To the end of the World -- Cape Reinga

I spend the next morning doing my laundry and getting all my gear stowed and my computer charged at the campsite. I then take a walk to the headland that has the memorial for the Rainbow Warrior which is sunk of the northern end of the islands. After getting enough shots I decide that I need to do something else. It is a really nice here but there are places yet to be seen. So I leave Matauri bay and head NORTH to Cape Reinga. This is the northern most point of New Zealand. It is a 120 k drive and the last 22 k is dirt road. But it was worth it.

I arrive just before sunset and have time to take pictures of the Lighthouse and the place where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. It is quite exciting. The water is very big and confused. You can see where the swell from one collides with the swell of the other creating great zippers of white spray that shoots 30 feet in the air ( I discovered this later

). I meet a couple of Irish Lads (what is it with me and the Irish?) that are driving a van painted in wild colors that has the word BONGO painted across the front of it. I have seen this van for the last 100 miles. We have taken turns passing one another all the way up highway 1. I ask if they got the van painted like that and they said that they did it themselves. Most of the vans I see with wild paint jobs are from a couple of rental companies that paint all there vans in a unique fashion. They ask me to take there picture and they take mine (one of the few that I have of me on this trip).

I get some shots of the sun setting but I don’t stay for the sunset as I need to drive another 6 km to get to the campground and possible launching place for tomorrow. The campground is in Tapotupotu Bay and is about 3k west as the crow flies. The bay is semi protected. About the same size waves as you get off of Miramar beach (Half Moon Bay, CA) on a normal day (4-6 ft). I find a nice spot protected from the wind by a tree and still within sight of the water. There are two vehicles at the camp one is the Bongo Van.

My plan is to paddle out of this beach head around the point and paddle to Cape Marie Vann dame which is about 10 km away.

The morning comes and there are light showers. The tide is high and the Bongo has left on it own adventures. After I make my breakfast I walk the beach trying to gage the conditions. This will be a big water paddle alone. I am dealing with my fears about going out alone. I know I can deal with the launch and landing. I’ve done both in bigger conditions than I see before me. I tell my self that I just drove a hundred miles to get here and now I am having reservations. I keep looking for an excuse but finally I realize that I just need to get my shit together and get on the water. I move the van closer to the beach. I talk to a group of guys that has come up on a surfing tour. They tell me that they are going to be here awhile and I tell them of my plans and if I don’t get back in a couple of hours that something is wrong and that they should tell someone. This make me feel a little better. My biggest fear is that I’m alone in water I haven’t paddled in before and it a big water day.

I hop in the boat and launch out into the middle of the bay where the rip is making a nice little hole in the surf. I get about half way through the surf zone when I get hit dead on in the face with a larger set. One of the waves bends me back but I only lose a little ground and recover and paddle hard to get out of the impact zone before the next big one breaks. I succeed and with a few more stokes I’m out. I wave to the surfers who return my greeting and make a left turn to the point.

The swell is the biggest I’ve paddled since coming to the land of the Long White Cloud but it’s by far not the biggest I’ve paddled. I feel comfortable and start making my way to the cape. I take note of the cliffs to make sure I can find the beach on my return not that I think it will be that hard but after misjudging my return location at Lake Taupo I figure it can’t hurt to take a good look. A little further along I notice a little sandy beach that could serve as a secondary landing site if I need one. I watch as the large rollers crash hard against the rough boulders and cliffs that make up most of this coast line. Check all along for places I could land if it became necessary. Well you know what they say, “You can always land you just might not launch”. I get with in sight of the light house and can even make out the joke street sign that point in the directions of various major cities around the world (you see them at many tourist destination). I can even see a few people standing near the retaining wall. I pass the large reef that marks the beginning of the cape. I stay close to the reef staying just outside of the massive mosh pit of white water that it contains. About 200 meters away is where the really scary water lives. This is the Columbia Bank, where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific merge. The two merge in giant zippers of water where the opposing swells meet. Some of these zippers sore 20-30 meters in the air. Between the bank and the reef is a washing machine of chaotic water that oddly enough is the only place that is safe enough. Here the waves come from all directions. They are 3 to 5 meters on average. But they aren’t breaking. White caps but not a real breaking wave. The breaking waves are in the cove behind me.

I turn southwest and start to head to Cape Maria van Diemen. I get about a kilometer when I look across at the huge lines of breakers that stretch between Tarawamaomao Point and Motupopao Island which is about 4 km away. They are much bigger and extend much further out to sea than they did last night when I check them out from the point. I sit there and do a little risk management. I look up at the light house and discover that the entire rail is filled with people. I wonder what is going on and then realize they must be looking at me. I decide not to land at Motupopao Island. It’s doable but I feel uncomfortable doing it solo. As I have already accomplished the primary goal in paddling to the Tasman Sea I see no need to continue on to land at the Island. If I had some one else with me I may have given it a shot. I turn the boat a round, no small feat given the size of the swell and its omni-directional nature. I paddle closer to the Bank and try and take some video of the violent merging of the two bodies of water, again no small feat. The horizon is coming and going with each passing wall of water. I start heading back anticipating a fine following sea and a little surf action as my reward. But the conditions are a little too chaotic to allow a good ride.

