Plans that go astray

Yikes! Just realised how long it has been since the last entry. I have to put it down to winteritis since I haven't been out much at all over the last few months, just a couple of short paddles. But I have just got back from a 7 day break on the mainland.

This holiday was going to be a packed one. For the first part of the week the plan was to drive down and then paddle around Lake Waikaremoana, this would have taken from Saturday to Tuesday. Then a long long drive up to Russell in the Bay of Islands, launch from Rawhiti on Thurdsay and camp out at Urupukpuka Island. Explore the islands I missed out on last time and with a group of other kayakers paddle out to Deepwater Cove on Saturday to watch the sinking of the HMNZS Canterbury. Action packed, all planned out - and none of it was to be.

The previous week I was stressed out at work and feeling very under the weather so when it came to drive to Waikaremoana on Saturday I ran out of steam 100km before getting there and pulled into a camp site at Lake Rerewhakaaitu. The next morning I woke early to the sound of Tui's holding a ruckus party in the Tree Fuchsias that surrounds the site. I couldn't face the drive to Wakare so instead launched the kayak & did a round of Rerewhakaaitu to clear my head. In the afternoon I launched again but this time with the fly rod and picked up a nice 1.5kg Rainbow trout, once again the lake didn't let me down.

The following day a change of scenery and a site that wasn't full of drunken Tui's was in order so I zipped up the road to Lake Aniwhenua. You are allowed to camp for free on the domain near the dam and although it is fairly exposed it is a beautiful spot.

Once the Jeep was set up I grabbed the spinning road and walked down the canal flinging the lure out every few yards. A sub 1kg trout fell for it and after a short but very aerial fight I managed to get it up the bank of the canal to unhook and release it so it will be around the next time I head down there.

Monday I woke to a strong wind but the lake was still fairly smooth so I hopped into Kekeno and circumnavigated the lake for a bit of fitness training. The long break from paddling had not been kind to me and although it was only 10km I could feel that I had a workout. For a man made lake the scenery was terrific. Between powering it up I paddled into Azolla & Duckweed covered bays, up a crystal clear side stream and watched a couple of hundred swans take off in unison at the main inlet.


There were some trout jumping around the lake so after a lengthy lunch I grabbed the fly rod and headed out in the kayak again. A couple of hours of harling along the edge of the weed banks saw 3 nice trout fall to the fly. A short break and then out again for another 3 Rainbows, all between 1 to 1.5kg. Not being too fond of trout unless smoked they all got released to provide more of a challenge next time.

That night the rain hit with a vengeance and only let up late the next morning. Feed-up of being stuck in the Jeep reading, as soon as the rain stopped I headed back down the canal but this time fished all the way to the penstocks and back up the river where ever I could find access. At the hydroelectric plant there is a tremendous waterfall with a nice pool below that was very tempting, but I wasn't sure of the legalities of climbing down the side of the complex so gave it a miss.

That evening I headed out once again for some more fishing in the kayak. The annual licence had just cost me $96 so I figured I might as well get my monies worth! For some reason though the trout just weren't playing ball. Just before it started to get dark I decided to give in when I spotted a dorsal and tail fin sticking up out of a patch of Azolla (red weed). Not only that there was a healthy distance between the 2 fins! So I grounded Kekeno on another weed bed and began casting into the channel between the two beds. Pretty soon the fins disappeared and my reel started screaming. This was more like it! After a long fight which was hindered by my net refusing to open for me without a struggle, I managed to land it. Estimated at 5lbs it was the the biggest one I had caught for a while.
Wednesday was a day for a long drive. The weather forecast for the next few days was not good, but I wanted to be up north just incase the sinking was going to go ahead. By the time I got past Auckland I received a text from Dawn advising that a meeting was being held and things weren't looking good. When I got to Whangarei a decision still hadn't been made so instead of Russell I crossed over the the Kia Iwi lakes for the night. I checked the emails when I got there and received confirmation that the Canterbury will be afloat for another few weeks - Bugger.

