Hi All,
Quick note to say that Sim n Tara have been through French Pass, around the top of the South Island and are now somewhere near Picton. Here hoping the weather is kind to them for the East Coast.
Sunday, 29 July 2012
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Some 'time apart', adding spice to the lives of Fi & Brian & our survival of the West Coast
Hi Everyone! More than two weeks have passed since leaving Westport and our last post. It has taken us a while longer to conquer the remainder of the West Coast than we had expected, due to a little 'epic' down at the Heaphy River. At the moment we are staying at a crib in Stephens Bay near Kaiteriteri- thanks heaps Max Grant and co! a hot shower and bed with sheets is luxury!
On the 5th of July we camped in the red light district of Westport- just inside the breakwaters of the Buller River mouth under a huge red navigationl light. It was awesome to catch up with Averil, an old friend of mine from school, and her two sweet kids. The next morning we left in the dark, ready for a big push north while the weather was good. Easterlies made progress slow as we were being constantly blown offshore. We landed just past the Mokihinui River mouth that afternoon and Sim took his 3rd roll since leaving Milford. Two days later we arrived at the Heaphy River and both managed a clean run in through moderate surf. Sleeping in the hut was mean and we were feeling confident that we would make it up and around Farewell Spit and the end of the West Coast in the weather window we had. Little did we know that this was not to be and that the West Coast was about to hand us our most 'exciting' epic yet.. Here goes..
On the morning of the 9th of July we paddled out the Heaphy River mouth and into the surf. I went first and somehow managed a clean run out through huge breakers that went our for several hundred metres. I got out the back and waited for Sim. I waited and waited for Sim, but he was nowhere to be seen. A stiff Easterly was blowing out the river mouth and it was freezing. My view of the beach was pretty minimal as all I could see was the backs of huge waves. After about half an hour and still no sign of Sim I figured he had probably gotten smashed and maybe taken a swim and was taking a while to sort himself out. There was no way I wanted to run the surf back in again.
The sun slowly arrived, shining straight in my face making it even harder to watch the surf for Sim. After an hour I put my helmet back on slowly edged closer into the surf zone. Paddling frantically for a few minutes and being slammed a few times I arrived on the beach unscathed. No sign of Sim. No footprints. No boat drag marks in the sand. I went back to the hut and left a quick note "Sim I'm paddling north to Whanganui Inlet. Tara." He must have missed me in the surf between the swells. Maybe I was too far out the back. He wasn't anywhere so he must have gone North without me. He must have thought I'd gotten tired of waiting.
My last run out through the surf was sketchy. I got most of the way out the back before a huge wave about to break slammed into me, pinning me on the back deck of my boat. I made it though only to be slammed by the next one, again my helmet hitting the back of my boat. I thought it was game over but the sea gods were kind to me. I boosted north, paddling about 35km and landed that night alone near the Anaweka River. Max and Melz told me about this hut they found on their South Island circumnavigation. Some farmers told me where it was and I stayed there the night with a cranking fire going. I had the tent and Sim had our big fly and a bivvy bag. Sucks to be him! I figured we would meet in Whanganui Inlet. The next morning I paddled away early and after arriving in the Inlet early afternoon I made my way to a farmhouse and called Fi. Fi and Brian are brilliant at time like this and they really are awesome at what they do. I didn't want anyone to over-react as it was most probably a case of 'misplacing' Sim. He would turn up. I didn't loose him on purpose! honest! Some valuable lessons were learnt.
I paddled off and found a sweet hut where I spent my second night alone. The next day I paddled back to use the phone. Fi and Brian had managed to find out that a fishing boat had seen Sim and 3.30pm the day before about 10km south of the Inlet. I waited all day but still no sign of Sim. On the 4th morning since loosing Sim he made a call to Fi to say that he was paddling into Collingwood from the end of Farewell Spit.
