Category Archives: Kayaking

GPS Tracks, Kayaking, New Zealand, Youtube Videos

6. Taumarunui, Cherry Grove – Poukaria: Whanganui River Journey 1

Monday, February 16: Very cloudy to begin with but not as cold, reverting to sunshine with a few clouds

Poukaria Campsite (DOC, $14)

Kayaking: 35.7 km

GPS Tour
YouTube video

I awoke at about 5:30 and could hear Simon baking the ciabatta he had promised us. Was promptly up at 6:00 and had a breakfast of muesli and then scrambled eggs on toast and some coffee. Simon returned back to bed while I threw the rest of my stuff into the rucksack and a couple of shopping bags.

Pea was waiting for me at her place when I went over just before 7:00. Soon Gavin from Yeti Tours was there with his car to take us to the depot, a little scroungy looking, but these kayak people have their own laws. We had been fitted out for life jackets at the briefing yesterday and so only needed the boat, paddles and spray skirts. Then I realised I had forgotten the butter (in the fridge) and as we were leaving I asked Gavin to call past Sue & Simon’s place to pick it up. Read more…

Kayaking, New Zealand, Photography, Travel Planning

5. Ohakune

Sunday, February 15: Cold overnight due to clear skies, and clear and sunny during the day, with some clouds in the distance

Sue and Simon’s

Just after 6:00 I felt awake enough that no more sleep seemed possible but with a little relaxation I managed to fall into a lucid dream until just after 8:00.

Simon was the maitre de petit déjèuner and I had some muesli with milk, coffee and a couple of scrambled eggs with toasted ciabatta which Simon had baked himself. It was really worth eating, though I haven’t been up to much in the last couple of days. Then I had to make the mother of all lists for today, the mother of all technical days. Read more…

Kayaking, New Zealand, Travel Planning

4. Auckland – Ohakune

Saturday, February 14: A little cloudy to begin with, but then sunny with some mountain clouds

Sue and Simon’s (airbnb, $90)

Early rising was no word for it. I had wanted to be up at 6:45 but was already awake at 6:30 so went and showered, then had a coffee, toasted a danish or whatever it was that Chinara had left for me on a plate on the kitchen table. Then it was time to try to get the case to close, and by 7:25 I was ready to go. Said goodbye to Chinara through the bedroom door. Have left a small cache of books behind in one of the drawers, so will have to remember to pick them up on the 27th.

Was at the bus stop in good time and could see from the timetable that there would have been a problem taking even one bus later (7:50) than envisaged (7:40) because it was delayed by a quarter of an hour, and because of the unusual intervals in the timetable, a later bus – even if it was on time – would have been touch-and-go for the long distance bus. Read more…

GPS Tracks, Kayaking, New Zealand, Photography, Topo Map, Tramping, Youtube Videos

3. Auckland, St Heliers: Rangitoto Sea Kayaking

Friday, February 13: Cloudy at first, clearing to light cloud with a bit of a southerly breeze

Chinara’s

Kayaking: 10.0 km
Tramping: 5.2 km

There wasn’t much sound from above, so at around 8:00 I went upstairs and the two were sleeping in. Couldn’t quite stomach breakfast and only had a coffee. Pretty soon the courier with my emergency equipment arrived which was audible because the guy had his radio playing loudly and I was able to intercept him before he had to search far. Eventually I. made an appearance and then Chinara, who busily telephoned around to organise the remainder of her day. Read more…

Kayaking, New Zealand, Photography, Travel Planning

Countdown

It’s time for the preparations to draw to a close, after ten months. Of course, there’ll be stuff that still has to be bought because it was forgotten back at the ranch. I’m still wrangling with the car hirer about whether a larger suitcase than the current one will fit into the boot of the car I’m hiring, and that may continue for several days. I’ll at least try to pack the existing case, but I suspect that, with all the camping gear, too much will be left for the pack. Read more…

Kayaking, Photography, Travel Planning

On Kayaks and Cameras

After getting the kayaking under control, the next question that arose was, “How to photograph it?” I felt reminded a little of what Matt from Christchurch had said about horse riding and how it enhances viewing the countryside because you are no longer forced to look at the ground for most of the time. The horse is taking care of that. Now kayaking offers a very different landscape than most hiking because of the lack of obstacles. Nor do you really have to care where to place the paddle, and the view is mostly directed forward to the goal. True, sitting on a river means that you are at the lowest point on the landscape and much of the lower view is obstructed by the bank. But even banks can be pleasant to look at. Read more…

GPS Tracks, Kayaking, Travel Planning

Ironman II: Kayaking

Get in your waka
Get in your waka. Leaving the university sports jetty. © 2014 by Christoph Tyblewski, used with kind permission

There is historical evidence for the use of kayaks from the tour of 1974/75, although in my naïveté I called them “canoes” or “dinghies” at the time. The diary entry for Tuesday, January 7, 1975 at Blackwood Bay commences:

“I slept in again, and later went out on a canoe.”

Lesser Circuit
Lesser Circuit, September 13
I say this because I had booked myself into the uni sports’ flat water paddling group, turned up on time, was given a boat, and then proceeded to make myself into a best example of the Dunning-Kruger effect. After a little more than 100 m of floundering about, I was ordered into the Canadian canoe that is reserved for the less skilled. But in the second week in the Canadian, I met Conny, so it wasn’t all that bad. She basically gave me a rundown of her life so far, which included a stint at Monash, as well as Russia and Japan, and my diary of the following night only had one topic. Read more…