Once around the corner the seas quite a bit and oddly enough I kind of fall into a daydreamy state where I am on auto pilot. This is abruptly ended by a unexpected wave that cause me to throw a brace and I remember that the waves here are still very big and this is no place to slack off. I guess after dealing with the Banks I had let my guard down. I paddle back toward Tapotupotu Bay and when it comes in sight I notice two very un-nerving things. First the size of the break has doubled. There no longer is a nice little hole in the middle. The second is that the beach is crowed with tourist. I see three large tour busses parked at the picnic area. My first though is “I’m whucked” ( use Maori pronunciation of the WH: hint its F). But I recover quickly and realize that I’ve landed in much bigger conditions safely and that I don’t have to get off this beach by boat! So I continue to paddle to the middle of the bay all the time gauging the swell. It turns out that I just caught a large set and that my initial thoughts were a little exaggerated.

I wait for another big set and follow it in. Unfortunately I miss counted the number of waves in this set and the last wave catches me just before the impact zone. I catch the wave and go screaming toward the beach. Righteous! The wave starts to broach me to the left and I rip along it face toward the reef on the east side of the bay that cause the wave to stand up extra tall. I know that I am going to be folded up into this bad boy and as it breaks on top of me I go into a hard high brace and keep saying to myself “I AM NOT GOING OVER, I AM NOT GOING OVER….”. In my head I see pictures of Greenland kayakers competing in the Walrus Pull where the participant is dragged by a rope and is literally dragged under water ( not a really good descriptions but I have no words to really describe what it looks like). My boat and head are buried under water and after a few moments I lift my head up out of the cloud of white and look at the fast approaching beach. By this time I am back surfing a little with my UNRETRACTABLE rudder pointed toward the sand. The wave has spent most of its power and I am able to sit up a bit (still in my broach landing mode) and get the boat pointing bow first. The boat and I slide gently onto the sand and I hop out and pull her up out of the surf it then I notice 20 or more old people come toward me on the beach. What now? Well as it turns out these folks were with the tour group that was at the light house standing along the rails when I looked up from the water. They were all looking at me down there wondering if I had some sort of death wish or ask if I was trying to commit suicide. They were all full of questions and crowed around me taking picture and eager to show me there photos. They all had them. I asked if any of the folks had large cameras (the ones with the big telescopic lenses ). One of them states “I told you it must have been a bloke, who else would do some thing so dangerous”. I tell them “Oh really” and proceed to tell them about Justine and her friends circumnavigating Tasmania. They take my email and promise to send me copies of their photos. Well I don’t know why my helmet didn’t just split in two my head had gotten so big. I told them that I was a trained professional and that they should do this at home! One of the ladies actually thanked me for thinking that they would actually be up to something like that. I figured that it would be a loss to try and explain that it was a joke. They all head back to their bus and I get out my little cart and haul the boat back up to the van and call it a successful day. After cleaning and loading up I start the long trek south. To date I haven’t received any photos from these folks. Oh well at least they had something interesting to talk about on the way home.

I get as far as Cooper's bay where I pull into a picnic area right on the beach and open up the slider and watch the near full moon dancing on the waves.

The Cavalli Group and Matauri Bay

This is one of the neatest paddles I’ve done while in New Zealand to date and that’s saying some thing. I arrive at Matauri Bay in time to catch the mid day tide. The wind is up and the sky is overcast. I load up the boat and I park Homey at a camp ground so the owner can keep and eye on it while I’m spending the night on the island of Motukawanui, the largest of the group. The closest island in the group, Piraunui, is about 2 km away from the bay. There are about 12 large islands and twice the number of small ones.

Once around the corner of the bay the open channel is exposed to the winds of another Westerly that is blowing through with 10-15 knot winds and 2-4 ft wind waves with the occasional 5 ft swell. But once I get over to the big island and on the east side I am lee of the wind and it is quite calm. The rain has started but it really doesn’t bother me as it did in Tennyson sound and I set out exploring the caves and crevices. I shoot east some more to visit a group of islands one of which has two sea arches that require my passage. I head back to the main island and continue up until I reach the northern end. Its starting to get late and I need to find a place to camp. I take a few minutes to explore the two closest islands to the north but neither has a decent beach. I head back and back track to the first little beach. I select a spot that has a tree growing out of the cliff just over the beach. As it is still raining I set up the tarp and level a spot for the tent. Now these islands are both a bird and animal sanctuary and so the night is filled with all sorts of bird calls. As it’s still raining I make a quick dinner and go to bed early. All night long I hear little rocks tumbling down the hill side and I keep thinking of John Lull’s story about his crunched tent on the beach. But I survive and the rain stops in the middle of the night and it is a beautiful dawn (and I’m not crushed!). I pack up and continue exploring the northern islands and discover a really cool beach on one of the outlying islands. I make a mental note that this would have been a primo camp site, protected and private and head on. It is a much nicer day today and I cruse down the west side of the island to the DOC hut. I discover there that no camping is allowed on the island so I have sinned again.

The Glowworm Caves of Wapui and my return to the Bay of Islands

Andy is working for the next two days and I decide that its time that I hit the road for a while and do some more of the Northlands. On the way I see a sign that saws Waupi Cave Walk 11 km. So I take a little detour down a dirt road and check out these really awesome caves. I take my big light and put on my paddling shoes as I will have to wade in the underground stream to follow the cave back. This cave contains the longest stalactite in NZ. It is also covered in glow worms that look like a galaxy when you turn off your lights. The cave is also covered in slick mud and although the paddling shoes are sure footed on reef they slip and slide on this mud. Although the area out side of the caves seem to be some sort of regional park there is no entry fee and it is all very un-touristy.

