CoastSide Kayaker in New Zealand

Epilog

2006-07-07T08:32:00.000-07:00

Well that’s it for now. I hope that for those of you that have followed this story though the end that I was able to impart to you some of the beauty and wonder that I experienced. I really didn’t take a lot of time doing editing so I apologize for some of the spelling and grammatical errors but it is what it is.
Now that I am back home in California and looking out at the Pacific Ocean from my window I am struck with a sense of peace. I was able to resolve several conflicts in my heart. I was able to spend a nice block of time with only myself to worry about. I met many wonderful people and had a really good time. One day I will return to the Land of the Long White Cloud maybe just for another visit maybe for longer

If you enjoyed the few photos of my trip that I included and would like to see more go to the following link:

http://photos.yahoo.com/coastsidekayaker

Things I would have done differently:
I would have waited and looked around for a van one I arrived
Flown directly into Christchurch
I should have brought a US multi-plug extention so I could have charged many things at once.
I brought more Clothes than I really needed and bike toys didn’t get much use.
I wish I had about 2 more weeks to spend in the South Island.

Things lost:
Gerber folding Knife
Mini Mag flashlight with the cool triple led light
Water bottle with cool sipping top
Smiths Sunglasses

Things Given Away:
Homey the Van
Jet Boil Stove
cool sipping top
several pairs of clipless bike peddles
Several T-shirts
Lots of love and laughter.

The Last Day: April 18th 2006

2006-07-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

Andy has to go to the Great Barrier to start his gig with the Outdoor Pursuit Center. He will be there for a couple of weeks. We are going to give another guide a lift to the airport and we all cram into Andy’s Subaru. Everyone says their good byes and off he goes. Angela, Nathan and I drive into the city so I can do some last minute shopping. I take them out to a great Chinese dinner that possibly cost more that their weeks grocery budget. But Angela and the kids have given up time with Andy while he was tramping around with me and I figured that I need to say thanks to them as well. I had arranged to get a bunch of New Zealand wines to take back to my girl and then we head back to the Ranch. I give Paul Hayward a call and arrange to meet them for dinner on this last night. I give them a bottle of wine and have a wonderful time with them. Thanking them again for all their support. I get lost driving there and back. It’s not too bad and I enjoy the streets of the North shore at night in the moon light. I finally return to the Ranch and have a quick word with Angela before I spend my last night in Homey. I fall asleep with my mind swirling with all my adventures. I’m awaken with a gentle rap on the van window as Angela gets me up and we head to the Airport. Both Nathan and Stacy get up to see me off. I am very touched. And as I give them all hugs and say my good byes I can’t help but think how lucky I was and how much this will affect my life.

Packing up to go

2006-07-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

Well I have a day or so left in New Zealand. Today is dedicated to getting all my gear back into the two bags I started with. I’ve taken pictures of the Boat for Andy to use for sale. I’ve taken pictures of the Family Smythers. I sign over the Homey Van to Andy as a my way of saying thanks for all the guiding he did. I clean out all my sea shells and sort out the stuff I am going to leave behind. The sky threatens rain but it never comes. I’m ready to leave. It’s either go now or don’t go back at all. I start to think more on all the things that I left undone back in another place on the other side of the world. I have spent much time trying to sort out all the things that weighted me down before I left 50 days ago. I don’t know what will await me when I return. But then life is what it is and I will cope with it as it comes.

Kawau Island – Last adventure

2006-07-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

Our last trip will be a day trip around Kawau Island. This trip we will be joined, in part, by Lance and Gregor and his wife whom I meet at CoastBusters. Gregor, who was a member of my pod and a former student of Andy is a Maori bloke and a really fun guy. His wife who is European was also delightful. Lance was Lance which is to say he is a funny guy. It turns out that Lance is a Neil Young fan. I discover this when he spouts out a line from Tonight’s the Night. Only a true Neil fan would know what it was and what its context was (which I am and I did). But I am getting ahead of myself.

We meet up with the rest of our group at Martin’s Bay which is part of a peninsula that makes up Mahurangi Harbour. There are several other kayaking groups going out today. This to me is unusual as I have become accustom to have the water to myself, but I remind myself that this is a three day weekend and that I’ve been paddling mid week most of the time. It different paddling with other people, different pace different objectives. Andy and I split off to look at a Beehive Island. Which is a very small island that looks just like, you guessed it. Well it did until the trees got bigger as Andy informs me. We take a few quick pictures then head over to Kawau to join the rest of the part at the old copper mine. Well all that is really left is the chimney stack. We turn south and take a peak at the back side but we soon discover that the water is a little too rough for our companions so we turn and head north to Mansion House Bay.

Mansion House bay is a favorite stopping spot for boaters and we find the little harbor and beach crowed with pleasure craft. We thread our way through the mob and land up on the beach to have lunch. After that Andy and I head north to begin our circumnavigation and Lance, Gregor and his wife head for the pub at the local.
Andy and I carry on north around to the back side of the island where we hunt for rock gardens to play in and cave to explore. We actually scare some sharks that were basking near the shore. So now we are paddling in shark infested waters! A new element! Not that I haven’t paddled in shark infested waters before, its just that I never had to actually look at the sharks so it made it less scary some how.

Once around the back side we shoot south for Motuketeketa Island and Moturekaraka Island. This we do in the failing light. We have donned our lights and markers. Gee I’m sure glad that my girlfriend bought me this light marker for our Baja trip. It really is coming in handy now! By the time we reach the Islands it’s full on dark. And the waning moon lights up the surface of the water. There are a few boats on the water but they are anchored and hail us to make sure that we are OK. We reach the island and land up to have a light dinner. Then we push off to the final Island in this long strange trip.

Our final destination is Motoroa Island, a Kiwi sanctuary. We land up in the dark and stow the boats high up on the beach. We take off our paddling gear and grap our headlights and head over to the DOC ranger site and Andy talks to the ranger about the best place to find the elusive bird that only come out at night. He gives us some red cellophane to put over our lights to prevent the birds from noticing us and we march out into the bush. We can here them rustling in the bush and finally Andy sees one but by the time I turn to look I can only see a blur heading deeper into the bush. But it’s enough for me. We head back to our boat and make the night crossing back to Martin’s bay and home. It is about 11pm when we return. We left the beach at 10am, returned to the beach at around 11pm and covered 47km. A great finally to a most excellent vacation!

Circumnavigate Waiheke Island. – Day 4

2006-07-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

The next morning early I get some sunrise photos but I miss the chance to get a shot of the setting moon. After an early breakfast we pack and launch out before the park ranger gets a chance to ask us if we paid for the camping, which of course we didn’t. Now it’s the long paddle back to Auckland. It’s now Good Friday and a national holiday. There are hundred of boats in the Tamaki Straits making there way to their favorite spots around the Haukier bay. It the first time I have had to deal with boating traffic since coming here and it is a little unnerving. It’s a beautiful day and we and we pass around the back side of Motuihe Island and then land on Brown’s Island. We walk to the top of Brown’s Island and from there we take in the view of Auckland, Rangitoto and Motutapu islands as well as Waikeke. We walk back to the boats and find that our once deserted beach has been invaded by several power boat families and a couple of sail boats. We break out what’s left of our supplies and make ourselves some lunch. Then is a leisurely paddle back to Ferg’s and home. Once we have the boats and gear secured Andy suggests that we take a quick visit to One Tree hill.
One Tree hill holds the memorial for Sir John Campbell who incidentally owned Brown’s Island. Sir John was at one time the mayor of Auckland and is known as “The Father of Auckland”. He donated Brown’s island and One Tree hill where he is now buried. There is a large obelisk. Again it has great view of the surrounding areas. But oddly despite its name there is no TREE on top of the hill! Apparently there have been several trees on top of this peak. The one that gave the hill its name was cut down my European settlers in the 1800’s but one was replanted by Campbell that was cut down my Maori activist in 1999. Now there is this dirt patch where the tree would have been. So much for history, we return to Andy’s place and decompress for a day.