Spent the following day at Kia Iwi with only an eight inch trout to show for it. With the wind expected to get worse paddling was out, and I hadn't packed any salt water fishing gear so on Friday I decided to head home and have the weekend to unpack and sort things out.

So not the holiday I had planned but still relaxing and very enjoyable.

Bay of Islands Holiday

After lugging all the gear up to the house and looking at the mountain of wet / smelly junk piled up in the lounge I start to wonder if the holiday was worth it. Then I mentally slap myself and think back over the last week - you bet it was worth it!

Saturday
It all started when Tony & Kate told our email group that they were planning a trip up to the Bay of Islands. It wasn't long before 5 more of us put up our hands as well. As time progressed Steve & Linda had to pull out because of work commitments and Paul & Natasha came down with the flu. Thus it was only me that drove into the Puriri DOC camp in the Whangaruru Harbour to meet Tony & Kate. They weren't hard to pick out with their multi room mansion of a tent and being only one of the 2 couples camped there.

Puriri Bay Doc Camp

After setting up the Jeep for sleeping we had an enjoyable evening catching up and I tried for some luck fishing from the camp site as the tide came in. Unfortunately the small pickers were about and my bait didn't last long each cast, so soon gave up.

Sunday
The weather forecast for Queens Birthday weekend was meant to be crap. But once again they had it wrong with Sunday dawning bright and beautiful with 10 to 15knt SW winds. We couldn't ask for better conditions so soon had the kayaks in the water and headed around North Head of the harbour. The coastline on the eastern side is very rugged with (luckily small) oceanic swells slowly rocking the kayak. Zipping in and out of the rocks kept us entertained as we made our way to Bland Bay.

Kate North Point Whangaruru

Once there the day was so good that we cut across to the far point of Bland Bay to check out the Pink Cave, a destination I had been trying to get to for at least 6 years but had been put off by the size of the swells rolling in each time. This area is even more rugged then North Pt with lots of nooks and crannies to stick the kayak into and scratch the bottom with. The point with the main cave is almost an island by itself. Tony and Kate stayed on the near side of it but since the cave looked like it narrowed considerably on the far side I paddled around in "juggley seas" to approach it from this angle. The cave entrance narrowed so much that I had trouble finding it, poking my bow into likely looking holes until I saw one that showed sky and sea through it.

The narrow part lived up to its name with pink coralline growth on the rock faces. The swell was rolling through this entrance quite a bit but I managed to get through without any problems. Once inside it opened up to a nice roomy hole, well worth trying for 6 years for. I spotted Tony out from the entrance and thought they were just waiting for me, but Kate had attempted the cave as well only to have a swell roll in at the wrong time and force the stern of her immaculate Sea Spirit into the rock and scuffing it up. Well Kate, its been christened - you can now call it a real kayak!

After having lunch on a small beach b4 the point we headed back into Bland Bay. For a bit different scenery instead of paddling back round the way we came we portaged the kayaks over the camping ground and road to the harbour. One trolley meant 3 trips (the Sea Spirit was carried while Kekeno and Tony's ChuckyIV trollyied). Then as Kate was suffering from "What'saroundthecorneritis" we headed inland up the harbour for a while before turning back and paddling to camp.

Tony & Kate Bland Bay

Monday

Another beautiful morning greeted me when I poked my nose out of the Jeep. The forecast was for stronger winds later on in the day but the morning was just crying out "Paddle!". It is so good to be able to launch the kayaks without the hassle of sorting gear or loading it onto the Jeep, just a matter of hopping in and paddling away! This time we headed south,island hopping past Oakura and Helena Bays to the headland just before Mimwhangata Peninsula. By this time the wind had suddenly got up so we thought it prudent to start heading back.