Paddling to Tiritiri Matangi Island

The weather take a turn for the better and so Andy and I load up his car ( a Subaru wagon!) and take a drive out to the Whangaparaoa peninsula from where we launched out of Shakespeare beach and paddled out to an island bird sanctuary named Tiritiri Matangi. The crossing is straight forward and we land on a beach in the middle of the island and hike up to the top to the lighthouse. This is the first lighthouse in New Zealand or so I’m told.

This is an island free of foreign pest such as possums, stoats and weasels. So many endangered flightless birds are located here. We get to see many different birds but no kiwis yet. We hike back to our boats and begin to paddle around to the east side of the island. Andy has never paddled there so it will be a new experience for him as well. This side of the island is exposed to the pacific and is rugged and beautiful. We check out the few caves and arches we find and play in the rock gardens. On the crossing back we make a change in plan so that we can have a straight down wind run with a big following sea. We go screaming along and the open water crossing is over in no time flat. Instead of paddling to Army Bay on the north side of Whangaparaoa and then hiking back for the car, we returned to the beach we set out on and hope directly into the car and blast home as we are going to go and visit Matt and his son Billy this evening.

Matt and his family live only a few minutes away from Andy. They have horse property and have just moved here from Britain this year. Matt reminds me of the British actor who plays Turkish in the movie “Snatched”. Right down to the accent and the nearly shaved head. I think that he has taken classes with Andy or Andy has taken him for some kayaking tours. I know that Matt and Billy have been to Tiritiri with Andy. We are there to give a copy of Billy’s rolling lesson with Turner that I digitally recorded on Sunday at Sullivan’s beach. Matt and his wife and two kids packed it in back in Great Britian and moved to New Zealand to start a new life. Matt had a successful business as a plumber back in England but here he has to start all over at the bottom again but he and his family seem happy enough.

Here’s mud in your Eye, Ears, Nose and Throat!

Another cyclone has hit the area and the rain started last night and hasn’t stopped since. So Andy and I load up the bikes and head for a mountain bike park near his home. It raining hard all the way to the park but once we mount up and head into the forest the rain seems to fall away. There are many bikers out today. Real hard core Kiwi’s! The course is a low rolling single track with man made obstacles such as ladders, teeter-totters and jumps. Lucky for me there are bypass runs for the less insane. Andy leads me through the forest he knows so well. Turns out that he broke his neck 6 years ago biking this very park (fell of a elevated path and spent 6 months in a upper body cast). The wet muddy track and the soft chill of the mist that filtered through the canopy of the forest all heighten the experience.

Sailing on the Eye Spy

Next morning we head over to the St whatever marina to catch up with Scott and his wife Helen. They are a fit good looking young couple that seems to be having fun with their lives. Scott and Helen have a 30 ft Young 88 class sloop. They’ve been racing it but today’s sail is going to be a relaxing cruise as they have both had a busy week and want to relax. No problem here. We sail over to Motuihe Island. Motuihe was a quarantined island and then a POW camp in the past, now its home to a few ranchers and numerous pleasure boaters. There is a DOC camp site for those who wish to spend the night. After a brief lunch, Andy Scott and I take a long walk down the beach where Scott played on the sandstone cliffs as a boy. Scott and Andy do some bouldering and climb out on to one of the cliff ledges. We come to some tide pools and I take some pictures of a tiny jelly fish and some even smaller shrimp. On the return trip to Auckland I get a turn at the helm. Back at the dock we bid farewell to our hosts and walk up the doc to discover that we were locked in. We call up Scott and get the pin number to let us out only to discover that Homey isn’t were I left Him. It turns out that I parked him in a tow away zone and his been kidnapped by the evil Towing company and I need to cough up $180 to ransom the old boy back. Again I call Scott and he asked if we are still locked in (SAS- Stupid American Syndrome) offers to give us a lift to the towing company and with a tearful reunion with Homey or sorrowful part with my money ( I’m still trying to decide which) We are back on the road home.

Surfs Up - Muriwai Beach

After a down day ( I spent the day tidying up the van and washing up my clothes at Andy’s house while Andy leading a group of 8 year olds on a mountain biking trip, yes that’s his job folks ) Andy and I spend the morning running the plastic boat ( a Q-kayak Penguine) that he borrowed back to the shop were he works (Canoe and Kayak). We then pick up a mountain bike for me from Big Foot adventures ( where he also works) and then we pick up Andy’s boat from Scott Waterfield. Scott is the owner/designer/builder of Paddling Perfection Kayaks (makers of high end kayaks for the discriminating tastes). I meet Scott at Paul’s that first night in town oh so long ago. Scott has fixed Andy's boat that Andy busted up on the rocks while surfing and invites us to go sailing with him and his wife this weekend ( more on this trip later folks)

Andy and I head back to his place and swap the Sea kayaks for white water boats and head to the famed surf beach at Muriwai for a little surf session. We hit the waves for about 3 hours. ITs a small day at Muriwai, the waves are only 2 meters tall ( so we only get slightly worked!). After a good bashing we drive a little further up the beach and break out the Mountain bikes go for a little trail run along the coast. We head back tired and happy.

Bay of Islands I - Rawhiti and Urupukapuka Island

Andy and I drive south to a small bay in the south end of the BOI. A place called Rawhiti. We launch out into blue skies, Green glassy water and just a hint of a breeze. The water quickly turns to dark aquamarine as we cross over to the island of Urupukapuka, which has and abundance of sea caves and golden sandy beaches. We take our time checking out all the little crags and crannies looking for caves and finding quite a few. This paddleturned out to be one of the highlights of the entire trip!

