1994 New Zealand

While attending the sea kayak symposium at Port Townsend with our friends Craig & Sharon Rowley, we sat in on a presentation by Mark Hutson about kayaking in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand.  That lead us down the path of putting together a five week trip (at least for Marcia and I) that crammed lots of activities across a good chunk of New Zealand.  The Rowley’s opted for a slightly shorter 3-1/2 week trip.

Our trip started right after Christmas (1993) and heading as fast as 3 connecting flights allow to Christchurch on the south island.  The Rowley’s would join us about 10 days later. 

While on our own, we did some touristing in Christchurch which we loved but then headed with our backpacking gear to the north end of the south island to do the Heaphy Track, a 48 mile walk that cuts across the NW corner of the south island.  The first day was fine but during the second day, the rain fell heavily.  While we had a tent, I recollect that we stayed in a hut the second night.

The weather was a bit drier the third day and we reached the Heaphy Hut along the Tasman Sea.  We (or at least Kurt) learned the hard way the ferocity of sand flies.  The fourth day brought us to the track’s end (or beginning depend on your direction).  A shuttle took us to a lovely lodge in Karamea.   A bus ride took us to Westport where rains returned in earnest.  We spent two nights at a hostel in Westport than took the train back to Christchurch. 

While waiting for the arrival of the Rowley’s, we did a day trip up to Kaikoura where we went on a whale watching trip.  These are sperm whales which feed on the squids living in the underwater canyon that is close off the shore of the Kaikoura peninsula.

Once the Rowley’s arrived, a car was rented and the “adventure” of driving on the left side of the road began.  We headed to Dunedin, south of Christchurch.  We traveled up the Otago Peninsula and stopped at the Royal Albatross Centre.  While there we saw both Royal Albatrosses and the Little Blue Penguins.  The penguins were viewed from quite a distance as they returned from their day of fishing and trudged slowly up a sandy hill side to their burrows.

We next drove to Queenstown where we spent several days doing touristy type things.  It included a visit to the Walter Peak Farm, a day trip to Milford Sound, a jet boat ride up the Dart River and, for Marcia and I (Craig & Sharon opting out), a tandem parasail ride.

Upon our return to Christchurch we flew to Auckland on the north island.  We again rented a car and began a tour of some of the sights on the north island.  Along the way we car camped a couple of nights at a beach on the Coromandel Peninsula before heading to Rotorua and its thermal hot springs.  From there we continued on to the Waitomo for a black water rafting trip.

It was now time to return to Auckland and take a bus up to Paihia in the Bay of Islands where we would start our sea kayak trip.  There were six clients on the trip, one less experienced than the four of us (the Rowleys, Marcia and I) and one more experienced.  Accompanying Mark was his significant other, a kayaking friend and the friend’s daughter.  All were very experienced.

The trip was lovely and the weather generally quite nice.  Most of our previous sea kayaking experience had been in protected waters so it was a new experience to be more (but not totally) to ocean swells and surf.  We had some surf landings and the opportunity to take empty kayaks out after camp was established and work on our surfing.  We visited sea caves and paddled in the swells near shore.  It is a thrilling experience to feel your kayak go up and down as the swell builds underneath, before it (the wave and hopefully not you) crashes on to the nearby rocky shore.  After about a week of paddling (distance uncertain), we took out at Matauri Bay about 20 miles (as the crow flies) from our put in.

We spent a couple of nights in Auckland at the after the kayak trip but it is a large city and we were ready to head back by that time.  All in all, the New Zealand trip was a joy and I would gladly visit again.