Tony hunting for the nearest public amenity

After stopping for a bite to eat in a small bay sheltered by an island we made our way back by hugging the coast. This area of the shoreline consists of rugged cliffs and secluded sheltered bays tucked away between them. The odd rock garden gave us the opportunity to put more scratches and gorges in the hulls of our beloved ones. All during this paddle we were looking forward to a feed of fish & chips from the Oakuru Takeaways. After landing there we found out that the owner had only just closed up until the evening so we laid on the public domain and tucked into the food we had brought with us instead. Then it was a short paddle across the harbour and back to the camp.


Tuesday
Kate and Tony were headed to Russell so I took the opportunity of fulfilling another ambition of mine by exploring Urupukapuka Island. After a leisurely pack up and a pleasant drive around the coast I arrived at Rawhiti at about 1pm. It was overcast and windy but the island is only a couple of kilometres out so I wasn't too worried. I knew you could leave vehicles on private property there, but couldn't find anybody. So I got the kayak packed and changed into paddling clothes when a guy came down with a wheel barrow full of fishing gear and directed me to his missus. With the Jeep parked insight of their house I head out into the channel and a rough beam on chop. I was pleasantly surprised with how well a fully laden Kekeno handled the conditions, not once worried about capsizing with the kayak dancing over the waves and I could almost hear it shouting "Give me more!"

I had heard of 2 camp sites on the island Urupukapuka and Cable Bays (there is actually another one - Sunset Bay further around). When I beached at Urupukapuka Bay it looked very nice, sheltered with a couple of groves of trees to tuck the tent against. But there were also 1001 sheep grazing the sites! Nothing worse then a flock of sheep sleeping around your tent at night making strange stomach noises, so I paddled around the point to Cable Bay. Slightly more exposed to the weather conditions but very peaceful.

Camp site at Cable Bay

Right, I found the perfect spot, set up the tent & tarp, unpacked all the gear, time for a cup of coffee. Well no :( Sitting back in the Jeep 3km away was my pot! Bugger..... Decision time - shall I paddle back to get it or is there a way to make do without one. Luckily I had thrown in a can of creamed rice into the food back as emergency food. After scoffing cold creamed rice (I had tried to heat it on the stove but it wasn't very successful) I cleaned out the can, filled it with water, popped it onto the gas stove and boiled enough for a small cuppa. At least it kept my caffine addiction going.

View from Urupakupaku looking towards Cape Wikiwiki

Just before dusk I stretched the legs by going for a walk over the hills behind the camp. A 360 deg view greeted me highlighting why the Bay of Islands got its name. With a bit more time Ururpakupaku would be an ideal base to explore them all from. Back at the tent I was faced with the problem of how to cook a boil in the bag dinner in a small tin can - I don't think I could face eating cold chilli concarn. The solution turned out to be putting the dinner bag into the plastic container used to protect the lantern, filling it up with hot water from the tin can and leaving it wrapped in some thermals for 10 minutes. Who needs the luxury of a pot and the best part - no dishes!

Wednesday
Next morning saw me packed up and headed clockwise around the island. The wind had decreased during the night so I had great paddling conditions again. Ururpakupaku can be likened to a condensed Waiheke. Little sheltered sandy bays hidden away with the nor-east part of the island full of towering cliffs and caves. The water was crystal clear and fish live abounded. Unfortunately the swell made caving a no go so I could only look and promise myself another trip back there to explore further. The forecast for the next day was not good at all so instead of staying another night on the island, after rounding it I headed back to the Jeep just in time to miss a squall coming through that would have made paddling hard work. I did take a small detour on the way back and explored the area north of Rawhiti, again a fantastic rock gardening / caving area.

Rawhiti Coastline

After that it was a trip into Russell and civilisation. When trying to decide whether to camp there the night or not I popped over the hill to the beach to gather my thoughts only to find Tony & Kate's car parked there. Out in the distance I could see 2 kayaks making their way in so I waited till they beached. Turns out that they had also been to Cable Bay but via Russell and the intervening islands. They would have missed me by about an hour or so, but weren't lucky enough to miss the squall and struck some hard paddling.