Circumnavigate Waiheke Island. – Day 3

2006-07-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

We break camp and turn the corner and head down the southern coast of Wiaheke this is the last stretch that has that remote uninhabited feeling. After we turn the corner again and start heading east the coast line is dotted with bays and little fleets of sailboat and people. Today will be a long paddle. We need to cover about 35 kilometers to reach our next landing site at Rocky Bay. Instead of following the coast we head west and visit a series of islands that will provide us with a bit more interesting scenery. Pakatoa Island is for Sale. That’s right for sale. You get the whole island and all the building there in. Rotoroa Island is a drug and alcohol rehab and is posted no trespassing. So of course we have to land there and have a drink(yo ho ho and a bottle of Monte Gay Rum). On the back side of this island we find a rough rope hang over a cliff. It’s made up of all sorts of things. It makes you think of bed sheets tied up and escapees. We think it’s to allow someone to pass contraband up to some naught resident of clinic. We are about 6 kilometers away from Rocky bay when night falls so we have to cove the distance in the dark. We have all the lights we need and it’s just finding the place in the dark. We land at a small regional park and camp under a large tree on the manicured lawn. We cook our dinner on a park bench. A very different setting from the last two nights.

Circumnavigate Waiheke Island. – Day 2

2006-05-10T17:22:00.000-07:00

Next morning the wind has dropped and the sky has that “after the storm” clarity. We pack up and launch out heading around to the north side of the island. We set a rock gardening pace and explore every nook and cranny. The northern side of Waiheke is not a populated and we soon find ourselves alone with the raw beauty of this coastline. We stop in at a small bay with golden sands and make breakfast. The sun is well out and it is actually hot. There are a few houses along the cliff tops but the beach is deserted. We tuck into a sandstone cave to get out of the heat. We head off again exploring caves and slots in the comparatively calm water although there is still a ocean swell that keep us on our toe. While Andy and I were checking out a cave one of these larger set comes in and raise the water lever by a meter. I yell up to Andy that a big set is on it way in and he has enough time to start back paddling to keep from being shoved into the cave’s blackness.

We cover about 21 kilometers at this pace as the day starts to draw to a close. The days are growing shorter and it starts getting dark around 6pm.

We had planned on rounding the island and landing at Hooks Bay. But instead we pull in just shy or Thumb point into Ruruwhango bay which is just on the other side of Hooks but on the northern instead of the southern shore. In the failing light Andy spots a cave and we head over.

This cave is an old Maori hunters cave. The front is almost obscured and the Back of the cave is packed with dirt so that its is about 8 ft off the floor. There is an eerie feeling in this cave. People have been eaten in this cave! But it make on great camping spot. There is a helicopter flying overhead. It appears to be dropping water on the trees. Expensive watering if you ask me. We think that it sees us go into the cave entrance as a couple of time we can here it hovering right over us. After it leaves we actually build a fire. There is the first true campfire I’ve had on the North Island. It feels good and Andy and I lounge in the fire’s light and stare out at the night sky. This time we were sure that the tide wouldn’t reach us but all night long small bits of the caves ceiling sprinkled our us and our gear. Being in a tent I didn’t take any notice but poor Andy in his bivy kept waking up and when a small bit of rock would hit him in the face. I know that feeling after my night camped under the cliffs on the Cavalli Islands.

Circumnavigate Waiheke Island. – Day 1

2006-05-10T17:11:00.000-07:00

Back at the ranch, Andy and I are gearing up to do an extend paddle. The plan is to paddle to Waiheke Island via Rangitoto then back via Brown’s. Who knew such fun can be had so close to Auckland! There is a little weather blowing through as we set up at Ferg’s. We are backed to the gills. As we clear the sailboats and duck under the pier the weather show up. Over our shoulders you can see the storm engulf downtown Auckland. Sky city disappears in a grey curtain. That curtain is heading out way. But as it turns out it really is a good thing. The winds hit 25 knots and the passage is whipped up. A fantastic following sea. Andy and I are screaming down to Rangitoto. The sounds that a boat makes when it catches the wave! I could hear Andy coming! Knew that he was about to shoot past me. Swoosh. We sailed into Rangitoto and pulled out at the little DOC dock (that’s a joke son your supposed to laugh). We had a quick snack and we took a tour of the Island. Waiheke is only 600 yrs old. As with many volcanic islands its birth was quick. Because of its short history only native plants have evolved on this big block of lava. It is covered with Pohutukawa trees. The Kiwis call them their Christmas tree. In December they bloom all over in bright red flowers. The way that they cling to the rough rocks and cliffs of the coast line impresses me.

After a hour or so we head off to Waiheke. The wind is still our friend and we pull in to the harbor at Matiaria Bay as the sun peaks out around some very dark clouds. We made the crossing in four hours.

Andy has a friend on the island that he wants to see if we can hook up with him. So while I sit and enjoy the sunset Andy trots off on foot to his friend’s house. He comes back in 20 minutes and I have the water boiling so I make up some tea to warm us up. Now we need to find a place to camp We launch out and find a little pocket beach near Whetumataru Point (the southern end of the bay) and we beach up and make camp. As it will be close to the full moon we are wary of the high tide mark so we tie up the boats and we set up as high as we can go. All night we wake up and take a peek at the water level. The tide comes up close but falls short of the boats.

