Wild, Wet, & Windy
The title sums up the last week I have had on holiday at the Coromandel Peninsula. Despite the wind and rain I managed to stay reasonably dry and on 2 feet. I left Saturday on the 9am barge wondering what the hell I was up to going camping with thunderstorms and gale force winds forecast! But even if I ended up tent bound for the week it must be better then working. I had packed the kayak and surfcasting just in case the weather let up at some stage.
Being in the holiday mode I did the shopping at Thames then headed up the Kauaeranga Valley for the 1st night in the bush and found a nice little site tucked away from the forecasted winds. During summer the valley can get pretty crowded, but at this time of year I was the only person camping there.
The next day was forecast for 25knt winds so instead of racing up the peninsula to go paddling I decided to stay where I was and go rock hounding. The rivers around here are renowned for petrified wood and agates so I walked up the track from Road End till it separated from the river then bush bashed down to the stream and made my way back. Luckily despite the rain the area has had the water level was still low so I only had to get wet feet twice. Tramping down a rocky stream bed may not be everybodies cup of tea but it was a very enjoyable day. There is always something new around the next corner and the scenery in places was breath taking. Despite ending up empty handed I ended up back on the road with smile on my face.
The next morning the wind had got up to 70knts I drove up the coast with the wind shaking the jeep and the kayak bouncing around on the roof rack. Over the radio came the news that Auckland was suffering from a power cut, causing chaos on the roads etc. Oh what a shame I wasn't at work (a freight company) Couldn't help but chuckle to myself! Latter on in the afternoon the wind got the better of me though when near the top of the Peninsula I came across a huge Macrocarpa that had decided it had enough and laid itself to rest across the narrow gravel road. Some local council workers and a grader were soon there to clear it away and the next 1hr saw myself and a couple of other bystanders sipping beer in the howling wind and cheering the grader on as it tried to drag 8 tonne sections of log along the road. Because of the wind I set up camp that night at Fantail Bay tucked away in the bush but well away from any overhanging Pohutakawa's and falling branches.
Tuesday dawned still windy but nowhere near as bad. I headed back over the Peninsula to Stony Bay - another DOC camp. Some time was spent exploring the area surrounding Colvile and at last had some success rock hounding ending up with a few peices of chalcedony and carnelian from walking around the coast. The campsite at Stony Bay felt like déjà vu with the tent set up in exactly the same site as some years ago when I was literally stuck there for a few days when a "Weather bomb" hit the peninsula. This time I was better equiped with a 4wd to get out through the muddy paddocks.
Wednesday's forecast was much better. 10knts in the morning increasing to 20 later on in the afternoon. To take advantage of it I headed around to Sandy Bay and launched th
e kayak at 9am. The sea was dead flat with hardly a ripple on the water - beautiful paddling! I rounded the point and headed SE of Port Charles aiming for Waikawau Bay. The coastline around here is as wild as you can get. Rugged cliffs towering above, hidden bouldery bays and the only sign of human life is a cray fisherman working his pots. Surprisingly I only came across one cave which was well hidden at the end of a L shaped crevice.
A couple of hours into the paddle I noticed that the wind at my back had increased. Since there was no landing till Waikawau Bay which I could see in the distance I decided it was prudent to turn back while I still could. It was something I should have done much sooner. The
further I got the stronger the wind pushed back. By the time I approached the far end of the point before Port Charles it was blowing a good 25knts. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but the tide was still headed out and a very strong rip had developed around this point. The standing waves were higher enough to dwarf me sitting in my little kayak, and would have made good footage for one of Justine's "This is the Sea" DVD's. Would be great fun if I was going with it but unfortunatly I had to battle against it somehow. Looking out to sea I could see that I would have no joy going wide since the whitecaps looked worse out there so I decided to stick hard against the land where it was slightly flater and just power through it. It was probably one of the hardest hours paddlin
g I have had, it seemed that although no way was lost, I wasn't gaining any either. There was no way I could stop or even let up slightly without loosing ground, an hour to cover under 2 km! A sliding stroke with the Greenland paddle helped but by the time I rounded the point and headed beam on to the chop I was buggered. Once back on dry land at Sandy Bay I looked out to sea and the devious bay gave the impression of being as tranquil as it was when I left. After pigging out on much food as I dared to spare, I pulled out the camp chair and dozed in the sun still dressed in my pfd and spray skirt to the amusement of the locals walking along the beach.
Later that afternoon I headed back around to Fletchers Bay near the northern most point of the peninsula to set up camp. The next day was still blowy with the odd shower passing by. No paddling today so instead I sorted out the fishing gear and tramped arou
nd the coastline to whats known as the "Sugar Loafs". These are 2 amazing pinicles joined to the mainland by a rocky spit. The end of the smallest one gave me shelter from the wind and offered deep water to cast into. Only Leather Jackets and MaoMao kept me company for the 1st hour then some small snapper started showing up in the berley trail. Casting over their heads I managed to start hooking into some nice pan sized (35-40cm) snapper. Kept one for dinner and released the others to get bigger and await for my return. The tide had gone out by 3pm so I packed up and started scouring the boulders in the bay. No disappointment there either and 3 legal sized paua were soon in my bag. Prouncing around in 10 deg C water only dressed in my underwear was not the most pleasent of experiances though! A dinner of as much couscous, fresh snapper and paua as I could eat summed up another great day.
The weather was only going to get worse so Friday saw me heading back down the peninsula to the Kauaeranga Valley again. That night was the wettest for the whole week. The rumbling of thunder and flashes of lightning kept me company during the evening and I went to sleep with the drumming of heavy rain on the tent. I realised then that every night of the holiday I had gone to sleep to the sound of water - either the crash of the surf, burble of a stream or the sound of rain. Something I'm going to miss back in reality.
