Chilly visit to site of party

By Alison Horwood

PICTON - The people who will decide the fate of Scott Watson walked an ice-encrusted jetty to visit the last place that Olivia Hope and Ben Smart partied at on New Year's Day, 1998.

The jury, court staff, legal teams and Justice Heron yesterday braved sub-zero temperatures for an early-morning tour of Furneaux Lodge, in Endeavour Inlet.

The group swapped the courtroom for two days in the Marlborough Sounds and Picton to view sites and objects of importance in the 12-week trial.

Watson, aged 28, has denied murdering Blenheim friends Olivia, aged 17, and Ben, aged 21, after the celebrations at Furneaux Lodge.

Shivering in the cold, clear morning, the jury were shown the lawn area - where a video was shot of Ben and Olivia socialising - the main bar, garden bar and accommodation areas.

After the tour they travelled by inflatable to view Watson's steel-hulled sloop Blade and two yachts rafted next to it about 200m from the jetty. The group of boats were in a similar position to their placement among more than 100 boats in the inlet on New Year's Eve.

Blade has recently been painted by Watson's family and is now white with a reddish brown trim.

The jury, legal teams, court staff and Justice Heron were then taken by the charter launch Sweet Georgia to some of the places Watson allegedly visited after New Year's Eve.

Travelling at 4 knots, the speed he might have travelled in Blade, the group viewed a yacht anchored off Marine Head. The Crown says that a family out fishing saw Blade in the same position at 9 am on January 1.

They then travelled to Eerie Bay, Tory Channel, where another yacht was anchored in the place where Blade was allegedly anchored on January 2.

The Crown says this is the bay where Watson stopped to paint his boat.

Media and public were not allowed within 200m of the Sweet Georgia or police launch Lady Elizabeth II during the day.

The trial will resume in the High Court at Wellington today.