research I’d conducted on this notorious stretch of water suggested that I first needed small neap tides and then agreeable weather conditions. The required tides were weeks away so I had time up my sleeve.
The Lake Ferry Hotel was great value and at times it felt like only I and the locals knew just how good it was. I made the most of it and spent an extremely enjoyable and relaxing time there meeting the wonderful locals and recharging my batteries. They needed it.
This was the view from the Lake Ferry’s outside setting and on this day I saw it at its best and yet I felt like I had the place all to myself!
This was the view from the Lake Ferry’s outside setting and on this day I saw it at its best and yet I felt like I had the place all to myself!
I saw the lake in all its guises.
Some history -
On Palliser Bay: “Whilst Captain Cook sailed past in 1770, naming it Palliser Bay, another European, Durmont D’Urville anchored off Lake Onoke in 1827 but the huge surf presented him from landing and he named it Useless Bay.”
The entrance to the lake turned into a spitting cauldron with the arrival of a strong southerly two days after my arrival.
I was asked where I was going after my arrival and when I suggested that I would paddle back out the way I’d come I was warned against it. I was also informed that it was not long ago that two men on jet skis had ignored warnings from the locals and had to be rescued by helicopters!
No apparent dangers here?
On the Lake Ferry Hotel: “European settlers entered the region known as the Wairarapa in early 1840 following the route from Wellington to Lake Onoke. Following a drowning in 1850 it was decided to establish a safe ferry service and appoint a ferryman. He needed accommodation and a supplement to his income so a liquor licence was issued and in 1851 the Lake Ferry Hotel was established and Mr Ardley became the first ferryman/publican.” I’ve a suspicion that any improvement in safety may have been minimal?
A dredging team from the early days. (from a photo hanging on a wall in the Hotel)
Lake Ferry was only half-an-hour’s drive from the very pretty town of Martinborough which I visited to get an internet connection. Wine lovers will know it for the high quality (and high prices), of its Pinot Noir wines.
Note: I spent nearly two hours on the phone with Sony attempting to understand why desiccant, a consumable product included with the camera housing and designed to absorb moisture, was classed as a ‘spare part’ and could not be purchased directly from them or any of their outlets. I was left none-the-wiser.