Saturday was a day of travel and shopping while I was in town. An enjoyable holiday? You bet! Despite the wind and rain I can't think of a better way to spend a week off.
Being in the holiday mode I did the shopping at Thames then headed up the Kauaeranga Valley for the 1st night in the bush and found a nice little site tucked away from the forecasted winds. During summer the valley can get pretty crowded, but at this time of year I was the only person camping there.
The next day was forecast for 25knt winds so instead of racing up the peninsula to go paddling I decided to stay where I was and go rock hounding. The rivers around here are renowned for petrified wood and agates so I walked up the track from Road End till it separated from the river then bush bashed down to the stream and made my way back. Luckily despite the rain the area has had the water level was still low so I only had to get wet feet twice. Tramping down a rocky stream bed may not be everybodies cup of tea but it was a very enjoyable day. There is always something new around the next corner and the scenery in places was breath taking. Despite ending up empty handed I ended up back on the road with smile on my face.
The next morning the wind had got up to 70knts I drove up the coast with the wind shaking the jeep and the kayak bouncing around on the roof rack. Over the radio came the news that Auckland was suffering from a power cut, causing chaos on the roads etc. Oh what a shame I wasn't at work (a freight company) Couldn't help but chuckle to myself! Latter on in the afternoon the wind got the better of me though when near the top of the Peninsula I came across a huge Macrocarpa that had decided it had enough and laid itself to rest across the narrow gravel road. Some local council workers and a grader were soon there to clear it away and the next 1hr saw myself and a couple of other bystanders sipping beer in the howling wind and cheering the grader on as it tried to drag 8 tonne sections of log along the road. Because of the wind I set up camp that night at Fantail Bay tucked away in the bush but well away from any overhanging Pohutakawa's and falling branches.
Tuesday dawned still windy but nowhere near as bad. I headed back over the Peninsula to Stony Bay - another DOC camp. Some time was spent exploring the area surrounding Colvile and at last had some success rock hounding ending up with a few peices of chalcedony and carnelian from walking around the coast. The campsite at Stony Bay felt like déjà vu with the tent set up in exactly the same site as some years ago when I was literally stuck there for a few days when a "Weather bomb" hit the peninsula. This time I was better equiped with a 4wd to get out through the muddy paddocks.
Wednesday's forecast was much better. 10knts in the morning increasing to 20 later on in the afternoon. To take advantage of it I headed around to Sandy Bay and launched th
e kayak at 9am. The sea was dead flat with hardly a ripple on the water - beautiful paddling! I rounded the point and headed SE of Port Charles aiming for Waikawau Bay. The coastline around here is as wild as you can get. Rugged cliffs towering above, hidden bouldery bays and the only sign of human life is a cray fisherman working his pots. Surprisingly I only came across one cave which was well hidden at the end of a L shaped crevice.A couple of hours into the paddle I noticed that the wind at my back had increased. Since there was no landing till Waikawau Bay which I could see in the distance I decided it was prudent to turn back while I still could. It was something I should have done much sooner. The
further I got the stronger the wind pushed back. By the time I approached the far end of the point before Port Charles it was blowing a good 25knts. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but the tide was still headed out and a very strong rip had developed around this point. The standing waves were higher enough to dwarf me sitting in my little kayak, and would have made good footage for one of Justine's "This is the Sea" DVD's. Would be great fun if I was going with it but unfortunatly I had to battle against it somehow. Looking out to sea I could see that I would have no joy going wide since the whitecaps looked worse out there so I decided to stick hard against the land where it was slightly flater and just power through it. It was probably one of the hardest hours paddlin
g I have had, it seemed that although no way was lost, I wasn't gaining any either. There was no way I could stop or even let up slightly without loosing ground, an hour to cover under 2 km! A sliding stroke with the Greenland paddle helped but by the time I rounded the point and headed beam on to the chop I was buggered. Once back on dry land at Sandy Bay I looked out to sea and the devious bay gave the impression of being as tranquil as it was when I left. After pigging out on much food as I dared to spare, I pulled out the camp chair and dozed in the sun still dressed in my pfd and spray skirt to the amusement of the locals walking along the beach.Later that afternoon I headed back around to Fletchers Bay near the northern most point of the peninsula to set up camp. The next day was still blowy with the odd shower passing by. No paddling today so instead I sorted out the fishing gear and tramped arou
nd the coastline to whats known as the "Sugar Loafs". These are 2 amazing pinicles joined to the mainland by a rocky spit. The end of the smallest one gave me shelter from the wind and offered deep water to cast into. Only Leather Jackets and MaoMao kept me company for the 1st hour then some small snapper started showing up in the berley trail. Casting over their heads I managed to start hooking into some nice pan sized (35-40cm) snapper. Kept one for dinner and released the others to get bigger and await for my return. The tide had gone out by 3pm so I packed up and started scouring the boulders in the bay. No disappointment there either and 3 legal sized paua were soon in my bag. Prouncing around in 10 deg C water only dressed in my underwear was not the most pleasent of experiances though! A dinner of as much couscous, fresh snapper and paua as I could eat summed up another great day.The weather was only going to get worse so Friday saw me heading back down the peninsula to the Kauaeranga Valley again. That night was the wettest for the whole week. The rumbling of thunder and flashes of lightning kept me company during the evening and I went to sleep with the drumming of heavy rain on the tent. I realised then that every night of the holiday I had gone to sleep to the sound of water - either the crash of the surf, burble of a stream or the sound of rain. Something I'm going to miss back in reality.
Saturday was a day of travel and shopping while I was in town. An enjoyable holiday? You bet! Despite the wind and rain I can't think of a better way to spend a week off.
posted by Grant Glazer at 5:03 PM
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