We also happened upon a basking Seal. Now I’ve seen plenty of seals so I don’t understand why Andy gets so excited and motions for me to get out the camera. It turns out that seal sightings are extremely rare in the BOI. I get out the camera and get some great shots as I pass within inches of the basking Seal. The seal is completely unconcerned with our presents and if anything is simply annoyed that we are disturbing his solitude. He allows himself to drift out the way we came in and leaves us to the cove.

We stop for lunch on this golden beach on a passage that separates Urupukapuka and Okahu passage. The rest of the paddle is a leisurely cruise to complete the circumnavigation no caves but numerous camping sites. We make the return crossing and have the boats packed up and were ready to roll on home. We take turns driving the long grind south to Andy’s house.

Haruru Falls – Attack of the killer possum

We spent the night in the parking lot of the Haruru Falls regional park. Not really a bad place and a lot better than the night before. While making dinner we get visited by several possums. Now for those of you in N. America the possums in New Zealand are very different from the possums found in N.A. They look more like giant squirrels than giant rats. They are also considered a major pest imported from Austriala. Possums kill the kiwi and other indigenous species as well as some of the trees as well. So we take great delight in throwing stones and chasing them off. The next morning as we are leaving we discover that Mark Hutson’s house in right down the street. Mark runs a really cool Kayaking guiding service and I have been trying to hook up with him since I’ve come to NZ. We have breakfast with Mark and his assistant Anders. Mark is about to take the Hawaiian Female Canoe Team for a three day paddle. No kidding. We opted out as we need to get back to Auckland for Andy’s work. Andy and I have another paddle in mind so we didn’t really miss out. Now it off to the Bay of Islands. This is where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. This document that is said to be the foundation of modern New Zealand. In it the Maori and there land become subjects to the Queen of England.

Whangoroa Harbour and 35 knot winds

Next morning we do a quick pack up and head up to Whangoroa Harbour. When we get to the launch site we find a small clean changing room that we use to cook up breakfast. The weather looks rough and there is a light rain. We set up and paddle north to a cove in the north eastern end. It is quite beautiful. The weather is off and on. We come to a really cool rock formation called the Duke’s nose. Once you look at it it’s obviously a well named feature. The tide is low and we are able to harvest a few oysters. We stop for lunch at a DOC Hut called Lane cottage and get attacked by sand flies. If there are any carnivores in New Zealand then it’s the Sand Fly.

The wind is starting to pick up. We take a downwind tact and head toward the Harbour mouth. The closer we get the bigger the wind swell and the stronger the wind. We shoot out the harbor and try to check out the sea caves that are in the area. The water is just too big to allow us to go inside. By now the wind has really kicked up and we are faced with 35knt head winds with gusts of 45 knt. There is nothing for it but to just put our heads down and do the hard work. We make headway except in the really big gusts. There is no lee to hide and it just a hard couple of kilometers back to our launch site.

Waipoua Forest and the Kauri Trees

With the cyclone still dumping rain Andy and I stock up the car and head north up the West coast heading for the great Waipoura Forest to look at the great Kauri Trees that grow there. They are the largest trees in New Zealand and have a huge trunk that was highly prized for the lumber. They are not large on the order of the Giant Redwoods in California but they are right up there. They are protected now so they can’t be cut down but they find ancient Kauri logs buried in mud that are perfectly preserved and viable. These can be logs that are up to 30,000 years old. Really amazing. The trees also produce a thick gum when they are injured. This is very much like amber in color and texture. We learn all this by stopping at the Kauri Museum (paying $12 admission). Well worth it!

We finally reach Waipoura Forest in the late afternoon and we drive though and stop at the track that takes us to Tane Mahuta “Lord of the Forest”. The largest existing Kauri Tree in New Zealand. We have the place almost to ourselves. I set up the tripod to take a picture of us in front of the tree for scale and as I am running back to the railing that Andy is standing on I leap up to stand next to him and my foot slips on the slimy surface of the railing and I go head long over the rail and almost fall into the delicate root of the tree but The quick hands of Andy manages to grab my shoulder and hold me enough to allow me to grab the railing in a most undignified fashion. But saved I was and we have the picture to boot! We travel on and stop to make dinner under a tarp that we sting up from Homey to a light poll to keep out of the rain. We cook up our dinner and then head a little further east finally stopping in a small town to camp behind the city hall. Andy sleeps in his bivy sack between the van and the back wall. It rains all night long. I expect to hear a knock during the night but Andy is tough as a coffin nail and has a fine sleep.

Checking out the West Coast of Auckland.

There is a cyclone passing over the north island and the paddling will be out for a few days, Andy, Nathan and I drive over to the west coast and they show me Lyon’s rock and some cool cave and rock formations. We then check out the large gannet rookery a few miles down (or up) the coast. We then take a trek up to see Kitekite falls. It’s a short hike in the rain through a rain forest. When we get to the falls Andy strips down to his shorts and take a swim in the pool at the base of the falls. He swims in behind the falls so I can get a picture of him. The water is apparently very cold and Andy attests to this when he climbs out. His comment was something to do with shrinkage ;-) We continue up the other side of the river gorge and back to the car. Hang the rain.

