Paddling with dolphins - Urupukupuka Island

Who: Shirley, Annette and three friends
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. 

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!

You can see our little red tents halfway along the bay.

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.

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. 

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. 

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.  

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.  

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.

Sailing

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.