Back to Bay of Islands: Aroha Island to Moturoa Island

2006-05-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

I am getting to the point that I have to start thinking about where I haven’t’ paddled yet. As I leave Cooper’s Bay I decide that I should do the northern half of the Bay of Islands and drive back to Piahia and then up to a small Kiwi sanctuary known as Aroha Island. Now Aroha is not really an island as there is causeway that connects the island to the mainland but it is enough to keep the Possums and Stoats out and the Kiwi in. I drive onto the island and meet the caretaker of the island which is owned but the Queen Elizabeth II trust. The profits from the camping grounds on the island go to the running of the education center and the general maintenance. Accept for a German Family that have been traveling for months around NZ, I have the place to myself. I find a cozy little place to camp and then get the boat ready to launch. My plan is to paddle this afternoon to the island of Moturoa which is about 15 km away. There are a collection of lava rock islands that run along the east side of Moturoa Island. The winds are at 15 to 20 knots and expected to pick up later in the afternoon. I will have a tail wind going out and a bit of a slog on my return. Oh well them’s the breaks. This is supposed to be a day trip but I am going to try and knock it out in half a day.
The tide is out and there is a storm heading my way. I launch out and start heading into the main part of the Kerikeri Inlet looking over my shoulder to take stock of the landmarks I will need to allow my return. I can see the dark clouds on the horizon just beyond heading my way. I ride the wind waves out to a small group of islands called the Rahui Islands, they are more of a reef that true islands. I look north west to see if I could use the larger island of Motupapa ( Cocked Hat Island) for wind cover on the return trip. I scout the two bays (Doves and Opito) on the northern shore with their moored sailboat for the same reason. Bay hop back along the lee shore, that’s the plan.
After crossing the Kent Passage I reach Moturoa’s western end in little over an hour. So against the wind I figure I should double the time from this point and that leaves me about two hours to circumnavigate Moturoa (which will be about 8 km) and visit the Black Rocks.
I start down the northern side of the island. There is a peninsula / island sticking out of Moturoa’s side. It becomes an island at really high tide but has no name but the charts show a passage between them. It sticks right up out of the water with shear cliffs. I go to the spot where it is nearest the main island and being low tide there is a little land bridge preventing me from taking a short cut through. I follow along the steep cliff walls until I turn the corner of the now peninsula and into the sheltered water of it’s lee. I paddle along the rocky shoreline until I reach the eastern end. I can see out into the south pacific due east and up to Cape Wiwiki to the north. I see the chain of almost black obelisks that are sticking right out of the water about a kilometer away and just as then the storm that has been closing fast hit me. The rain is intense and the water dances wildly from the raindrops. The visibility goes to about 100 meters and I can see the really hard rain coming at me in a grey wall sweeping over the surface of the water. I am half way between the Black rocks and the main island when the first wave hits me. It hasn’t rained this hard since Greymouth on the west coast of the south island. I turn into the storm and realize that I am laughing out loud throwing taunts at the storm. Telling it to do its worst! Me and my big mouth! Just then I hear the Thunder and I know that I have pissed off Poseidon once again. I can just make out the Black Rocks and there head hard to the safety. I slide myself between two of the towers and just bob in the water until the storm passes. I can see on the other side of the rocks that a sail boat race of some sort is going on as a whole line of boats are healing hard over as they passing just east of me heading north. Their decks are a blur of activity and their crews work to manage the changing conditions. Small fishing boats have also taken shelter in the lee of the rocks. They probably think I’m Nuts.
The squall passes almost as suddenly as it appeared. The sky brighten and the sun comes bursting out. The water turns glassy and I take some time to investigate the rocks around me. What a change in the weather. There are no landing spots to be had on the Rocks so I paddle back to Moturoa and land for lunch on the very tip of eastern end. The shore is rocky accept for this pebble beach that cuts over from the west to the south side of the island. It looks as if no one has landed here in quite a while. I collect a bunch of really nice shells and have lunch. After lunch I decide to pickup every bit of garbage that I can find on the beach. Most if not all if it was blown up on the beach and has been sitting there for god knows how long. I fill up the front of my boat with plastic bottles old bits of rope and oddly enough clothes pins. Now the beach is cleaner than when I found it. I back up my lunch stuff and launch. I follow the southern side of the island which is semi protected from the winds but now I have to make an open crossing against the 25 know head wind that is blowing between the island and the mainland. I head into the wind and slog it out until I can reach be lee side of Motupapa Island. Then I head due north to the lee of the shore and Opito bay. I bay hope over to Dove Bay and then I hug the coast line for the remainder of the trip. As the light fails I reach my little campsite and drag my boat up on to the grass. A good day out!
That night I go looking for Kiwi on Aroha but I don’ find any. I guess John Kirk Anderson was right. Kiwi don’t really exist. DOC has some guy with fake Kiwi Feet making tracks for the tourist!

To the end of the World -- Cape Reinga

2006-04-25T17:35:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-24T00:39:00.001-07:00

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

2006-04-24T00:39:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-24T00:36:00.000-07:00

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!

2006-04-24T00:22:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-24T00:16:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-23T23:55:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-18T13:41:00.000-07:00

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.

2006-04-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-09T18:13:00.001-07:00

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

2006-04-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-09T16:50:00.000-07:00

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!!!!

2006-04-04T00:12:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-04T00:09:00.000-07:00

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

2006-04-03T23:33:00.000-07:00

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...

2006-04-03T23:28:00.000-07:00

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.

Lake Taupo and Jumping out of Perfectly Good Airplanes

2006-03-23T14:08:00.000-08:00

I get up at the crack of dawn and there is thick fog blanking the hills around me obscuring the view. I don’t bother with making any coffee or food and fire Homey up and hit the road north. My destination is the great one day trek at the Tongariro crossing. This is supposed to be one the best or at least one of the most popular one day walks in New Zealand. It crosses over a active volcanic area and take about 6- 8 hr one way. I drive hard trying to figure out how I can leave Homey at one end and get myself to the other with enough time to due the walk before dark.

Well as it turns out with most of my traveling it takes far longer than I anticipate to cover the ground and I arrive at the finish point of the walk later in the morning that I had planned. There is nothing there but a Tour bus and a few parked cars. No way to get a ride to the start. I look at the map posted at the start of the track and It shows that I would have to walk the steepest part uphill for many hours before I reach anything interesting. I make the hard choice ( not all that hard really as the guide recommends that you do this track from the other direction) to not do the walk but carry on to Lake Taupo.

Lake Taupo is the largest lake in New Zealand. It is the result of a volcanic eruption and is considered quite young by geological standards. Bit of a punk teenager of lakes. But it is stunning none the less and reminds me a little of Lake Tahoe but maybe a little bigger. There is an island near the south west corner that was used to bury Maori Kings ( I found this out later). It is also one of the cheapest places on the planet to tandem sky dive.

So I decide that I can burn a day jumping out of a perfectly good plane and still have time to paddle out to that island. So as I near town I turn into the airport and find the Great Lake Skydive company or Freefall. For $409 (NZ) I would be strapped to a guy bigger that me (Dan) and then travel to 15000ft and then drop like a stone over the largest lake in the country. Sounds fun! That includes a DVD recording my jump, which was unreadable as it is in PAL not NTSC format.( I didn’t discover this until it was too late to go back.). What a rush!!!! Lucky that I have photographs of the event as well so I will have some record ( I hope that I can get the data reformatted to NTSC later). I swung my legs over the edge of the plane and then leaned out and the lean didn’t seem to end. I fell away from the plane but it didn’t seem like there was a plane anymore. I could see the entire lake and the mountains and the country side and it all seemed so perfect. After what seemed like an eternity I felt Dan open the chute and I could feel the straps biting into my legs as weight returned to my body. It took forever, it was over so quickly. When we landed I forgot to stand up and we tumbled on the ground. I don’t know why I didn’t stand up and run but it didn’t really matter. Afterwards I hung around and waited for the DVD to be finished. I talk to a couple of guys that are here from Australia on a surfing safari. I show them the pictures that I took of mavericks and asked them what they thought about their jump.

After we got to see the DVD I headed into town. I heard that about some Maori carvings that were about 6km from town around a point. I parked at the beach and paddled out to the carvings and was very impressed. The water was clear and pleasant. I had timed my trip as to make the return before dark so after taking photographs I paddled back around the point and headed toward town. But as I approached I noticed that I wasn’t quite sure where the beach was that I launched from. I was far enough away that I really couldn’t see where I parked Homey and so I tried to figure out where I parked the car. I paddled and strained my eyes to try and see the car. I look at the lay of the land to see if any of the landmarks I had picked were visible. But in the end I ended up picking the most likely spot and paddled to it. I figured that I could then turn right and then sweep the beach if I was wrong. But as it turned out I wasn’t too far off and spotted Homey under a tree right where I left him. As I was paddling up I met up with three paddlers just leaving for there Wednesday paddle. They invited me along but as I had just returned and hadn’t eaten a thing all day I declined and rolled into town.

