Gannet Rock

Today was one of those winter days where the sea is flat calm, the sun is shining and the water refreshing. Too good a day not to take advantage of it and head out in the kayak. After about 2 seconds of deliberation I threw the gear into the jeep and headed to Onetangi. The area from Onetangi to Thumb Point (the most eastern end of the island) is the most scenic part of the island for paddling.

After paddling out from the bay to Rooster Pt I caught sight of Gannet Rock and decided to paddle directly out to it. This island holds a small but steady colony of these majestic birds, and the island itself is fascinating itself being made up almost entirely of red jasper.

These Gannets are a friendly bunch and didn't even ruffle a feather with a kayak drifting just below them. Since all the high priced condo's on top of the rock were taken some had spread down the sides of the cliffs and I managed to get within 10 feet from them. Drifting around in the kayak watching them dance and preen with the sky above full of swooping birds was one of the highlights of the day. Of course munching a museli bar with the overpowering smell of guano wasn't the most pleasant experience! I took it that the gannets were at the stage of pairing up and renewing old romances since there were quite a few flying around with bits of seaweed etc in their mouths and others where doing complicated head dances.
After a while the stench of the colony became to much so I headed into shore and landed at Thumb Pt for lunch. The water was very clear but I didn't manage to spot any of the stingrays that normally cruise around this sheltered bay. After a bit to eat and a leg stretch I headed back and kept to the coastline for a bit of rock gardening. A couple of sea caves and some rock weaving gave me enough confidence to attempt the Grator. This gap narrows down to approx 30 inches near the end and the last time I went through it I was in a 24" plastic boat that got nicely scratched. Since paddling wooden kayaks I have been too chicken to give it a go. But there was no swell this time so I managed to slip through with ease.

I continued along the coast weaving in and out of rocks all the way back to Rooster Pt outside Onetangi. All in all another very enjoyable day. Total distance 25km.