My day with the prime minister of New Zealand and Sir Ed

Well I met Andrew and his son Nathan at the Ferry building in the morning. This is a special ferry trip for invited guest to attend the opening of a new Outdoors Pursuit Center or OPC on the Great Barrier Island. As the boat was originally full I wasn’t sure if I could get on. But many of the invited guess don’t arrive (the weather) and I sweet talk the lady in charge and she lets me on.
This large island is also called Aotea by the Maori and is one of the first places the Maori landed when they first came to New Zealand. It is called the Great Barrier Island because as the name implies it acts as a barrier to the Pacific Ocean and provides Auckland with its protected seas and calm water. Nathan is a neat kid of eleven. Well behaved and still at that age where he is still a child not an adolescent but he is a hairs breath away. The center is sponsored by Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mt Everest and national Kiwi hero, who is attendants with his wife. The Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clarke and the Gold Medal board sailing champ are also special guests. We listen to the Maori ceremonies, the songs and the Haka or Maori war dances. Then the white guest speakers all get a turn and then everyone gets a chance to meet and have lunch. I take young Nathan up to shake hands with the PM, Sir Ed and the Champ. He gets autographs from all the swells and I get pictures. I got to rub noses (literally) with one of the Maori head man. I went to shake his had and he bent forward and presented his nose and it took me a moment to realize what he was doing so I took of my hat and touch foreheads and rubbed noses. Way cool. Free lunch a sit on the lawn and then we were off. Then return trip was in bigger seas but our seats were dry and protected. We find Homey right where I left him. I give Andy and Nathan a lift back to their West Auckland home and spend the night in the country.

A night in the Big City

Writing this parked in an all night parking lot in downtown Auckland by the train station. I listen to the boy racers as they tear down the empty streets of the City. I spent the day wandering around town now I’m waiting for the night to finish. I make friends with the car park security guy and park my van next to his car. It should be quite safe.
I popped into an Asian food store and buy a bowl of instant noodles so I won’t have to wash out the jetboil in the morning. It’s the only place open except the strip joints and escort places; apparently this is the red light district.
It’s been a while since I have been in a city. I have always stayed on the out skirts or suburbs when I have been close to an urban area. At least since the first night I slept in the van in Wellington. But this is a very different place from the Windy City. Harder, meaner, you can almost taste the difference in the air. People have that city stare that says I don’t want to acknowledge you and visa versa. In the morning I will be hoping on a ferry to the Great Barrier Island. Not to paddle but to watch an opening ceremony with Andy Smyithers who will be working for the OPC on the Island.
Many important people will be there. Then we are going to have a few days to paddle. One day in the city is enough. I have been planning on how I can offload the car and the boat. I should start doing the legwork as soon as possible. But I think I still can wait until the final week to worry about things like that. It has been a necessary down day. The Fab four should all be winging there way home by now. Their hosts should all be fast asleep. I’m almost ready for sleep I think that it will be a ear plug night tonight. I need to find some quiet beach front if I am going to stay in this area. In the morning I will be hooking up with Andrew whom I met at Coast busters to go to the Great Barrier Island to attend the opening of a new Outdoors Pursuit Center on the Island

The Morning After and a little Surf Practice

Then next morning the weather has turned for the worst. So we decided to stay on the Opito bay and head west. The storm kicks up some impressive swells and we get a chance to play in some big water. Greg and I are having a blast. Greg is perfectly at home in the large water but Carl is a little hesitant. Auckland doesn’t get much big water so the locals don’t get much exposure. Graeme notices this and decides that we won’t go further west as the coast line is harsher. So we go to the end of the bay where the waves are a little smaller to land.
Graeme goes in with no problem then Greg. I am waiting for Freya and Carl. Both are hanging back. I figure that I will let them go in then if they get in trouble I will be able to swoop in and help out if needed. I wait and wait and still no movement. I signal to Carl to go in but he doesn’t understand. Next thing I know I hear a really big wave behind me and after a quick glance I figure the best thing to do is just surf that bad boy in.
So a couple of quick strokes and the GWS is in the face screaming toward the beach. It is quite a choir to keep the boat from broaching and I am having a great ride when I notice that Freya is right in my line. The boat is so long that I can’t make it turn and the ride is so fine that I don’t want to give it up. As I draw closer I realize that I will just miss Freya on the right and with the speed I’m carrying I will fly right past her. Well when the wave brings me up Freya’s boat the Hexy Sexy just takes off. The HS is a small volume Greenland boat designed for rolling. It is a perfect size for surfing and when that sweet wave comes along it just took off.
The next thing I know we are surfing side by side inches apart. In fact her boat has cut across my bow and is sitting on my deck. At this point Freya’s rolls off to the left and I roll off to the right. I use the motion of the ocean to perform a combat roll and I come right back up, sans hat and expensive sunglasses. I look back over my shoulder for Freya and see her hull up. After waiting a few moments I see her eventually roll up. Now I am a little surprised that I beat her up since she is a champion kayak roller and all but I guess that’s the difference between a demo in flat water and rolling in combat! Needless to say Freya is not amused. I find my hat but not my sunglasses.
Greg and Graeme have a good laugh and note the fact that I beat Freya up! Of course Freya did execute a hand roll so I guess I’m not that cool! I catch the next wave into the beach and Freya and Carl make the beach were we all make the call to head back. Freya and Greg decide to go out and visit some islands and I go back to the batch with Graeme and Carl to give them a little private time.