Got some pub grub at this lively little pub . There were two guys that were playing all sorts of music. The started playing a song I know but the singer blew the lyrics. The playing was still good. I move outside to the courtyard and sit by a fire that dispels the gloom and warms my face. I stroll around the downtown area and look into the closed shops. Finally I need to find a place to sleep for the night before I make the last leg to Auckland.

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. Were I meet three folks from Ireland (to be continued)

Return to the North Island

2006-03-23T14:03:00.000-08:00

Well I don’t have much to say about the ferry crossing as I spent the entire time working on my presentation. The crossing was much calmer and was over before I knew it. I hit the road and tried to get as much road under my wheels before breaking for sleep. The wind in Wellington tossed my car all around the motorway. The biggest issue was deciding which way road I would take. It seemed to me that I didn’t want to slow down even to study the map. I have to deal with the Wellington rush hour traffic which after weeks on the South Island seems overwhelming. When you compare it to traffic back home it’s really quite light. I make it as far as a town called Bulls as the sun sets and stop to eat at a Chinese restaurant. Bulls is typical of little New Zealand towns. It reminds me of lots of little towns in the foothills of the gold country Overhangs in front of the shops and the high sidewalks. I can see what people say that New Zealand reminds them of California 60 years ago.

I get back in the van and head north until I just can’t drive anymore. I pull over into a picnic ground next to the highway and under a train trestle. Two Trains numerous Large Trucks!

Marlbrough Sound Elaine Bay

2006-03-23T13:59:00.000-08:00

I get in the van and drive to a place called Elaine bay. It’s basically the end of the paved road on the way to French Pass and D’urbal Island. I originally was planning on paddling the east coast of Durbal Island but I wasn’t sure about taking Homey on a long dirt road. In fact I wasn’t sure that the dirt road was the way to French pass in the first place ( Sandy pointed out to me that if I had read the guide it would have confirmed the dirt road part) But in any case I ended up in Elaine Bay where the road ends. Elaine bay is a small community but I saw at least two places that advertised kayaks for hire. So I stopped at the first one and asked the man that answered the door if he could pass along any helpful knowledge about the area, as far as a paddler was concerned. He showed me a map of the sound and pointed out the areas that have camping. He had a double out with a couple currently. He didn’t have any maps to give me but he allowed me you use his computer printer to print out a chart from the electronic ones that Sandy had given me. In return I loaded the chart of the entire Marlbrough sound on to his computer along with a detailed insert of Tennyson Sound that he could print up and give to his clients. He was a really nice guy and asked me a bunch of question about his computer that I was happy to answer.

So I drove down to the dock and setup and launched out. It was about 3pm so I had about 3 to 4 hours of usable daylight to work with. As I started out of Elaine bay the wind picked up and turned the quiet water into chop. I was paddling into a headwind and no matter which direction I turned the wind would change direction and I’d have another headwind to deal with. This was very frustrating! The gusts were enough to almost knock you over if you weren’t paying attention. You could hear them roaring down the mountains that ringed the sound. You could see them coming across the water in that funny rippling of the water surface. After a couple of hours if this I was moving beyond frustrated into down right agitation! I had tried several changed of direction, I tried getting in the wind shadow ( or what I thought would be a wind shadow) of the cliffs. But in the end I just had to live with it. The wind would stop all of a sudden and the water all around would become calm and flat. But this didn’t last for long but I did get to see a couple of Rays basking on the bottom. I tried to take a picture of them but I was too slow with my camera. I then had to find one of these camp sites as the sun kept sinking lower and I was getting cold and hungry! I finally spotted the red and black poles that indicate that there is came site located some where close.

The campsite was a few meters back into the bush. It was set up nicely but without the luxury of a drop toilet. But it did have a nice wood fire place and a stack of wood and kindling sitting right next to it ready to be used. As I was cold and pissed off about the weather I built a fire! The site was surrounded by very exotic plant life and it gave the camp that little something extra. No chance that the ranger was going to show up and ask me for my permit. The trees also did a great job sheltering the campsite from the wind! You could here it howl but this time didn’t seem to come hard into the camp itself. So with my nice fire and wind protection it was a very delightful little site.

It was the night before the full moon and I feared that my beach was going to disappear at high tide so I pulled the boat up off the beach and stuck it into the bush.

The next morning the weather was beautiful I broke camp and paddled out to a very calm and warming morning. By lunch I had landed up on an island and took out my book and setup my easy chair and had just enjoyed the afternoon. I had plenty of time to get back so I just kicked it and relaxed. Around 4pm I packed up and finished my paddle and got back on the road. I got as far as Hastings and made parked up on a Look out point for the night. Tomorrow it would be Picton and the ferry crossing back to the north island.

Abel Tasman Day 3

2006-03-23T13:58:00.000-08:00

Sunny day. The park ranger comes around in the morning and tells me that I am not allowed to camp on the beach. I tell him sorry and tell him it will never happen again. He also wants to look at my booking document. I show him the number that I copied down from my online booking but he says that I must have the actual document. I tell him that I couldn’t print it out and he lets me slide. The couple form Switzerland are heading up to Shagg harbor and after I break camp (and move it off the beach) I head north as well. I find Shagg harbor almost by accident. I happen to see a pod of kayaks go into a small opening in the rocks and this turns out to be Shagg harbor. When I turn in I meet my new friends just as they are about to head back. The little harbor is only accessible during high tide and contains a bunch of seal pups. They are very playful and have absolutely no fear of us. I take a bunch of pictures then I start paddling back to the campsite. On my return I find that the tide is complete out so it’s about 200yrds from the edge of the water to the campsite. So I haul all my gear to the boat and get it packed and head back south.

I stop and spend some time on Adele Island on a small beach. It is deserted as most of the tours have completed for the evening but the sun is shining and I take some time to sit and just enjoy the afternoon. I found a small cave that was hidden by trees in the side of the cliffs on the beach. It is not very deep but very tall and filled with ferns. It’s very lovely. After an hour or so I finish the paddle back to the beach and found Homey unmolested. I take my time cleaning and repacking my stuff.

While I’m backing my stuff I talk a bit to two local older guys who are cooking on a camp stove and chat a bit then a bunch of people show up they are a group of young people from all different nationalities. It turns out that they are a bunch of Politic kids having a picnic. The old guys seem make a few disparaging remakes about the Asian ones and I just smile and say nothing. I think that racial prejudice is very much in evidence in this part of the world. This was not the first comment of this kind that I have heard from a local. A Danish gentleman come over and asked if I am going to stay the night as he and his wife plan to but aren’t sure if they will get hassled or not. I tell them that I’m not but only because the car has been parked here for a few days and I thought that I was pushing it.

I not head down the road a bit to Katierine where the large car park is and a large percentage of the kayak companies launch out from. I sneak a load of laundry and a hot shower from the camp site then head back the way I came but instead of returning to the beach I go up a road that takes me to a vacant lot that overlooks the water. I spend the night there and think how nice it would be to have a house on this spot.