Thursday
The forecast was for 25knt SW winds so I decided to spend the day driving and exploring. I crossed over to the west coast to the Hokianga then followed the road south through the Waipoua forest. Feeling a bit travel weary I stopped at one of the main tourist walks and stretched my legs by walking to the Yakas Kauri (about 1.5hrs return). Being the 7th largest it was well worth visiting and a very pleasant bush stroll.

Yakas Kauri

Friday

By the time I reached Kaiiwi Lakes it was getting dark so I made camp in the domain. Unlike previous times I had been there this time around I was the only person in either camping areas. The next morning I got up late despite all intentions of an early start, and put together the fly rod for a spot of harling on the main lake. The wind was still blowing its guts out but the western area of the lake was fairly sheltered. Just my luck though that despite seeing a couple of nice sized fish broach I had no takes on the fly after 2 hours of paddling. Still it was enjoyable just being out there.

Lake Taharoa

At about lunchtime I packed up and drove further down south. I had always been meaning to check out the North Head of the Kaipara Harbour so was determined to see it while I was in the area. It is a long, long drive..... I got to Pouto at around 3pm only to find the tide in and unable to drive along the beach back up to Dargaville. A very interesting place which requires further exploration when I have a bit more time during the day. Heading back I couldn't decide where to spend the night so just drove until I saw a Top Ten sign at Matakohe, it was dark when I arrived but they are normally good camps and this one didn't look busy so booked myself in and after a hot shower hit the sack.

Saturday
Up bright and early I headed off with a plan. The marine reserve at Leigh is a classic sea kayaking destination and one I had never done. With only 15 knots forecast I launched at Matheson Bay and headed up the coast past Leigh Harbour and around Cape Rodney to Goat Island. The area here is fantastic with sea caves galore, all of which I could poke the kayak into without fear of being crushed by a swell rolling in.

Goat Island & Cape Rodney caves

One paddle I highly recommend anybody do, with the added bonus of tame Snapper and other fish to keep you company! Not wanting to stay at another commercial camp, after the paddle I headed back down south to the Tawharanui Regional Park. A bit of a drive getting to it but well worth staying there. Its a pity the Auckland Regional Council has such a difficult booking in process. I had to 1st ring the central office using one of the phones supplied then wait for 5 minutes until the park warden rang me back with the camp sites padlock combination. Then fiddle with the said lock before setting up. It makes for secure camping without boy racers tearing it up at night I suppose, but DOC's honesty box system is much easier (never saw the park warden, left money in a slot in the door of the house instead so its still a honesty system).

Sunday
Bugger, last day!!! I could easily stretch the holiday out for another week, or two, or three.... This morning I hit the road at around 8am and tried to find my way to Paul and Natasha's. Hospitality Plus!, almost as soon as I got there Natasha had shoved a coffee in my hand and started to get busy baking fresh scones while the 3 of us yakked about holidays, boat designs, paddles, web sites...... All too soon I noticed that time had flown and I had better get moving if I wanted to get home that night. I didn't, but figured I better carry on working for a living at some stage. So after getting very lost trying to find my way back to the motorway (I don't know where I ended up - but being surrounded by farm land meant I was not in Auckland!) I headed to the barge just in time to line up and board.

Another holiday been and gone. But the memories of some fantastic paddling, great camping and even better friends will stay with me while I lug away for another few months of work until the next break.

Qajaq Aotearoa

At long last its done!!
After almost 2 months of brain drain and trying to learn new concepts the Qajaq Aotearoa website is up and running. I still have some cleaning up to do and minor bits and pieces but its in a condition where it can go live.