Turns out Sim never left the Heaphy without me. It also turns out that it was actually me that had abandoned him!! my bad!! He had been only one wave behind me when we left the river mouth. He'd gotten smashed, rolled, smashed, rolled, smashed, and ended up about 200m north of the river mouth around the point and pushed into rocks. He managed to get onto a tiny beach surrounded by cliffs. He had seen me go in through the surf and back out again. He tried over and over to get out through the surf and off his beach, but every time he kept getting smashed. His roll count went from 3 to about 10. On his 5th attempt he got smashed and ended up swimming. After two more attempts that afternoon he slept under a flax bush for the night. The next morning on his second attempt he finally made it out and left the Heaphy behind.
That day he paddled to about 5km south of the Inlet- I had the maps so he had no idea how close he was. Lucky we had worked out that all we we had to do was keep the land on our right and we should be sweet. He was convinced I'd be making the most of the good weather and be boosting North. So the next day he paddled all the way to the end of Farewell Spit, arriving in the dark, expecting me to be there. But I wasn't haha. At 4am near high tide and in darkness he set off again on the water and rounded the end of the spit and paddled into Collingwood, with the aid of Ben and his Ipad navigation. He was joined by a pod of Orcas!! jealous! The next day- day 5 of our 'separation', Sim got a lift back to the inlet and found me in my hut. Thanks heaps Leslie and Brandon Sparrow and the girls for your help.
We waited for a few days in bad weather before we made an attempt to head north on Sim's second trip around the spit. But it turns out a 4m SW swell is not really ideal for getting out of the Inlet. The surf was huge but we were eager to leave. We pushed on probably further than we should have before I got back-surfed and rolled about 500m offshore.. not ideal! Sim yelled at me "this is stupid!!" and we quickly turned around and frantically paddled back to the safety of the inlet. We called Fi and Brian who had come up to see us and that afternoon we paddled over with a dinghy from my hut and picked them up with their new family member Max. Max decided to launch himself out of the dinghy half way back, its always good to know he can now swim! It was awesome hanging out and we ate heaps of good food and had some beers and enjoyed the sun for the next 2 days. Love you guys!!
On the 19th we dodged huge surf and made our break from the Inlet and put in a big days paddle to the end of the spit where we camped under the lighthouse. The next day we headed south down past Separation Point and into Abel Tasman National Park, stoked to be off the West Coast. We camped at Totaranui and the next day we Freya'd it and paddled the whole of the Abel Tasman in an afternoon down to Stephens Bay, where we are now.
Our plan from here is to skip Nelson and paddle across to Cable Bay on Tuesday before heading through French Pass and making our way down the East Coast. Hopefully the weather gods are kinder to us on the East side!! Thanks heaps to everyone who's helped us get this far, its been really cool to have so many people interested in our adventures. If you want to come for a paddle, get in touch.. we will try our best not to loose you!! haha
:) Tara & Sim
On the 5th of July we camped in the red light district of Westport- just inside the breakwaters of the Buller River mouth under a huge red navigationl light. It was awesome to catch up with Averil, an old friend of mine from school, and her two sweet kids. The next morning we left in the dark, ready for a big push north while the weather was good. Easterlies made progress slow as we were being constantly blown offshore. We landed just past the Mokihinui River mouth that afternoon and Sim took his 3rd roll since leaving Milford. Two days later we arrived at the Heaphy River and both managed a clean run in through moderate surf. Sleeping in the hut was mean and we were feeling confident that we would make it up and around Farewell Spit and the end of the West Coast in the weather window we had. Little did we know that this was not to be and that the West Coast was about to hand us our most 'exciting' epic yet.. Here goes..
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| Mokihinui |
On the morning of the 9th of July we paddled out the Heaphy River mouth and into the surf. I went first and somehow managed a clean run out through huge breakers that went our for several hundred metres. I got out the back and waited for Sim. I waited and waited for Sim, but he was nowhere to be seen. A stiff Easterly was blowing out the river mouth and it was freezing. My view of the beach was pretty minimal as all I could see was the backs of huge waves. After about half an hour and still no sign of Sim I figured he had probably gotten smashed and maybe taken a swim and was taking a while to sort himself out. There was no way I wanted to run the surf back in again.