Abel Tasman

2006-03-15T15:05:00.000-08:00

Went back to Steven's bay to launch out for the overnight trip. I paddled north past the two big Kayaking launch sites Kaiteriteri and Marahau and head up past fisherman’s Island and Adele Island. Just as I hit the halfway point the weather turns and the winds pick up. I can see off in the distance the sea is covered in whitecaps heading this direction. So I land at the nearest beach and put on my spray jacket and helmet and head out. Just in time as the wind has picked up to 20kts and the wind waves are crashing over the bow. Not any thing scary at all. I’ve paddled in much bigger water back home but I was looking forward to a calm warm day after all the wind and rain I’ve been dealing with. I slog on through to my landing site at Mosquito Bay. I pull my boat up on the beach and start to unload the boat. The tide is out and the camping are is about 100 yrds away. When the tide comes back the beach will be only 15 yrds wide! They actually have a kayak parking area as there isn’t room on the beach the tide is up. Just as I start to unpack the rain starts. I decide that if I want to stay partly dry I will not set up In the camp but on the beach up against a wall of a cliff and its overhanging trees. I also start to construct a shelter with my tarp that I can put the tent under and have room enough to cook and get in and out of my tent with out getting water inside. So as I build my little camp site and construct my shelter the rain stops. But I dark grey clouds don’t go away so I stay put. Just then a double kayak pulls up to the beach and a couple jump out. As it turns out they are also camping at the site (there’s was the only other tent at the site when I arrived). I invite them down for a drink after they have stowed there stuff and changed. They come down an hour later with a box of wine. I impress them by having wine glasses although I’m drinking Rum and Cokes. They are from Switzerland and we have a great time on the beach. That night the rain comes and goes but its nothing like what I’ve been subjected to over the last week or so.

On to Abel Tasman

2006-03-15T15:00:00.000-08:00

I decide to head straight to Abel Tasman instead of going to Nelson. I stop in the town of Motueka which is the “gateway” town for Abel Tasman. I find an internet place and sit down and read my emails. I discover an email from Mark Hutton asking where I am. I had not gotten back to him telling him that I wasn’t going to make the Bay of Islands trip with him but now it’s too late and he has purchased the food. I send him an email telling him that I will cover his costs when I see him after coastbusters. I also decide that I will have to blow off Matt’s thing if I want to get to Auckland in time. So with those two things out of the way I feel free to go do Abel Tasman on my own. This trip really is about me doing things on my own anyway. I hit a few of the kayaking shops and asked about local information then I went up to Stevens Bay ( as small local’s only spot) and launched out for a evening paddle. I made it as far as fisherman’s Island ( about 5-6 km) and then headed back. I wanted to see how far I could get in an hour paddle. I returned back to Motueka and booked the campsite for the next night and spend the night with a bunch of other mini van travelers parked behind the information center. It seems that we are all in the same kind of vans, all set up the same way, the VW microbus of the new millennia. Actually you see them everywhere. It seems to me that there are more tourist traveling around New Zealand than Locals!

Greymouth to Westport

2006-03-15T14:55:00.000-08:00

Next morning the rain has let up. I break camp and hit the water. The sky actually clears and the lake turns to glass. A little reward after last nights woes. But it’s short lived and I just as I make it back to the car and start to repack my gear it starts to rain again. I head on to Greymouth which is the first real town on the Western end of Arthur’s Pass and stop to get a bite to eat and get some seam sealant for my tent. I go to a pizza place just so I can tell Stephanie that I had pizza in New Zealand. Nothing really, it’s round, it’s red on top but the taste is nothing like pizza. Just as I return to my car there is a huge down pour. Hail and buckets of water. The traffic is stopped in the street. I was lucky to just get into my car before it started. I didn’t even try to move until it passed a few minutes later. I decided to get the back tire fixed here so I pull into a Firestone tire place and the it ends up that they have to but a tube in it as the nail was in the sidewall.
I head out again heading to Westport and I stop to pick up a hitchhiker on road just leaving Greymouth. His name is Jeff and he is from Scotland. He is traveling around until his money is gone. He is going to see Pancake Rocks and so am I so we chat about his life and and how New Zealand doesn’t have near as many sheep as he thought they would. Of course he is from the West coast of Scotland where they also have an abundance of Sheep so I guess it’s all relative. When we get to Pancake rock there are hords of tourist. The place is a zoo. We walk along the path looking at the rocks and shoreline. It like Mendocino with its caves and blow holes, but the “pancake rocks” are quite unique. I offer to give Jeff a lift all the way to Westport and he accepts. I drop him off in town and I pick up supplies. I then start heading up north to Nelson and Abel Tasman. I am supposed to meet up with Matt Foy to help with his Politic kids group. I end up spending the night off the side of the road in what appears to be a car graveyard.

Lake Brunner

2006-03-15T14:50:00.000-08:00

The rain just keeps coming down in buckets as I come into the flats on the other side of the pass. I take the turn off to Lake Brunnel and the rain starts to let up. In fact there is a spot of blue sky peaking out. When I get to the lake I figure that I can go for a short paddle but when I actually get on the lake it’s so beautiful that I head back and get my camping gear and decide to spend the night. I have to spend it somewhere and not only is it not raining it’s warm out. So I get my thing and head out down the western shore line (as Sandy’s book says that there are no roads to that side. In fact the forest is very dense and exotic! The water is inky black and mirror calm. I can’t believe that only an hour earlier it was Storm’n like Norman! I get to what Sandy’s map says to be Irishman’s landing and set up my tent and gear. . Just then a small flightless bird comes out of the bush right by my feet. It seems surprised to find me there and freezes then when it thinks it safe it make a dash for cover. I make my self a quick snack and then I keep jump back in my boat and continue down the western shore just to see what there is to be seen.

I get as far as Hohonu Spit when the wind starts to pick up and I decide to head back to camp. When I return I pull up the boat and set in on the shore by my tent. Irishman’s landing is set up with fire pits and drop toilets. There are several clearing but no water. There are many streams that empty into the lake each one is dark read as if they were blood. It seems that all the rivers around here are the color of wine. There must be something in the soil that causes this to happen. I must remember to ask some one why. I change out of my wet clothes and hang them up to dry on a tree branch and take a walk along the beach to explore.

After a half hour I start back to camp and it starts to rain again. I hurry back as I don’t want my drying gear to get soaked again but I’m too late. Lucky I set up the tent earlier as it allows me to jump in and get out of the rain, or so I think. I then notice that the my tent hasn’t been in the rain for quite some time and I have found that I have not resealed the seams in a while so the rain is dripping in various places. I am thinking to my self that I won’t be able to sleep if this keeps up so I grab my empty dry bags and stick them between the tent and the fly. After that I stick my rain coat in then my spray jacket. This still isn’t enough coverage. So I finally jump out of my tent and yank out the ground tarp and tie in across the top of the tent. This does the trick. But not every thing is if not down right wet at least damp. I spend the night listing to the staccato of rain all night on the tent roof wondering if the rain will ever stop.