To the Corimandel Coast in wooden boats

Well the Dynamic Duo, Greg and Freya, myself, Grant from Waiheke Island and Tony from Wellington caravan from Paul’s house to Opito Bay where we meet up with Graeme Bruce at his families Batch. A Batch is what the kiwi call a vacation home. Graeme’s is located right on this little protected bay.
The north end of the bay is a large hill which was a “Pa” site. A Pa site is a fortified Maori village that was used when the village was under attack from rival groups. There are Pa sites all over. Any tall hill with step sides will have a Pa site on top of it. One of the rituals is for visitors to Graeme’s batch to walk up to the top before dinner. This is no small feat as it is right up the steep side of the hill that has steps carved in it. Hundreds of steps! But I can’t complain as our host is the first to the top.
Did I mention that Graeme has only one leg! Well really 1.5 legs as he lost the right one below the knee (he says to sand flies!). His boat “Chucky IV” has only one peddle to control the rudder. He has an ingenuous method of simulating the other peddle using bungee cords.
The next morning we all set out to go paddling around the point and down the exposed coast. Graeme in the lead (mostly because he is so darn fast!) and the rest of us are strung out behind him with yours truly bringing up the rear (mostly because I’m so darn slow). Greg and Freya are both excellent paddlers and have no problems with the rough conditions. Tony’s back starts to bother him and he decides to turn back early. Grant takes us to a couple of very nice arches and into a spectacular cave that has a giant stalactite hanging down in the center of the entrance. All in all it is a bout a 32 km paddle on a very beautiful coast. We return to the batch were we bbq up a bunch of steaks and have a massive feed.

Rolling for dollars - Private classes for the faithful

Today is going to be a series of private classes with the Fab 4. For a mere $50 you can have a 30 minute private lesson in Greenland rolling techniques with the best ( not counting Native Greenlanders that is) around. I volunteer to help out by taking care of the scheduling of the time slots and keeping track of the money. I also volunteers to make lunch for the fab 4 to offload some of the load from Paul and Natasha. I end up spending most of the day on the beach and getting a sunburned neck! But I do get a free lesson with Freya in the morning and Turner in the afternoon. I also get an invite to go paddling with a couple of guys over in Opito Bay on the Corimandel Coast with Freya and Greg.

The Day of the PODs -- Sullivan Bay or Otarawhroa Bay if you prefer the Maori name

Well it’s a hectic day at Paul’s and Natasha’s house. We all caravan to the Sullivan’s beach which is north of Auckland ( about 20 km ). When we arrive the beach is in full swing. I find my POD ( number 7) and get ready for launch. The pods all launch together and then break apart to do a series of exercises to improve their kayaking skills. It seems that rudders and flat water is the norm here and any little breeze ( anything over 15knts) send most of these folks into a tizzy. We do some rescues, towing and “rudderless” paddle strokes. It is al very low key and I spend my time keeping a close eye on a 70ish women who is new to kayaking and struggling. I keep close and speak words of encouragement.
After the day is done I end up having dinner with a couple of the Lads from the beach, Matt The Brit and his son Billy, Phil the mouth and Andrew Smythers. Andrew is an instructor and guide here in NZ and has trained many of the people attending CB. He is very interested in Adaptive Paddling and we talk about my experience and what he has been doing to get Adaptive Paddling going in NZ. For those of you who don’t know what Adaptive Paddling is allow me to explain. This is the adaptation of kayaks to allow handicapped folks to go kayaking. I did a three day course in the subject a couple of years ago. Andrew tells me to call when I get back to Auckland and we can hook up for a few days paddling. Get back to Paul’s that evening to find that everyone has just returned from dinner as well. Next morning it’s back to Sullivan for the private rolling sessions.

The Presentation and little Cardboard boats

Saturday and I am taking Turner over to the venue and I need Gas. I get direction from Natasha but I get lost and Turner and I end up missing the morning session. I attend a nice physo session presented by one of my POD mates( this is how to treat and prevent kayaking injuries) but I realize that the projectors that looked so good last night during the presentation is all washed out in the light of day. The rooms have too much ambient light and I start to worry about my presentation at 2pm. But I don’t have time to worry about this as it is now time for the POD’s to start boat construction.
Each POD is given pre-cutout sheets of plastic cardboard, a roll of duct tape and one box cutter. We have to then construct a boat that will be raced in the lake behind Milford school this evening. As we have plenty of boat building experience on our team I don’t feel the need to participate and walk around the venue spying (cough) I mean taking photos of the other POD’s boats.
At the lunch break most of the boats are finished and I get my computer set up to do the presentation. I am in the main hall and worry about how the ambient light will effect my slide show. It’s bad enough that most of the cave slides are dark already. Steve helps me set up the projector and connect it to my computer.
The presentation is attended by about 30-40 people. I go through the slides and try to make up something interesting and low and behold I get through the presentation and people are actually impressed. Fooled them! After I attend Paul Caffyn’s talk on trip planning for expeditions ( who better ). Paul does his presentation from hand written notes and a white board. Gee why didn’t I think of that! I could have been saved all the grief of selecting slides. What was I thinking!
After the presentation it’s time for the cardboard boat races. The teams line up on the shore and one by one we launch our proud craft and brave ( if not foolhardy) racer. Amazingly they all float. The race is on and as far as I can tell all the boats actually make it through the course with out sinking. Turner is actually paddling on of the boats and the spectators start to chant “Roll it Roll it” and Turner actually does! Of course the boat sinks after ward but what the heck. A job well done! After the Races the Fab 4 do a bunch of Greenland rolling demo’s and Freya does her famous headstand and gymnastics on her boat, Hexy Sexy. The crowd goes wild.

