Ben's Bay, North Arm, Port Pegasus

Date: 16/04/15 Position: Ben's Bay, North Arm, Port Pegasus, Stewart Island

On Tuesday morning we woke to a still, calm anchorage at last. After a quick breakfast we donned our wet weather gear and pulled in our shorelines and anchor and left before the wind had a chance to increase from the south and keep us captive once again. The anchorage in the west arm of Evening Cove was named as an all weather anchorage and was great when we had strong north westerlies but when the wind turned into the south it became quite uncomfortable with the wind and waves wrapping around the point. Maneuvering the boat out of the anchorage with so many shorelines set would have been very difficult to do safely in the high winds and rough sea conditions so we remained in the anchorage and although the conditions on board were uncomfortable, the boat was safely tied in and wasn't going anywhere.

After leaving our anchorage we crept around the corner to say hello to another yacht called Maever that we knew was anchored there from listening to the Bluff Fisherman's Radio scheds each evening. Steve the skipper didn't have a cruising guide for Stewart Island and since we had two copies we handed our extra copy over to him and in return he generously gave us a few kilos of venison which he had caught a few days earlier. The venison was just the ticket to celebrate the birthday dinner on board Ambler that evening.

We moved one nautical mile away to our new anchorage in the East Arm of Evening Cove. We tucked in behind a group of islets and tied ashore with two stern lines and one breast line. It was a great little spot, well protected from the southerly gale force winds and our little cove was a millpond compared to the wind and waves continuing to come through the entrance of the east arm.

On Wednesday the temperature had risen by a few degrees and the sun was trying to break through the thick cloud band that had been covering us for days. It wasn't raining or pelting hail stones either so we decided to go kayaking. There was still a fairly strong southerly blowing but we thought we would try and paddle around the short stretch of headland exposed to the southerly winds called Kelp Point and into Islet Cove, the next cove around to our north. We got around ok with the wind behind us most of the way. As we rounded the point we had some curious terns and a cormorant repeatedly fly low around us to check us out. We have developed a great respect for terns as they are always out in all weather conditions busily fishing and battling the winds even though they look so fragile. We have also seen many different types of cormorants which normally are very flighty and fly off before we've even noticed their presence. But there is one type of cormorant that is soft brown in colour which seems more curious and will often hang about as we paddle by.

The ocean swell looked huge as we looked across from Islet Cove and out through the South Passage. The swell had grown to 5m over the past few days due to the intensity of the low pressure system (958 hpa) in the Southern Ocean to the south east of NZ. We were glad to be within Port Pegasus and in more sheltered waters. As we paddled in Islet Cove we could hear something coming up to breathe behind us and on turning around spotted a seal close behind my kayak. It was focusing intensely on my rudder and kept swimming right up to it and checking it out. The seal stayed with us for about five minutes. We continued to paddle through Islet Cove and entered Seal Creek which is a large estuary behind Islet Cove. We paddled a fair way up Seal Creek before the out going tide made it too shallow to continue any further. From Seal Creek we had fantastic views of Magog which we had climbed a few days earlier. After re entering Islet Cove we stopped at the South Pegasus Hunter's Hut in Reefer Cove to have our lunch and a look around. There were no hunters in residence. The hut was placed in a good position on the top of a low headland protected by plenty of tall trees. It was similar in design to the last hunter's hut with a small enclosed verandah, four bunks and a pot belly stove. After leaving the hut we made our way back around the point which was a bit harder going this time as we were paddling straight into the wind but only for a short distance. Once around the point we explored the rest of the east arm of Evening Cove at low tide which was very clear and shallow.

Today dawned overcast and chilly. We heard it was 6 degrees in Bluff this morning so it must have been about the same here. In the morning we cruised over to Shipbuilder's Cove and dropped anchor in the south western corner of the cove below the prominent Bald Cone, our objective for the morning. Whilst we were setting up our shorelines we heard a deep rumbling growl coming from up the creek, we weren't sure whether it was a seal or a deer as it is now the 'roaring season' for deers. After leaving Ambler tied in securely we rowed the dinghy towards the creek outlet where we would begin our ascent of Bald Cone. We heard more growling as we passed a side creek and could see the tracks made by seals as they entered the scrub. It made us extra cautious when we chose a spot to land the dinghy and go ashore. Seals tend to leave a flattened, smooth, wide compacted soil track so we avoided any areas that looked like this. It took about an hour to ascend the sparsely forested slope and then through low scrub to the ridge where we followed bare slabs of quartzite to the summit of Bald Cone. Again the peak consisted of massive open quartzite outcrops with caravan size boulders. The views were magnificent and Ambler looked tiny down in the cove below.

After returning via the same route back to Ambler we weighed anchor and set of for the North Arm of Port Pegasus through an inside passage that divides the north and south arms. The passage is formed by two islands on the seaward side. We also passed three seaward entrances to Port Pegasus and noted that the swell is still pumping outside. North Arm looks quite different to the South Arm as it consists of low forested hills without the bare rocky outcrops and summits that are notable in the South Arm. We are now anchored in Ben's Bay with two stern lines ashore.

All is cosy on board with the diesel heater on. Kathy and Wayne

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com