Heading up Arthur's Pass

2006-03-08T15:56:00.000-08:00

I hear the wind howl all night long but the trees are good cover so I don’t feel the van rocking. The boat is secured to the top and after a quick breakfast I head up Arthur’s Pass. I thought that the weather to this point was bad. Well I was about to have my definition of bad weather redefined. As soon as I started the climb I noticed that the mountains were disappearing. The wind started to blow me about and then the skys opened up and I was just short of being underwater. I would say it was pouring rain but the rain was more horizontal the vertical. At one point I have to pull of to retie the boat on the van as it has slipped or should I say was blown off the pads. I do this in the pouring rain. Thanks goodness I brought my rain parka! After securing the boat I travel a little further and find a stone shelter along the roadside that was once a stagecoach stop. It has a fire place in it and benches. So I decide to make myself some lunch and enjoy just being out of the van.

Maiden Voyage of The Great White Shark (Lyttleton Harbor and Quarry Island)

2006-03-08T15:41:00.000-08:00

Waveney and I take the scenic route to Lyttleton to a small bay just east of the town proper. Jilley and Marie are already there waiting on us. We launch out and start padding to Quarry Island. Quarry Island is in the middle of Lyttleton bay and has some caves and a ships graveyard. It takes about 35 minutes to cross over. The wind is coming in the mouth and the tide is slack the waves hit us abeam and are just enough to wash over the decks. We start to circle the island and land up on the back side where its sheltered from the wind. When I get out the cockpit is sloshing with water. More water than I can justify. I empty the water and then we have a little lunch. Between them the girls have packed enough food for 6 people. The start handing me things to eat and I tell them that’s why I didn’t bring any food as I figured they would have more than enough. We launch out and continue on to the ships grave yards. By this time the tide has changed and started to ebb. The wind is has picked up and is blowing about 15-20 knots in the opposite direction so the wind waves are really standing up now. But their combined affect is to negate each other. But the crossing is exciting and Marie and Jilley are pushing hard to get a cross.

Once across I notice that the boat is still filling with water. I can’t see any holes in the hull so I suspect that the foot peg bolts are leaking. When we get back to Waveney’s house we put it up on a stand and I dump some water in the cockpit and sure enough the water is pouring out of the bolt holes. So I dismantle the peddles and notice that the builder has screwed up the drilling and then tried to make up for it by using strips of wood as a spacer. I run down to the local hardware store and purchase a set of O-rings but then when I go to put them on I realize that I have to get shorter bolts as I have removed the wood strips. I go back to the hardware store and the guy says that he doesn’t have any stainless steel bolts but he calls his supplier in town and he does but I have to run down and pick them up. So I run in to town but it turns out that this place only does wholesale not retail. I explain that the retailer sent me and the saleman there say alright. He goes to ring them up and it’s such a small order that the computer doesn’t have a price set up so in frustration he just tosses me the bolts and tells me not to worry about it. I run Back to S&W’s and put everything together and it I discover that the wood spacers were needed to allow one of the peddles to clear the deck. It just rubs so I just file down the top of the peddle and it all works fine. I do the water test and no leaks.

By now its 5pm and I had planned on leaving town right after my paddle around noon. Sandy had come home from work and tells me that he could have made me neoprene washers at work. Oh well. As they are expecting guest from out of town I climb in the van and start heading for Timaru to see my cousin Sally. I had emailed her but never got a response. I called the number and it was invalid. I decide that I will just cut straight across to Arthur’s pass and paddle at Lake Brunnel.

I make the base of the pass and find a little picnic stop that has a small grove of trees for cover. I back in the van and make a quick dinner and study the map for tomorrow’s attack of Arthur’s Pass.

First Week Gone So quickly

2006-03-08T15:30:00.000-08:00

Today will mark my first week in NZ. Today we are going to go paddling with a group of S&W’s friends over on the south side of the Bank’s peninsula. I borrow a boat that belongs to one of S&W’s friends and I follow them out to a place called Tumble down bay. It’s a lovely drive up and over this large hill, down a gravel road, through a sheep farm and finally down to this little bay. The place that we have to park the cars is at least a quarter mile from the beach. But everyone has a little kayak cart that we strap on to the boats then load them with our gear and start dragging them cross country. We have several obstacles to clear including large gully and a set of steps that take you over a fence. The beach is a long smooth black sand beach. The water is at least 75 yards away from the water. The bay is really more of a pocket in the shoreline. The sides are lined with crags and cliffs.

The weather is not bad. The sun is shining and the wind is mild although it will pick up as the day goes on. I guess it’s the nice weather that preceded a storm. The forecast is for another storm coming up from the south to hit later tonight. When we get to the beach a bunch of kayakers are already there and they are all set up for eating. They have sun shelters and food all layed out. Apparently there is a little email network of boaters that regularly meet.

I decide that I need to get in the water so I suit up and head to the water with my boat. Did I happen to mention that it’s a long way away! There is a small break coming up the bay and some people on boogie boards and one guy on a surf board are trying to catch some surf. I take the borrowed boat and make a couple of quick runs. The boogie boarders are impressed but the surfer is not and after a few passes he leaves the water. That leaves me and the Boogie boarders, that don’t seem all that interested in catching waves so much as just bobbing about in the water. I wouldn’t mind so much but they seem to want to do this right in the middle of the nicest part of the wave.

After a few runs I see Sandy launching out with his boat. His is a wooden boat that he designed and built himself and it is very sleek, very light and very low volume. We take turns on the waves and he does quite well. I paddled his boat later in the day and had a hell of a time keeping up right.

After 20 minutes or so the rest of the group starts to launch out and we form up and start heading out toward some rock gardens near the west. The wind has picked up and the water is big. The waves crash over the rocks as we move along the edge of the water. The main group is not accustomed to the rocks and big water but I can’t wait on them so I make a dash through cliffs at the end of the bay and a large stone pinnacle that juts up 6o ft out of the water. The water back here is coming from all direction but there is plenty of room and so there is very little danger. After picking my way though the rocks and swells I turn out of a large slot to the open ocean. The swell is big 8 – 10 ft but once clear of the rocks it’s easily managed. I turn back to rejoin the group in the middle of the mouth of the bay. They have decided to turn back as the swell and wind are both picking up. As I don’t wish to be rude I turn and join my hosts.

We follow the rough shore line back to the beach and I take the opportunity to investigate a few small caves. When I come out one of the paddlers is in the water practicing his paddle float rescue. I watch quietly and get treated to a golden arch at which point I start in with a little coaching (after a prompt from Sandy). The group seem to enjoy it and we all head back to the beach.

The wind has really picked up now and I’m glad that I didn’t take off by myself earlier. As I mentioned earlier I took this opportunity to paddle Sandy’s boat. I am standing next to Waveney as I’m getting ready when all of a sudden I see my paddle come flying through the air right at us followed by Sandy’s boat. Did I mention that it was very light. The boat and paddle are heading straight at Waveney and as she snatches the paddle out of the air I tackle, literally, the boat just before it crashes into Waveney. There I am laying spread eagle on top of the boat, after making a diving tackle in mid air. I’d heard of boats being tossed by the wind in Baja but this was my first experience with one. With the near miss we decide that its time to head back to the cars. Everybody starts packing stuff into the boats and loading on to there little boat caddies. We start the long trek back to the cars. This time I am not having such a bad time of it, which means that my boat only tipped over a couple of times.