The site came about when an e-group I belong to were talking about how to continue to promote Greenland paddling here in NZ. A site was suggested and Steve even grabbed a google Qajaqnz URL address. A forum will help people enourmously but "free" web hosts do not have MySQL or PHP available, both of which a forum needs. Since I had an old computer laying around at work I decided to try and set up a home server for the site. This will be almost free to run and have all the bits and pieces needed for a good site.

Unfortunately the old computer was just too old and didn't work. I was planning to update my home computer at this time as well so brought a new one on Trademe and worked on my old one turning it into the server. Thus over the last 2 months I have had to learn all the inside and outs of setting up a home server, learn a new operating system (Vista), and learn about MySQL, PHP, and CSS. All this made for an extremely steep learning curve and many headaches!

But its now done! Yipee!!!


It can be seen at: http://qajaqnz.org



The site is open to overseas paddlers as well as Kiwi's so if you have any advise to contribute or questions to ask please feel free to join.

Backyard Paddling

For the last couple of weeks I have been stuck inside setting up the old computer as a server for a Qajaq Aotearoa web site. Its been fun, a challenge, I've been learning heaps and it left my brain felling like a pile of mashed potatoes! I had to get out but knew I didn't feel fit enough for a long paddle.

So on Easter Sunday I trundled the yak down the road to the beach and tossed a mental coin as to what direction to take. Ended up going east to the Whakanewha Regional Park.

I paddled point to point to get there and just out of Rocky Bay I managed to add another pic to my collection of "Unusual objects in the Gulf" Seats are quite common around some rocky points but this one is on Koi Island which requires boat access. After a bit to eat I hugged the coast for my paddle back.

Surprisingly for an area that is so close it could be considered just out of the back door I really enjoyed the paddle. Every twist and turn brought out a new sight or experience. Sometimes it pays to look out at an area you take for granted with different eyes. Only 16km in total but a feature packed 16km.

For the hell of it I went out the next day to grab a snapper for dinner and met up with Dawn who was hunting for her uncles mooring bouy. Since the tide was in we paddled back up hugging the coast. Again it was an eye opener, and this is an area only 1 km away which I can see from the desk I'm sitting at!

Surf Sea & Sand Dunes

The Far North: Wind swept beaches, sand dunes and BIG fish! This time every year I try to head up to the very top of NZ for a week. It is the type of place that you have to experience to appreciate, although there is a constant stream of tourist buses heading to Cape Reinga to see the false top of NZ (North Cape to the right of Cape Reinga is the real furthest point) the poor buggers in their large air conditioned aluminium boxes never really get to see the area.

This holiday started with catching the 7am barge from Waiheke. I had planned to break the 9 hr trip by overnighting on the way but I was in the driving mood so found myself at Spirits Bay after only one break to do some 4wding in some bush before Kaitaia. Spirits Bay is a large ocean beach with not a house in sight. There is a DOC camp at one end which is luckily close to a couple of famous land based gamefishing ledges.

Because you can only walk to these ledges 3hrs either side of low tide I made an early start the next morning to try my luck on a Kingi. As I rockhopped in the dark I could just make out Buck's ledge and noticed the occasional white breaker climbing the cliffs around it. Buck's is normally my favourite spot but I didn't want to risk it today so settled for Rod Holders which is closer to the beach. After setting up I realised it was just too dark at 5.30am to do much so contented myself with trying to spin up a Kahawai for a livie. Daylight saw a livie swimming around towing a balloon waiting to be eaten, this summed up the rest of the morning till 10.30 when I thought it prudent to make my way back before being cut off by the tide.

The next morning I tried again with the same lack of luck. Although there were plenty of Kahawai and other bait fish around I never saw that long patch of yellow and green cruise past the ledge that marks a Kingi. Oh well, time for a change of scenery so I headed further up to Tapotupotu Bay just below Cape Reinga to stay at another DOC camp.

Next morning I stuffed the pack with fishing gear, lunch and water for a tramp to Cape Maria Van Diemen. Being 1 1/2 hours hard walk in, not many people fish here and I had high hopes.


