Elaine Bay

Us in the very middle

We’re on the water

Lots of mussel farms here (that’s what’s below the buoys)

Are these buoys or fenders?

Another one of those lovely little places to have a break

The water felt nice so I had a swim, it’s a little cold at first but very soon it feels surprisingly pleasant, I stayed in there for like 10 minutes, no problem

Long Reef Point

We’re in Canoe Bay and decide to kayak to the beach over there, there seems to be some building over there

And there is! Someone’s bach I guess

It’s not even locked, so we have a peek inside

Great place for it! I’m still unsure how they got all the materials here. There seems to be a private road ending at the house but the map doesn’t (only a walking trail). Surely they didn’t bring it all by boat?

What a lovely bay. Cool to see those clouds directly over Mt Shewell

When Rachel told me there are naked ladies here I was definitely interested but it turns out they are flowers

A map of today’s kayak trip (in green, the other part is me doing a quick return in the morning to the shop in Okiwi bay)

Kayaking! (the inflatable kayak fits in the roof box)

Dialed in a little too much polarizer, hard to see on a small camera, but look how clear that water is here!

And the sky

Time for a break, you just paddle onto a little beach and enjoy

Now we’re in Tuna Bay and have another break

We just pulled the kayak up someone’s ramp and sit there for a while

Te Mako Bay, yet another break, it’s gorgeous here

And very peaceful, we both have nap here

Back on the same spot we had our first break today, only the tide has gone out so it looks completely different now

At Tarakaipā Island

Lots of shells here

Like this one

Map of today’s kayak trip (the green part)

Savil Bay in the foreground, beyond that Fitzroy Bay

Okuri Bay

Near Okuri Hill

D’Urville Island

I would love to kayaking there some day

Quite a few of these lovely bays here that I would absolutely love to visit but – as usual – everything is ‘private property’ and you can’t go anywhere, you just have to stay on the main road, not nice. Very unwelcoming atmosphere

At the northern most point of the Port Ligar Road, we hike towards Crichtons Hill

View to the east, Port Ligar

Nukuwaiata Island on the left, also visible is Titi Island, I’ve been there before and it was quite an adventure

We’re turning back, Turner Peak in the distance

Some old tractor seemingly just left here to rust away

We continue the Bulwer Road to Bulwer because I remember from a previous visit it was lovely there, unfortunately – once again – despite paying road tax that pays for the public road to their property, everything is ‘private property’ and we can’t go there (anymore)

I’ve sooooo had it with this obsession with ‘private property’ here and everything being closed off. Sooo much nature and hardly a way to enjoy it. We drove 42 km to come to a closed gate!

Cissy Bay

At least we can get to the beach here!

Map of today’s trip from Elaine Bay to closed off Bulwer and back

This is the area, right next to the road, lots of logging going on here

Looking down at our spot

Hours later, at Ōkiwi Bay

Squally Cove

Elaine Bay, normally (previous times) Kiwis park their big motorhomes parallel to the waterfront leaving no space for other visitors, this time that wasn’t the case so finally we get to enjoy the view as well, and it’s lovely!

This has got to be the prettiest little bay in the sounds here, you can sit here for hours just watching

Even at night