When I get back to where the cars are parked I ask out loud if anyone has a boat for sale. What the heck, you never know! Guess what on guy says that the boat on his car is or sale. It is a long sleek Necky Arluk III or at least a copy of an Arluk III. The boat is made of fiberglass and the price is amazingly cheap. I immediately ask what’s wrong with the boat and the guy replies that it was the first boat out of the mould and that the owner / builder was looking to sell it. So we walk it back to the beach, that’s right way back over the beach. I’m not going to buy a boat that I haven’t paddled when the water is right there, relatively speaking. I take it out and it seems to be perfect. Plenty of storage, sleek and reasonability priced. Not really a rock gardening boat but I wanted something to do extend touring and this is the boat for that.

So I said I would take it. But there is one catch I don’t have pads to carry another boat. So the guy get direction from Sandy as to the whereabouts of the house and the guy say that he will meet us there and we can exchange money and the boat. Well as it happens we take too long to get back and when I pull up there is the boat in Sandy’s back yard. The guy just left it there. What trust! The thing with hanging with Sandy, You are just golden!

That night I get invited to go out for another paddle with Waveney and two of her friend Jilley and Marie in Lyttleton harbor. As Waveney wants to be on the water by 9am Sandy and I load the boats on to my Van and get all the stuff prepped. YEAH a Boat At Last!!!!! Next Lyttleton harbor and the great white’s maiden voyage.

Christchurch

2006-03-08T15:26:00.000-08:00

Saturday in Christchurch. Weather has been awful. I haven’t found a boat I liked. I am feeling like my time is slipping away. Sandy and Waveney have been wonderful but I am feeling frustrated and a little depressed. But I figure that I shouldn’t get down and that there is a reason for my failure for finding a boat. So I spent the day walking around downtown Christchurch playing tourist. I then hop into the car and take a drive over to Lyttleton harbor which is just on the other side of a small group of mountains southeast of Christchurch. You have to drive through a tunnel to get to it. Lyttleton harbor is just that, a working harbor with a little town climbing up the hillside. I drive up to the top of town and there is a track, which is what they call trails in NZ, that takes you right up to the top of the mountain. As I am feeling antsy I decide to take a little hike up the track and work out my frustrations. I take a snack and my camera and take an hour walk in the bush, as they say here. This does help my mood and I headed back to Sandy’s and Waveney’s feeling much better.

Christchurch

2006-03-03T17:01:00.000-08:00

Well I've been in Christchurch for a couple of days now. The weather has been awful. A major storm had hit the NZ. The ferrys that cross Cook Straits have been stopped as the swell has exceeded 30 ft. he last ferry to make the crossing just limped in with banged up passenger, wrecked cars and a few railway cars for good measure.

I have been unable to find a boat and this combined with the weather has been causing me to feel depressed. On the bright side I did get to hook up with Alex (Sandy) Ferguson. He and his partner Waveny are a complete hoot! Sandy is a even more ADD than I am if you can believe that! He is also a master tinkerer, and loves to make all sorts of gagets for his boats. In fact he has built all his own boats. Wooden boat's of a design that may not have originally been his but after all the tweaking and modification he has made his own. He and Waveny have been so kind and opened there home to me. Not that I'm any thing special. They seem to be the center of a whole traveling kayaking world. He seems to know simply everyone. They have paddled and or traveled is more places than I could imagine and they are just really fun to be around. I've parked Homey in the driveway and although they have offered me my own room I've been sleeping in the van. It really become my own little space and gives me a sense of home. Sandy has given me a bunch of ideas for my presentation for Coastbusters. As the weather is to bad to paddle I hope to get it in shape today. If the weather breaks I hope that I can get a chance to paddle with Sandy and Waveney and some of their friends. It would be a real shame to not get the opportunity to go out with them.

Kaikoura

2006-03-01T13:13:00.000-08:00

Well it finally happened! I got to dip a paddle in the water. After spending a placid night along the road side I awoke to find a beautiful day. During the night the sound of the ocean waves were only ocationally interrupted by the odd passing lorrie and twice by a freight train who's track lay just on the the other side of the highway. After making my coffee I watched the sun rise on the ocean and felt its warmth promise a warm wonderful day.

I drove into the town of Kaikoura which is on a small peninsula on the east coast north of Christchurch. It is know for its Whale watching, seals and rugged coast line. I rolled in to town and knew that I would kick my self if I didn't get on the water today. The forcast was for a cold southerly storm in a day or two and this was the warm weather that preceedes a storm, so I wasn't going to waste it. I called the local Kayaking shop, Kaikoura Kayaking, and booked a boat for a 3 hour tour, (choirs - a 3 hr tour). I waited in a parking lot for the boat to arrive as the this kayaking company had no shop per say and just used the local outdoors shop and the information kiosk for bookings. Well a mini van pulling a trailer full of boats and a wide tanned face of the guide stepped out. I walked up and greeted him. His name was Matt Foy, greeted me back with a hardy hand shake and the standard kiwi greeting of "G'day" He was going to be taking out a couple in a double and he was going to allow me to take a single out by my self although it wasn't his policy to allow folks to paddle on there own, no matter how skilled. I could almost here him saying to him self "This bloody Yank better not get himself in trouble in my boat".

We headed around to the south side of the peninsula where we off loaded and I promised I would be back by 3:30 and paddled off. The Kaikoura peninsula is surrounded by may rock and made for some great rock gardening. The local fur seals are so used to visitor that I was able to get right next to them before there comfort level was exceeded. As I was on my own I resisted to temptation to plow thu some of the more challenging areas but still had a great time and even got a little surfing in. It was a beautiful day, warm and windless. The water that wasn't rushing around rocks was glassy. When I returned Matt had already taken the couple in the double back and was returning while I was on shore changing out of my gear and hanging it to dry. We loaded his boat and I gave him some CCK swag and he headed off.
It was such a beautiful day I figured that I would just make myself a late lunch / early dinner and get some sun. I was sitting there in my lawn chair enjoying the view and the warmth on my skin for about an hour when Matt pulls up with a van full of clients and asks if I would like to go out again and give him a hand. Of course I said sure, that my gear was too dry anyway. So I got back into my stuff and we headed out.

We had 4 doubles and me in a single. Matt was paddling in the back of one of the doubles. As it was so nice I figured it would be a nice easy paddle but that would change!!! One we had gotten about a 1/4 mile out to Shark Tooth Point Matt had the group raft up and pointed south and asked the group what they say. I didn't see anything but a whale watching boat heading in from the open sea. What Matt saw was a line of white caps in he distance. He then asked me what I thought that meant. I replied that it meant 15knt winds at least, but I still didn't feel any wind on my face. He had a good eye and knew his waters, so he told the group that we weren't going around the point but just explore the more protected rocks where we were rafted up. Not more that a few minutes passed when the wind began to pick up. Water that was glassy and smooth only moment before was not a wiped washing machine of 2ft wind waves and at least a 20knt wind blowing us into the rocks. The clients eyes got big and I could tell that it was time to call it a day and get the folk back to terra firma! Matt thought the same thing, and in a voice that was calm and controlled he informed the group that we would be paddling back in. The group didn't argue (their eye's he size of dinner plates) so we started the process of getting these folks back to the van and off the rocks. Now I've been out in these type of conditions before many times and for experienced Kayaker this would be considered play time as the wind wave were immenently surfable. But for these beginners it was life and death at the hands of a unforgiving sea. Matt already had one boat on tow and I was cursing myself for not grabbing my tow rope before we left. I worked with the two remaining doubles to keep them off the rocks. A young couple from England didn't quite make it. They ended up hooked up on a rock and I quickly calmed them and pulled them and their boat off and sent them through a slot between rocks that would allow them to use the wind instead of working against it. We sailed through and caught the rest up on the beach. After tell the clients what fun they had ( liked they believed us) we loaded up the boats and Matt and I comment to our selves what luck that I had been there to help out. I'm sure that Matt would have gotten them in. I know I could have but I would have had a serious pucker factor going on if I was alone with that group ( been there, done that!). So after dropping them off Matt invited me back to his place to crash for the night.