The sun slowly arrived, shining straight in my face making it even harder to watch the surf for Sim. After an hour I put my helmet back on slowly edged closer into the surf zone. Paddling frantically for a few minutes and being slammed a few times I arrived on the beach unscathed. No sign of Sim. No footprints. No boat drag marks in the sand. I went back to the hut and left a quick note "Sim I'm paddling north to Whanganui Inlet. Tara." He must have missed me in the surf between the swells. Maybe I was too far out the back. He wasn't anywhere so he must have gone North without me. He must have thought I'd gotten tired of waiting.
My last run out through the surf was sketchy. I got most of the way out the back before a huge wave about to break slammed into me, pinning me on the back deck of my boat. I made it though only to be slammed by the next one, again my helmet hitting the back of my boat. I thought it was game over but the sea gods were kind to me. I boosted north, paddling about 35km and landed that night alone near the Anaweka River. Max and Melz told me about this hut they found on their South Island circumnavigation. Some farmers told me where it was and I stayed there the night with a cranking fire going. I had the tent and Sim had our big fly and a bivvy bag. Sucks to be him! I figured we would meet in Whanganui Inlet. The next morning I paddled away early and after arriving in the Inlet early afternoon I made my way to a farmhouse and called Fi. Fi and Brian are brilliant at time like this and they really are awesome at what they do. I didn't want anyone to over-react as it was most probably a case of 'misplacing' Sim. He would turn up. I didn't loose him on purpose! honest! Some valuable lessons were learnt.
I paddled off and found a sweet hut where I spent my second night alone. The next day I paddled back to use the phone. Fi and Brian had managed to find out that a fishing boat had seen Sim and 3.30pm the day before about 10km south of the Inlet. I waited all day but still no sign of Sim. On the 4th morning since loosing Sim he made a call to Fi to say that he was paddling into Collingwood from the end of Farewell Spit.
Turns out Sim never left the Heaphy without me. It also turns out that it was actually me that had abandoned him!! my bad!! He had been only one wave behind me when we left the river mouth. He'd gotten smashed, rolled, smashed, rolled, smashed, and ended up about 200m north of the river mouth around the point and pushed into rocks. He managed to get onto a tiny beach surrounded by cliffs. He had seen me go in through the surf and back out again. He tried over and over to get out through the surf and off his beach, but every time he kept getting smashed. His roll count went from 3 to about 10. On his 5th attempt he got smashed and ended up swimming. After two more attempts that afternoon he slept under a flax bush for the night. The next morning on his second attempt he finally made it out and left the Heaphy behind.
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| Sims Heaphy Beach |
That day he paddled to about 5km south of the Inlet- I had the maps so he had no idea how close he was. Lucky we had worked out that all we we had to do was keep the land on our right and we should be sweet. He was convinced I'd be making the most of the good weather and be boosting North. So the next day he paddled all the way to the end of Farewell Spit, arriving in the dark, expecting me to be there. But I wasn't haha. At 4am near high tide and in darkness he set off again on the water and rounded the end of the spit and paddled into Collingwood, with the aid of Ben and his Ipad navigation. He was joined by a pod of Orcas!! jealous! The next day- day 5 of our 'separation', Sim got a lift back to the inlet and found me in my hut. Thanks heaps Leslie and Brandon Sparrow and the girls for your help.
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| Calm seas on Sims first paddle around the spit |
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| Orca in Golden Bay |
We waited for a few days in bad weather before we made an attempt to head north on Sim's second trip around the spit. But it turns out a 4m SW swell is not really ideal for getting out of the Inlet. The surf was huge but we were eager to leave. We pushed on probably further than we should have before I got back-surfed and rolled about 500m offshore.. not ideal! Sim yelled at me "this is stupid!!" and we quickly turned around and frantically paddled back to the safety of the inlet. We called Fi and Brian who had come up to see us and that afternoon we paddled over with a dinghy from my hut and picked them up with their new family member Max. Max decided to launch himself out of the dinghy half way back, its always good to know he can now swim! It was awesome hanging out and we ate heaps of good food and had some beers and enjoyed the sun for the next 2 days. Love you guys!!