A full day and everyone heads in early as tomarrow we must all meet up bright and early at the Beach….

Coast Busters!!!!

Friday morning I stumble upstairs for Breakfast with the Fab Four and Justine. They are going to go down to the little bay at the end of the street and practice rolling the local New Zealand style boats and Justine is going to film them. Since I have a vehicle large enough to haul boat and people I will be there chauffeur for the weekend. While they are playing at the waters edge I go for a little paddle down the coast. When I return we have lunch on the beach and I make tea for the group to warm them up a bit from being in the water.
We then load up all the boats and return to Paul’s were we then go to the venue to check out the lake were the on water demos will happen.
We arrive at Milford school, which is playing host for the event. We are there early enough to get Freya and Cherri in the water to practice rolls and for Justine to do some underwater filming with the use of a special camera that she mounts to the deck of the kayak. After a bit it time to return once again to Paul’s to clean up and get ready for the event. Everybody showers (not together, or at least I showered alone so I assume everyone else did too) and dresses for the evening. We Pile back in to Homey and with music blaring and gears grinding we return to Milford school were we all pile out and go forward to meet the crowds gathering in the main hall. After wondering around the main hall and shaking hands and meeting people the entire group is then broken down into “PODs” (teams of about 6- 8 paddlers) that will be building a cardboard kayak and paddling together as a group on Sunday. Paul calls everyone to order and the show gets on the road. Paul introduces the Fab Four and the other Foreigners in the hall (including yours truely) and then we get down to the presentations. Turner and Cherri do a neat slide show of their trip to Greenland and the Greenland paddling competition. Then Greg and Freya show a video on the Greenlanders kayak games done by a Greenland production company. After the presentations there is more hand shaking and boat talk and we finally slip away for Chinese takeaway back to Steve and Sue’s house. Greg and Freya are staying with Steve and Sue during the weekend.
Turns out that Steve is a ex Navy lifer, New Zealand Navy that is. And after we polish off the Food we get down to the task of serious drinking and sea stories. The girls excuse them selves to bed and the guys sit up late and swill beer and rum to the wee hours.

The Fab 4, CackleTV and the NZ's Greatest

I am greeted at the door by my host Paul Hayward. Paul is a tall Canadian with a close clipped beard and silver curly hair. He is about my size and very kind face. ( I say all these thing in case he ever reads this) Actually Paul is a really nice guy that has a bunch going on and a house full of people for the next several days. His partner is Natasha, a nice South African that seems to share Paul’s passion for adventure. Their house is fabulous. Located a stones throw from the water with a spectacular view of bay. Walking distance from the beach and just wonderfully laid out. Paul designed it himself. The garage is to die for. It is big enough for 3- 4 cars, a trailer for kayaks, about a half dozen kayaks and even more bicycles with out looking crowded. He has a complete room just for wood working tools. I could go on and on.

I also meet the Key note speakers for Coast Busters Greg Stramer, Freya Hoffmeister, Turner Wilson and Cherri Perry. All four are Guru Greenland style paddlers and instructors. You can look up their bios at the Coast buster’s web site, so I won’t go on a about it hear. (http://www.coastbusters.org.nz/ select Speakers and Topics in the sidebar)

I also meet Paul Caffyn who is the first man to circumnavigate New Zealand and Australia. Not to mention several other large Island based countries such as Japan and Great Britain. Traveling with Paul is the lovely Justine Curgenven who is the producer of the kayaking DVD’s “This is the Sea” and “This is the Sea II” ( known affectionately as Tits I and Tits II) Check out her site at www.cackeltv.com She does a lot of adventure kayaking and just finish circumnavigating Tasmania with two other women to become the first all women team to accomplish this feat. She is very bubble and every guy that meets her falls in love ( at least all the kayaking guys ) She is traveling with Paul Caffyn while in New Zealand.
I also meet Steve and Sue, paddlers and friends of Paul and Natasha’s that are going to be putting up Greg and Freya and Scott Waterfield who owns most of the boats parked outside (and all on his truck on a huge roof rack that looks as if it could carry 9 kayaks) is the Owner of Paddling Perfection, a New Zealand based kayak manufacturer. I also meet John Kirk Anderson (JKA as Sandy calls him) who is a very well know New Zealand paddler who lives in Christchurch as is a friend of Sandy’s. I meet a few other people but those are the ones I can remember from Thursday night. After the night winds down and the group splits up I end up parking Homey in the drive way in front of Paul’s house. This will be my spot for the next several days.

On from Taupo to Auckland

I get up a dawn and wonder if I should knock on the RV door to see if the BHD was returned but I figure that I should just leave well enough alone. Also I figured that if they did bring back the BHD it would have been very early in the morning and they probably wanted to sleep in. So I hit the road and headed down to the Taupo Hot Springs. For only $6 I get to have a soak in the hot mineral spring baths and I can get to use their showers!!! The soak is wonderful and I decide to have a massage as well which was also wonderful. Again I hit the road. Next stop the Crates of the Moon which is just a large thermal vent area. But it was interesting. Worth a few pictures. Again I hit the road. I stop for lunch at lake Rototoa it really is really a tourist location. It is one of the first tourist destinations in the country due to its hot springs. Now they have all sorts of adventure things trying to become another Queenstown. I only stay long enough to eat and have a nap next to the lake( did I mention that I was nursing a hangover from the night before). Again I hit the road. Following the coast I travel up the coast, across the base of the Coromandle Peninsula and finally on to the motorway that leads to Auckland.

