Marlborough Sounds like heaven

ANDY HAY* travels to the Marlborough Sounds and finds the popular Portage resort has been revamped but remains true to its celebrated past.

Te Rauparaha used it as a shortcut to Picton in his invasion of the Southern Maori and for decades young country maidens gathered there to stage their own assault on the town - to woo eligible bachelors at Saturday night dances.

And for more than a century, travellers have been coming to this hideaway in the Kenepuru Sound to stay at the Portage - the resort that takes its name from the lowland pass over the Torea Saddle.

Rejuvenation is a theme of the resort now more than ever as new owners Alison Evans and Dane Simpson breathe fresh life into this mainstay on the holiday circuit.

Ask any regular traveller, and they're bound to know someone who has stayed there over the years or went there for their honeymoon. And for years that holiday experience didn't change much.

What Evans and Simpson hope to do is combine the best of the past with Marlborough's booming tourism trade of today.

They have wrapped the experience up around the three Ws: wine, walking and water.

The sea has never been more important to the area. Eighty per cent of the country's green-lipped mussels are grown and harvested in the Sounds, creating all sorts of employment spin-offs as well as offering some great recreational opportunities - such as the world-renowned fishing.

The mussels act like a magnet to snapper, red cod and kahawai. And if you don't get lucky with the game fish, you're bound to experience the thrill of at least landing a carpet shark.

The Portage caters well to its fishing fraternity. There's safe mooring at the wharf and the shop next door has all the right supplies for a day out on the water. And the Portage's fine old drinking hole, the Snapper Cafe and Bar, has been moved from the main guest area down to a much more rustic and inviting spot by the water's edge.

In its place, the new owners had award-winning architect Pete Bossley redesign the area into a large and modern fine-dining restaurant, lounge area and conference/reception room.

So it's still a place for nuptials, and is more regularly becoming host to wedding ceremonies and functions for up to 120 guests.

The rooms fan out across a suntrap stretch of hillside. There are five grades, from basic backpacker-style accommodation to the flash Kenepuru Suites.

There's a nice integrity about the rooms - solid timber, good sound-proofing, high ceilings. Each has a modern, tiled bathroom with quality fittings. And there's also ample deck space to enjoy the atmosphere.

Self-catering is not an option.

The restaurant caters for big appetites, where the menu is built around the local food and produce with the accent on wild and organic. It is all supplemented by a winelist gathered from Marlborough's vineyards.

The Portage is also a popular last-night stop for travellers doing the four-day trek along the Queen Charlotte track. The 67km hike stretches between Ship Cove - a place that remains virtually unchanged since Captain Cook anchored there in 1770 - and Anakiwa.

There is a spa and sauna, although both facilities need some upgrading and to be moved to a more suitable setting.

There's a beautiful solitude to be found throughout the area, despite the heavy numbers that come to play in the Sounds during summer. As night falls, the bay fills up with a big emptiness that seeps down over the hills and out on to the water.

It's a good feeling while it lasts, before you too have to make the journey back over the saddle to Picton and beyond.

Case notes

* Where to find it

Portage Resort Hotel, Kenepuru Sound, Marlborough

Ph: 03 573 4309

email: enquiries@portage.co.nz

* Accommodation

Rates until April 30 start at $25 a person at the bunkhouse - three six-bed rooms with separate toilet and bathroom and shared kitchen.

The Courtyard Garden rooms on twinshare basis are $160 a night and the Hillside Rooms are $190. Rooms at the Kowhai Lodge are $225 and the rate for the Kenepuru Suites is $265. Price includes GST.

The Portage is also offering a summer special at $139 per night.

* Getting there

By car: Take the Kenepuru Rd into the Portage. It's a 75-minute drive from Picton, five-and-a-half hours from Christchurch on SH6 and 90 minutes from Blenheim.

By air: Frequent daily flights into Marlborough Airport, Blenheim, from all major New Zealand cities on Air New Zealand and Qantas.

Sounds Air also make regular flights from Wellington to Picton.

There's also a helilink service for up to five passengers between the resort and Wellington.

By sea: Fifteen minutes by water taxi and Portage bus from Picton.

* What to do

Swimming, diving (the wreck of the Russian cruise ship Mikhail Lermontov is a nearby attraction) fishing, watersports, sea kayaks, nature tours, wine and food tours.

* Access

Owing to the steep nature of the site, wheelchair access is limited, although there is a disabled friendly room and ramp to the main reception area.

* Smoking

Mainly outside, on the decks and conservatory of the Lounge Bar as well as in the Snapper Cafe and Bar. Andy Hay

* Andy Hay was a guest of the Portage Hotel Resort.

Portage