Scenic Beauty

Look out of the Lodge windows and you will see, through a subtropical garden, a bay of tranquil blue. Soaring out of the bay are rugged mountains, covered in green forest, right down to the sea. Mostly you will see this scene in bright sunlight, the twinkling of the sea promising a good day for your chosen activity. But sometimes the crags will be shrouded in mist, so that you might think that you have been transported back to Jurassic times and the call to explore hidden valleys is strong.

"A World Worth Living" - View from Anakakata Bay

Take the 15 minute walk up to the top of the hill at the back of the lodge and look north and you will see 300km, to Mt. Taranaki, a volcano, growing out of the middle of the sea. A little to the west, looking out over the beautiful and mysterious bay of Port Gore, are the many bush clad islands of Cook Strait, mostly sanctuaries for wildlife. In the far distance is the Rangitoto group. Just off the largest of them, Durville, is Stephens Island, home to the prehistoric dinosaur, the Tuatara.

View into peaceful Port Gore

To the east will be the west coast of the North Island and the Islands Kapiti and Mana, seemingly deserted. In the background will lie the much greener and possibly snow clad mountains of the Tararua Range. Further right, guarding the entrance to Cook strait are the sentinel rocks of the Brothers Islands and the northern tip of Arapawa Island, conveniently placed to protect the tranquillity of Queen Charlotte Sound against southern ocean storms.
Turn right round now to face south and you will be looking down the vast blue river of Queen Charlotte Sound, flanked by green bush clad hills. In the centre of the sound lie Long Island and Motuara, a bird sanctuary now. To the south west you will see the limpid waters of inner Port Gore and the majestic peaks of Jackson’s Head, Oterawhanga and Mount Stokes, the highest peak in the Marlborough Sounds, which in winter is sometimes tipped with snow.
And that is all you will see. Whether you are at the top of a hill looking out or are in the forest or on or under the water. No roads, no cars, no houses, no tourist groups, no people, except for you. Perhaps there may be a boat passing through the strait or a distant view of an aeroplane but their impacts on the vista will have been reduced to nothing by the immensity of the surroundings.

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