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| Tara, Fi, Max and Brian travelling in style |
On the 19th we dodged huge surf and made our break from the Inlet and put in a big days paddle to the end of the spit where we camped under the lighthouse. The next day we headed south down past Separation Point and into Abel Tasman National Park, stoked to be off the West Coast. We camped at Totaranui and the next day we Freya'd it and paddled the whole of the Abel Tasman in an afternoon down to Stephens Bay, where we are now.
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| Tara landing at Farewell Spit and the end the West Coast |
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| Farewell Spit camp |
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| A Change from the West Coast- easy landing in the Abel Tasman |
Our plan from here is to skip Nelson and paddle across to Cable Bay on Tuesday before heading through French Pass and making our way down the East Coast. Hopefully the weather gods are kinder to us on the East side!! Thanks heaps to everyone who's helped us get this far, its been really cool to have so many people interested in our adventures. If you want to come for a paddle, get in touch.. we will try our best not to loose you!! haha
:) Tara & Sim
The Lost Photos - Greymouth to Westport
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| Kayaks on the beach at 12mile & Paul Caffyns home |
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| Making the most of the last half hour of light at Woodpecker Bay Still getting dark at 5.30pm wet gear again tomorrow morning, Yay! |
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Tara paddling past the rocks of Charlston |
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| Sunset at Charleston |
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| Sunset at Charleston |
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| Tara paddling in swell around Cape Foulwind |
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Still paddling!
Hi Guys,
Just thought I'd let you know that Sim and Tara have been holed up for the last day or five with some bad kayaking weather. The good news though is... Da da da da!! They have just said goodbye to the Westcoast today and will be cruising past the Able Tasman for the next few days.
The weather looks pretty good for them for the next few days so hopefully they are heading past Nelson shorty.
Till next time...
Ben
Thursday, 5 July 2012
Hokitika to Westport
Hi Sim here
We have made it up as far as Westport, after a few good weather days and fortunately there is more to come! You'll have to excuse the lack of photos as were unable to put any up the moment.
So after landing at Hoki, we left our boats in the capable hands of Brian at the Beachside Holiday Park and headed up to wait out some rough weather with our mate Jono in Greymouth. During that time there was up to 6m swells out on the coast no fun for kayaking. While in Greymouth we had a chat to the local outdoor education students about what we were up to and where we work in Fiordland. We also met with Paul Caffyn and got some good local knowledge on landing further up the coast.
When the weather improved we set out again from Hoki at first light for a very tough day. After pushing into a 15knt Northeaster for 11 hours and one of my rudder lines breaking halfway through the day, we made a surf landing at Greymouth again in the dark! Only 35 kms. Fortunately we had a good crew of KT, Ben and Jono on the lookout for us and they quickly found us and got us back to Jono's. Where KT told us it had been a tropical 1 degree when the picked us up.
Next after a few repairs in the morning we set off to 12mile where Paul Caffyn lives, a much more pleasant paddle than the day before. Tara was happy we arrived before just before Paul got home as she took a roll right outside his house in small surf after taking the landing a little to relaxed!
Leaving the next morning was a bit sad as KT was heading home after being out support crew for the last month or so. Thanks heaps KT!!!. From 12mile we made our way up to Woodpecker Bay and paddled in to the fox river to camp for the night. Getting in at 3pm was great as we had a bit of time to enjoy it on land and dry some gear before it disappeared again.
I enjoyed paddling up to Charleston past all the awesome rock formations that are popular with climbers. The climbs are right on the sea cliffs and would make for some spectacular views. The entrance to the bay at Charleston is on 8 or 9ms wide so would make a interesting landing spot in big swell. Lucky for us it was just an easy roll through the gap.
