Golden Bay Kayaking

By now we were well and truly ready for a change and some good weather. Thankfully things seemed to be coming together. Meeting at Pohara again, we organized our stuff then got driven out to Tata Beach to begin our paddle trip.

Our Kayaks were still out on a trip apparently, so out came the novels again… Eventually they arrived and we were finally underway. It was a mostly sunny day with the odd cloud and just a little bit of wind to make things interesting.

Paddling away from the beach, we made a bee line for the Tata Islands. Ngawhiti and Motu Islands are part of the Abel Tasman National Park and are home to huge breeding colonies of Shags and the occasional rookery of Penguins.

Rounding Abel Tasman Point proved a little exciting, with some descent swells making it interesting. I was in the rear of the Kayak doing the steering, so Kay had a little getting used to my initially wayward efforts.

Once back in the calm again, we pulled into a random beach for our first break. We really didn’t have far to go today, so we resolved to take it slowly and enjoy the good weather. I found a nice rocky outcrop and set myself up for a bit of fishing. Kay found another rock outcrop and became again engrossed in her book. The first thing I caught on my line wasn’t a fish, but instead a very angry and quite large Black Backed Gull. The thing had swooped as I cast my line and had hooked itself in the beak. Hauling in a half flying half swimming thing on my line was interesting, but soon I was faced with de-hooking the blimin thing.. The Gull wasn’t that pleased with me, but I managed to get the hook out with a minimum of fuss.. Needless to say, he didn’t come back.

Kay came over to keep me company and had a crack at fishing herself. Together, we caught a handful of Spotties, small Kahawhai and a Yellow Eyed Mullet. None were worth eating unfortunately..

Paddling on around the shallows in Wainui Bay we kept our eyes peeled for Sting Rays like Nigel had told us. Before long we were rewarded with sightings of several large Rays.

Round to Uarau point, we traveled in amongst the rocks, where Kay spotted a good bunch of Green Lipped Muscles. She steadied the Kayak on the outcrop whilst I reached over and pried off a dinner sized catch of yummy shellfish.

Our campsite at Taupo Point was just like I’d expected. A steep golden sand beach overlooking delightful limestone headlands and islands. You could nearly have convinced me I was in Thailand. Kay set about exploring the area whilst I went to check out some campsites. In the end we resolved to camp on the Beach and set about erecting our Tent.

Cooking an early dinner of Muscle Pesto Pasta, we sat and enjoyed our wonderful surrounds. After dinner, I did a little more fishing and caught much the same as before.

When the sun began to dip toward the horizon, it was time for dessert of Pancakes and Jam. Kay and I sat out and marveled at the clear night sky for an hour or so before retiring to the Tent.

10 Jan

Sunrise was delightful, but by mid-morning the grey clouds had gathered into an overcast sky. Soon light rain began to fall, causing us to scurry around and weather proof our campsite. With a good supply of food and literature, we hunkered down and read some more

The rain abated in the early afternoon, so we made the decision to make a run (well, a paddle) for it. During our quick preparations for departure, we spied a huge Sting Ray skimming a foot or so from the shore line. We took a bunch of hurried photos as it effortlessly flew through the water.

It was reasonably cool out, but the paddling kept us warm. In one go, we paddled through Wainui Bay and to Abel Tasman Point. My trepidation about rounding the point proved unfounded, as we made it comfortably despite the wind and swell. Our double Kayak really was like a tank, slow but stable.

Safely on the happy side of the point, we stopped in for a little more fishing and reading before continuing on. Today we paddled the whole way back to Pohara Beach, arriving to a very low tide and wide beach. Nigel and one of his staff members came down and between the four of us we carried the Kayak back up to his house.

After cleaning ourselves up, we caught a Taxi the short way through to Hangdog Campsite at Paynes ford.

Having heard lots about this climber bastion, we were suitably impressed by the hippie set up. ‘Flidges’ store cool food, everyone plays hacky, lots of people have dreads, bare feet, no shirts… That evening after dinner and quick shower, Kay and I went to scout the crags out for climbing in the morning.