Wreck Graveyard

Our Wednesday morning paddle took us alongside Ōtamahua/Quail Island, which is a small uninhabited island in Lyttelton Harbour. There is a bay on the SW corner where 14 ships of various sizes have been sunk deliberately. The one shown in this image is the largest, and you can paddle inside it at high tide. It's been there for a very long time and I think the B&W treatment is appropriate.

Native quail were seen here in the early 1800s, hence the European name. They've since become extinct.

The map shows the location of the wrecks. As it was a very low tide we had to skirt a large area of exposed mudflat in order to get to the peninsula on the other side - we had to stop for a cuppa! So nice to have a fine day - what a relief. The harbour is still very dirty and it was like paddling through a muddy river, whipped up by a stiff SW wind; the waves got quite choppy going back to Cass Bay.