Also known as the Torea saddle, the Portage is the neck of land at which Kenepuru and Queen Charlotte sounds approach each other most closely. Mid-19th-century settler Robert Blaymires regularly carried his boat from Torea to Kenepuru, and gave the name Portage to the route. Plans for a tunnel between the two sounds were never acted on. For many years the Portage Lodge on Kenepuru Sound was one of the Sounds’ most glamorous hotels. It was revived in the 1980s, becoming popular with weekend visitors from Wellington and Christchurch.
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