The walk starts out from a carpark on the main Cape Reinga road, crosses some farm land through some Manuka scrub, across a swamp, more scrub, more swamp, more scrub then sand dunes!

Once over the dunes I arrived at Te Werahi Beach. Although hundreds of tourists look over it from the Cape I couldn't find a single footprint on the beach.


From Te Werahi I made my way over a hill at the end of the bay and started to hit the desert of Cape Maria Van Diemen. This place is surreal, there is the odd patch of scrubby plant but most of it is just bare sand and wind shaped rock. The area is littered with shells from the NZ Flax snail that make their home under the rare patch of scrub only to find the sand shifts to cover their homes.

Once down at the Cape proper I was disappointed to find that the swell had followed me around and was once again covering up the ledges I envisioned fishing. The only likely looking place was off a small island but the incoming tide was already circling it so I fished of some sheltered rocks near the end of the western beach. Once again the heaps of bait fish but no elusive Kingi :(

The walk back up was helped by a strong wind pushing me up the dunes. Unfortunately this wind was also blasting me with gritty sand and I got to the top with the backs of my legs red and sore. At the top I discovered some Sand Coprosma which is a small shrub with tiny edible fruits, so I carried on to Te Werahi scoffing on the miniature grapes. Another hour saw me back at the Jeep with aching legs and tired shoulders but a head filled with the great scenery I had tramped through.

When going on trips like this I normally take everything I can just in case.... But this time I forgot a chair! Sitting without a back rest for a week can be tiring so I normally have one of those folding camp chairs to relax on, after the walk I decided to drive down to Houhora to see if the store there has one available. Well they did for $52, considering the Warehouse sells similar ones for $7 I left it sitting in the store. That night I stayed at Spirits again and again unsuccessfully tried fishing off Rod Holders the next morning.

Ok that does it! No Kingi's and the swell was getting up again so I drove around to Te Hapua to see if anything was happening there. There was an old couple fishing off the wharf and since they were spread out a bit I carried on around to Paua. Here the wharf was crowded with other fishermen, one had just lost a 35 pound Kingi and they had scored a couple of small ones so I hanged around for a while then when the wharf cleared a bit had a go myself. No luck but at least I knew they are in the area.


It was too late to get a key to camp there so I headed down to Rarawa Beach DOC camp for the night and got a key from the Te Kao Store on my way back up the next morning. Paua is a flat and almost featureless headland pointing out into the Parengarenga Harbour. The biggest structures on it are a old derelict shed and a nice new modern complex that was meant to be a King fish farm but which is now closed down after $25 mil was spent on it. The camping area is a reserve at the very tip, just one large flat area devoid of trees or any other features. No fresh water, no toilets nothing. Sounds like a miserable place to camp but it is fantastic. What makes it is that the harbour the surrounds 3 sides of the reserve with views over startlingly white sand dunes.

After fishing from the wharf again the next morning and picking up a 90cm Kingi (small but at least its a Kingi!) I launched the kayak and paddled up the harbour. Crystal clear water with Kahawai and mullet swimming in pure glass, the occasional black shape under the hull sprouting wings and taking off at high speed, and schools of piper airborne in front of the bow doing their best dolphin impersonation. I reached a fellow camper who was fishing from a tinny at one of the points and had a chat while watching him hook, play and eventually loose a nice Kingi. On the way back I stopped on the sandspit for lunch. Couldn't be bothered walking to the dunes but once again the area had a surreal feel to it. The sand is unbelievably fine and white.

The next day I packed up and started the journey back down. Stayed at Ruakaka that night in a crowded DOC camp then onto Auckland in time to catch the 12 o'clock barge. My main aims for this holiday was to catch a Kingi and to do some paddling, although the Kingi was small and the paddle was only for 1/2 a day I did manage to fulfil these aims. More importantly I got to explore one of the most beautiful areas of the North Island.