Party-goers give inlet wide berth

By Jan Corbett

ENDEAVOUR INLET - The brisk northerly wind dropped to a whisper. The cicadas thronged and bellbirds sang. The low cloud burned off Mt Furneaux. The evening sun glistened across the turquoise waters of the Marlborough Sounds inlet and beat down on the manicured front lawn. But nobody came.

Despite importing a disc jockey and a team of security guards from Christchurch, Furneaux Lodge had one of the quietest New Year's Eves that locals and regulars could remember.

On this, the first anniversary of the disappearance of Ben Smart, aged 21, and Olivia Hope, 17, there was no sign of the thousands who partied here last year, and none of the combination of drink, drugs and adolescence that led up to one of the greatest murder mysteries the country has seen.

Picton was buzzing with talk yesterday that the Smart and Hope families would make a commemorative pilgrimage to Furneaux Lodge. But speaking from Blenheim, Mary Smart said she and her husband planned to spend the evening with friends and would not see in the New Year.

"People think the anniversary is more painful," she said, "but every day has been like that for us."

Olivia's sister Amelia, who chartered a boat last New Year with a group of friends, said neither she nor any of Ben and Olivia's friends would ever come back to Furneaux Lodge.