Matt and his buddies seem to be the local adventure guides in town. They are the local dive masters, surfer, and kayaker guides. If I were to guess I would say they were all in there late 20's all loving life and living it as only young single guys can. Matt made us a wonderful stir fry dinner and we all sat around and watch movies on TV. This also gave me a chance to catch up on my email and blogging as well as get a load of laundry done. Later that night the rain came and the wind was still very strong. I headed off to sleep in Homey which was parked out back. The night got colder and colder. By morning I had put on several layers of clothes and could see my breath in the van. By day break the storm had passed, the wind had died down and the sun was shining. My clothes dried and I was ready to head to Christchurch. Before I left Matt asked if I would like to meet up with him and help him out with a three day class in Able Tasmen. As that coincided with my plans on being in that area I said I would love to so I guess its another play date. Next Stop Christchurch!

Homey's first Big Day

2006-03-01T01:35:00.000-08:00

We are let off of the ferry at Picton, a sleepy little town that mainly exists to service the ferry. Which is about how much time I spend on it. I hit the road to the east coast, Hwy 1. This will be the first real shake down for Homey. We start down the road and a eye bleeding 60 kph. Straining up the climbs. But Homey did great. Just chugged along. In fact it runs better on the open road than it did in town. Our first stop is to check out a kayak in Blenheim. The boat is an old Current design Storm. I had a picture in my mind of the boat we had at CCK, long sleek with tons of storage. But apparently this is not the same boat. After chatting with the owner, who was a really nice guy. I let the boat go and figured I could make it to my next stop Kaikoura. Homey did a hero's labor over the mountains and finally we came to the sea. It's funny but the drive kind of reminded me of my trip to Baja ( accept this road had guard rails ). It was getting dark and I was getting hungry so I pulled of the road to cook up some dinner ( top ramen and peanuts ) and watch the surf bound the beach. This was a beautiful example of a dumping wave. I mean pounding the beach. I kept thinking that if this was the CALM east coast what could the west coast be like!
After finishing up dinner I decided to stay the night. Now this location was well back from the road so and it was level and had a great view of the beach and the anticipated sunrise. Unlike my first night in Wellington, this was a calm and clear night, full of strange stars and familiar patterns.

2006-03-01T01:33:00.000-08:00

You know that ferry boat are really big ships. The sight of one spinning on it access and then backing into the dock as easy as I would swing into a parking lot is a awesome sight. And at last my ship has come. We drive up and start pouring out of a cars, truck and assorted tramper vans ( like Homey ). And head up for the passenger deck. I get half way up the stairs and notice that once the ship gets under way "Passengers are not allowed back to the vehicles once the ship is at sea". Now I've been on ferries like this before in British Columbia and I remember going back and forth during the crossing. So I figure I better run back and get what I need as I won't get a chance later. SO I fix my self a rather large cocktail and put it in a nalgene bottle. Grab an extra jacket and head back up to the passenger deck.
The crossing will take about 4 hours. The ship give a great shutter and we pull away into the harbor headed for the South Island. The wind is brutal the swell so great that its flying over the bow and spraying the brave folks standing on the 2nd level. The boat is rock'n and a roll'n. I mean side to side, up and down, and we haven't even clear the harbor. Wild. Actually leaving Wellington is the worst part of the crossing. Something to do with the shape of the harbor, it funnels all the waves and wind into its mouth. Once we cleared the harbor it calmed down to 15ft swells. Needless to say I now understand why the don't let passengers near their cars while at sea! I am also thankful as with all the pitching and rolling no one noticed my stumbling about after finishing off the aforementioned cocktail.

Getting Ready To Launch

2006-02-27T12:29:00.000-08:00

Well I got my hands on the van. I've named it Homey, after Homer Simson cause the first thing I said when I drove it was "D'oh!" . It's not that its all that bad I was just what came into my head. The only real problem is a terrible creaking noise in the front suspention and a slight grinding noise when I turn to the right. If I hadn't promised to buy it I would have passed it by. But then I would have spent a couple of days just looking for a van. Instead I am going to drive it to Christchurch and have a mechanic look at the front end and fix it as cheaply as possible while I'm out paddling. I just don't want to be stuck broken down in the middle of nowhere! Other than that it's fine. A dent here and there but the engine starts right up and doesn't make any funny noises when its running. No power but then what do you want for 2000cc's

I was going to build a platform inside so I could store my stuff under the bed but I just sleep next to it and It's find. Nothing like snuggling up to your gear at night! Many women have accused me of doing just that, now it's true. I spend the first night in the van parked along scenic bay side road. The strong winds rocked the van all night and the cars going to work rocked it all morning. I was parked near a public bath so I was able to get a sauna and steam with my morning shower for less than the cost of my morning latte! Not bad.

The person that sold me the van was also going to give me her sim card for the phone but she flaked and now I have to get my own. Not a terrible issue accept that I gave out the number to a few people already.

I also discovered that I have a power issue. I got all these car chargers for my laptop, camera batteries and cell phone but the van's battery is very small ( not the right one for the van ) and I don't think that it will take the strain. As I used up most of my laptop battery the first night and the next morning( I left the wall charger in the my luggage that was in the van the first night) I had to sneak back into the YHA to plug in my laptop to charge it up. This morning I have it plugged in at the coffee shop that I use to connect, so I can finish charging the unit. Live and learn.

Need to be ready for the ferry by noon today. Just a couple of hours off. Then it time to cross over the the South Island. I will be looking at a couple of kayaks tonight and be in Christchurch by Wed. I already feel pressed for time. Funny how is that!

Arrival in Godzone

2006-02-26T11:57:00.000-08:00

Good Day From "Godzone"

Well I just arrived in Wellington NZ the capital on New Zealand located on the southern tip of the North Island of New Zealand. I am starting a seven week kayaking holiday and I wanted to share my experience with my friends, family and complete strangers that have nothing better to do in those long lonely hours of the night. I have purchased a little van that I will travel/live in for the trip and I am currently on the hunt for a kayak. I brought over 170lbs of gear, nothing like traveling light! Yes I did bring the kitchen sink, I'm sure of it cause I had to shlep it through the airport several time.

It quite windy here in Wellington. It is really not a very big city ( by my standards ) it reminds of a hilly town on the coast of Italy that you see in long shots on multiple movies. I've going to take the Ferry over to the South Island and start my trip in the Far South and work my way north finishing up in Auckland and the NorthLands. Chasing Summer. The weather here has already started to cool and as NZ is so close to Antartica it will get colder still as late summer gives way to fall.