Haast

I've just talked to Sim, and they arrived at Haast last night in some average to poor conditions. They'll try and update in the next day or two. Trip is going pretty well, and they've had a couple of good days.
If they don't get to the internet then I'll ring and get a full update before they leave Haast.


Cheers

Ben

Life On The Gorge River

Just seen a post by Christian Long, who's parent live at Gorge River. Sim and Tara made it to Big Bay on the 19th and then to Gorge River on the 20th. They left yesterday for Barn Bay then Stafford hut (about 112kms along the coast).

Left Milford

Hi All,

Sim & Tara have left Milford mid afternoon on Friday. Weather was clear, and they had KT for company to Anita Bay.

                                                   Loaded up and ready to go from Milford.

It's finally time for us to get out of here!! We're heading into Milford tomorrow morning and paddling out to Anita Bay, before riding the SW swells and winds north to Big Bay on Saturday.  If all is going well, we should be in Jackson's Bay before things turn NW.  We've posted the forecast for anyone that's interested, and also as a log for ourselves.  It will be a while until we will be able to update our blog, probably not until we get to Greymouth.  So fingers crossed for calm seas and sun!

*** GALE WARNING IN FORCE ***Southwest 25 knots rising to 35 knots this afternoon, then easing to to 25 knots Friday evening. Sea becoming very rough for a time. Southwest swell rising to 6 metres. Poor visibility in rain, some heavy, clearing Friday afternoon.

Outlook:
Outlook following 3 days: Southwest easing Saturday morning 15 knots, tending Saturday night northwest 15 knots. Change Sunday southwest 20 knots, tending Monday northwest 15 knots. Rough sea and a heavy southwest swell, easing Saturday.

After todays surf at Curio Bay Sim's broken paddle count is now sitting at 5, not a bad effort considering this one was brand new.  If only we weren't so poor, we would own Werner paddles haha

With some gnarly weather on the way, our planned leaving date of May 10 will not be happening.  We've decided to head off to the Catlins for some surf time instead until the seas and wind die down.. not sure when we will be out of here- hopefully next week.

10 days till the adventure begins

Ever since our first Fiordland coastal trip from Doubtful down to Dusky in 2010, we have discussed many times the possibility of paddling around the South Island.  We hadn’t however until a couple of months ago, contemplated the idea of attempting the trip in winter- something that we recently found out has never been done before.  Working seasonal jobs tends to leave us always pondering our next big move, adventure or whatever life has to throw at us when the summer ends.  We talked about finding jobs for the winter and doing a circumnavigation the following summer.  But the more we talked, the more we realized that we should just do it now before we get old and boring.  

So one day in Queenstown in early February, a plan was made.  We would leave from Milford late autumn and head north.  We would get the West Coast over and done with early in the game and make the most of our daylight hours before they slipped away in June and July.  After rounding the top of the South Island, we’d head down the East Coast, picking up our already packed food supplies in Christchurch, and then Dunedin before the critical turning point at Bluff.  Instead of heading west towards Puysegur Point and the Fiordland Coast, we planned on shooting over the waters of Foveaux Strait to Stewart Island.  We’d do a loop around the island, exploring along the way before crossing the strait again for Riverton.  From there, the Fiordland Coast up to our finishing point in Milford will be a cruisy paddle in familiar waters. 

So that’s the plan, the countdown is on and in 10 days time we should be out of here. This summer has been by far the best that we have seen since we’ve been down in Te Anau.  That must mean that this winter will be good too.. hopefully the weather gods are kind to us, otherwise this adventure could take a very long time!!

Food supply preparation

We have organized a majority of our food into 6 main food drops along our journey.  After leaving Milford, our first drop will be in Greymouth, then on to Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin and then Bluff.  After a circumnavigation of Stewart Island we will restock in Riverton before heading off on the final stretch back to Milford.  

Surfing at Oreti Beach

Testing out my new Skua in the surf at Oreti Beach