I stop at a motor way fueling center that reminds me of the big truck stops along the I-5 and I gas up and give Paul Hayward a call. Paul gives me direction to his house and I hit the road again. The motorway is virtually empty at this time of night ( ~9:30 pm) so I sail through the city. This is the first time that Homey has gotten up to 100 kph. I cross over the harbor bridge that separates the main city from the North Shore and continue up to Rothsey Bay where Paul’s house is located. I pull up to the house and seen a sea of kayaks parked out front. Must be the place I think. I park and ring the door bell. And thus begins the CoastBusters weekend.

Three Irish Doctors are sitting on the beach...

I find a small parking lot on the beach and pull up to a large RV that is playing music and has a small fire burning on the beach. There were these three Irish doctors sitting on a beach…. A good opening line for a joke but in this case it’s a sad tale of woe( not really). The RV and fire were the temporary property of these three folks ( two guys and a gal). The first guy doctor was working in New Zealand at a local hospital and the Second guy doctor is his mate from medical school and the gal is his girlfriend ( both doctors ) I walked up and commented on how nice their fire is and that I hadn't seen any beach fires in NZ. They invited me to join them and in the true sprit of Irish hospitality they offered me a beer (or six ). We got to talking and I discovered that they were taking a short holiday (the couple ) and there friend was joining them for a week ( all he could get off work)
After a while I broke out the last of my rum and offered it up. They not being rum drinkers normally were a bit skeptical but I assured them that this was very fine Jamaican rum and not their everyday Bacardi. They all agreed that this was far and away a much better drink that expected and we polished it off. Not to mention all the beer they had and what ever alcohol they possessed. All the while they were keeping there little fire alive by pouring cooking oil on it. This was supposed to be a BBQ but it never took hold. After a while and the mass consumption, (at least on my part) the discussion took on a deeper tone. Topics such as saving the third world because we in the west could ( ah youth ).
Then I asked the young doctor what he was doing in New Zealand. He replied that his blankity blank blank girlfriend ( or should I say X girlfriend ) had been fooling around with some guy from central America. It was not clear if they had just met in Central America or if he was in fact from a local. But in any case what we had here was a young broken hearted Irish doctor! The conversation took on a whole different tenor from that point. All the pain and recrimination came pouring out and it turned out that his best friend had indeed come over from Ireland to help console his best buddy ( and have a nice little holiday ). Apparently I had opened the flood gates and he began to spill out all the long standing issues about the relationship. Now I’ve been in this place (but without the Irish part and the medical degree) before and tried to offer some consolation and sympathy.
He was most upset about the fact that this girl had aborted two of her pregnancies and he had felt responsible ( which in a way he was ). He knew that he was going to burn in hell for this and it didn’t matter that it was her idea and that he really didn’t have much say in the matter ( gee dude what are you going to do? Tie her up for 9 months). But he felt that he could have argued harder or done “Something” to prevent the death of his children. Oh did I mention that he was an Irish Catholic Broken Hearted doctor! He was guilt ridden, drunk and unfortunately in possession of the RV keys. He had jumped up and decided that we needed more to drink and rushed to the RV. The girl jumped to her feet and said that she should go with him as he was in no fit state. I really wasn’t worried as this was New Zealand and there would be nowhere in town that he would be able to buy booze.
They were gone for about 45 minutes which his friend and I passed the time talking about what a really nice guy the broken hearted doctor (BHD) was that he would get over his problem with time. Well time passed and they returned with an inventive tale as to how he couldn’t talk the bartender to let him take a bottle away but he ( the BHD) had fooled him by ordering a bunch of drinks that he then poured into an empted water bottle for consumption later back at the ranch. We had no sooner started passing the aforementioned former water bottle around when we were joined by a couple of Lake Taupo’s finest. That’s right the local constabulary had arrived in a policemobile. The NZ cop cars are these little boy racer cars with a really garish yellow and blue checkered color scheme. They look more like rally cars than cop cars. I knew that these folks got their revenue via traffic violations as I had seen several people pulled over for speeding earlier in the day when I drove into town. Lucky speeding is only something that Homey dreams about. But I digress. The two cops step out of the car and ask if one of us were drive the RV through town just a few minutes ago. The BHD seizing his chance for punishment (did I mention that he was Catholic) steps forward and confesses that he was in fact the driver. The cops ask if he noticed that he had hit a parked car on the way over here. “Well I wasn’t sure if I had, I though I might have hit some thing”. The police ask him to accompany them back to the car and inspect the damage. As the BHD climbs into the back of the car the three of us remaining on the beach exchange quick looks and then The friend say that maybe he should go with them just in case. We all nod in agreement. Just down the beach is a group of about 4 or 5 kids who were sleeping around a little van like mine. One of them comes running down to see what the cops wanted. They were only interested to know if we were getting kicked off the beach.
After they leave I suggest that the girlfriend and I pick up all the empty beer bottles and throw them away before they return as the cops didn’t really take the time to scan the camp site. About 15 minutes later the policemobile returns and the police start to do a inspection of the RV for damage. They also do a quick scan of the campsite. But finding no beer bottles the cops acknowledge that there is no evidence at the camp site. But they still decide to take the BHD away so that they can run blood samples. Again his friend goes along with him in the policemobile. At this point the girl and I both decide to call it a night and we head to our respective vehicles to cap an eventful night.