When: Saturday, 18-22 April 2014
A four day trip, approx. 2-3 hours paddling per day.
Hi! It is Annette writing this time, the other person in the ordinary kayaking duo. Time for me to pick up the metaphorical pen and tell you about our Easter adventures.
Easter was ahead and a kayaking mission needed to happen. Unfortunately
the weather forecast predicted windy conditions so we needed to find a kayaking
route that provided shelter. It is
particularly important to factor wind into your planning. Rain is miserable, but you simple get wet. Wind can bring you to a complete stop on the
water, or even worse send you off track.
Urupukapuka Island provided the best option. It was remote enough to give us a complete
getaway and provided plenty of sheltered bays to explore.
Urupukapuka is the largest island in the Bay of Islands,
Northland, New Zealand. Getting there is
a bit of a mission, especially on windy roads with a trailer of precious kayaks
on board. So, we took our time with a
good supply of snacks and driving music.
The drive from Auckland is about three and a half hours.
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| At this point we
seriously doubted that all our gear would fit in our kayaks! |
We launched from Kaimarama Bay, at the end of Rawhiti
Road.
A couple of things to note:
It is a good idea to check in with the locals who live at the
end of the road to find a good place to park.
We chatted to a lady in one of the houses and she offered us her back
lawn to park on. This meant our car was
safe while we were away. We gave her
some money for this, a good way to keep the locals happy and also keep our car
safe.
Remember too that it takes a while to pack up the kayaks so
factor this in to your timing. Allow
plenty of time to get ready to head on the water. We learned to pack the kayaks
close to the water’s edge to save carrying really heavy kayaks further than
needed.
Day one: Kaimarama Bay
– Urupukapuka Bay. 1 ½ hours paddling.
This is the most exposed stretch of water in the whole kayak
trip. We had to cross a channel between
the island and the mainland. We noticed
the waves were rather high in the centre of the channel. To keep safe we decided to head left (south
west) and cross the stretch further down at a wider section, avoiding the
narrowest part of the channel. This made
for easy paddling and we then travelled up the coast to our camping spot. Wow! What a spot. The DOC camping site at Urupukapuka
Island is spectacular and well cared for.
You will need to book well ahead over summer as it is really popular. But we shared it with only one other tent; some
fishermen who provided us with fresh fish for breakfast for the next couple of
days.
Tip: Make sure you befriend
your neighbours. You never know when
gifts of fresh fish will come your way! We also recommend sitting outside at
night and looking up. The Milky Way is breath-taking
on a clear night!
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| You can see our little
red tents halfway along the bay. |
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| Not a bad spot to call
home. |
Day Two: Urupukapuka – Moturua Island and back. A whole day trip.
Day two greeted us with rain, but when there is exploring to
do a little rain must be ignored. And we
are glad we did. We headed around the west end of the Island, on our way to Moturua Island for the day. About 20mins into the journey we were joined
by a pod of dolphins. Abandoning our
destination we stayed with the pod for about an hour. It is incredible how skilled
they are in their environment, skimming down the side of our kayaks with great
precision. They truly are masters of the sea.
We kept a good distance from them, allowing them to come to us. We were
joined by several other boats, as well as people in the water. We have since learned that it is recommended that you only have 3 boats at a time near dolphins.
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| This photo doesn’t do
justice to the surreal experience of sharing the water with a pod of dolphins. |
From there we headed on to Moturua Island, passing Motukiekie
Island on the way. This is a private
island so as we paddled by we dreamed of what it would be like to own it… at
least dreams are free.
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| Moturua Island: Another day in paradise. |
Moturua Island is pest free and a part of Project Island Song. Much work is going on to
restore the environment on the island so be careful not to take any rats with
you! But also check you don’t leave
anything behind, including apple cores and crumbs.
We took about 2 hours to explore the island and it is a
beautiful spot to have lunch. We spotted other kayakers circumnavigating the island, something I would
be keen to do. If you want to give it a
go, please note that parts of the island are exposed so it requires a certain level of
experience to attempt.
Day three: exploring the bays. A whole day trip.
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| After a night of rain
how else do you get the laundry dry? During the evening quite a few boats joined us, sheltering in the bay as the wind picked up. |
We wanted to head around the west side of
the island, exploring the bays as we went around: Otehei Bay, Oneura (Paradise) Bay and Otiao
(Indico) Bay. Our aim was to continue around the northern end of the island,
between Urupukapuka and Waewaetorea Island.
But, the winds picked up and it was too hard going, especially for Ciao
which handles sluggishly into a strong head wind. This is where it was important to make a decision
that was best for everyone and turn around.
We pulled into a little bay and found a sheltered spot for lunch. Seeing that the wind was picking up we
decided to head for home. The bonus was
that the same wind that slowed us down as we headed north now became a nice
tail wind to push us home. We were
paddling for about 4 hours in total.
Day four: options + heading home.
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| Some of the spectacular
scenery around the edges of the island. |
The morning was beautiful so three of us decided to head off on
foot and explore the island. Shirley and
Kirstie jumped in Bluebell and paddled around the island. It took about two hours to do both, and we
recommend you do both if you have the time.
There are great tracks all over the island for those who like
walking. And kayaking around the island provides
a wonderful view of some of the stunning cliffs around the northern end of the
island.
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| We prepare to head home. This is also the last photograph of my sunglasses before they went to rest at the bottom of the ocean. |
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| Sailing |
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| We are sailing |
That afternoon we headed for home. The weather was beautiful
with a light puff of wind and plenty of sun.
So, we took our time and crossed the channel to the south and made our
way along the bays back to our car park.
It was only a couple of hours of paddling to get home and a relaxing
paddle at that.
Where we went:
What we did well:
1) Adapted our plans to suit the people in our group and the weather conditions.
2) Took enough chocolate to sustain us.
What we learned:
1) Finding dolphins is a must. We now factor this into our plans. Will we be likely to spot dolphins or orca? If the answer is yes we will go there.
2) Keep an eye on the wind.
1) Adapted our plans to suit the people in our group and the weather conditions.
2) Took enough chocolate to sustain us.
What we learned:
1) Finding dolphins is a must. We now factor this into our plans. Will we be likely to spot dolphins or orca? If the answer is yes we will go there.
2) Keep an eye on the wind.