We had a rest day yesterday to prepare for making the most of the good weather that is coming up and wait for a new radio to arrive in Westport as our current one as died and it will be vital for getting forecasts for the next stretch as we will start seeing less towns and cell coverage.
Had great paddle up to Westport today around Cape Foulwind in perfect conditions the weather looks like it is to continue to play the game so we hope to be up around the spit and off the wild west coast soon.
This will probably be our last update till we round the top in a week or so. Hopefully then we'll be able to get some photos up. Thanks heaps to everyone for all your help and support along the way and a big thanks to Len from LEGEND Paddles in Chch for helping sort our paddle issues.
We have made it up as far as Westport, after a few good weather days and fortunately there is more to come! You'll have to excuse the lack of photos as were unable to put any up the moment.
So after landing at Hoki, we left our boats in the capable hands of Brian at the Beachside Holiday Park and headed up to wait out some rough weather with our mate Jono in Greymouth. During that time there was up to 6m swells out on the coast no fun for kayaking. While in Greymouth we had a chat to the local outdoor education students about what we were up to and where we work in Fiordland. We also met with Paul Caffyn and got some good local knowledge on landing further up the coast.
When the weather improved we set out again from Hoki at first light for a very tough day. After pushing into a 15knt Northeaster for 11 hours and one of my rudder lines breaking halfway through the day, we made a surf landing at Greymouth again in the dark! Only 35 kms. Fortunately we had a good crew of KT, Ben and Jono on the lookout for us and they quickly found us and got us back to Jono's. Where KT told us it had been a tropical 1 degree when the picked us up.
Next after a few repairs in the morning we set off to 12mile where Paul Caffyn lives, a much more pleasant paddle than the day before. Tara was happy we arrived before just before Paul got home as she took a roll right outside his house in small surf after taking the landing a little to relaxed!
Leaving the next morning was a bit sad as KT was heading home after being out support crew for the last month or so. Thanks heaps KT!!!. From 12mile we made our way up to Woodpecker Bay and paddled in to the fox river to camp for the night. Getting in at 3pm was great as we had a bit of time to enjoy it on land and dry some gear before it disappeared again.
I enjoyed paddling up to Charleston past all the awesome rock formations that are popular with climbers. The climbs are right on the sea cliffs and would make for some spectacular views. The entrance to the bay at Charleston is on 8 or 9ms wide so would make a interesting landing spot in big swell. Lucky for us it was just an easy roll through the gap.
We had a rest day yesterday to prepare for making the most of the good weather that is coming up and wait for a new radio to arrive in Westport as our current one as died and it will be vital for getting forecasts for the next stretch as we will start seeing less towns and cell coverage.
Had great paddle up to Westport today around Cape Foulwind in perfect conditions the weather looks like it is to continue to play the game so we hope to be up around the spit and off the wild west coast soon.
This will probably be our last update till we round the top in a week or so. Hopefully then we'll be able to get some photos up. Thanks heaps to everyone for all your help and support along the way and a big thanks to Len from LEGEND Paddles in Chch for helping sort our paddle issues.
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
Need a new paddle? Talk to LEGEND PADDLES in Christchurch
Hi All
The Crew has made it to Charleston yesterday lunchtime. They then hitched to Westport for a weather update as their radio has given up on them. They were in Woodpecker Bay on Tuesday night and were hoping to get to Westport shortly to wait out a bit of bad weather. With a bit of luck they will be there today/tomorrow. A MASSIVE thanks to Len from LEGEND PADDLES in Christchurch who's making them a new paddle to use, and fixing a broken split paddle for them as we speak. Cheers Len!!
Will have more of an update soon.
Ben
The Crew has made it to Charleston yesterday lunchtime. They then hitched to Westport for a weather update as their radio has given up on them. They were in Woodpecker Bay on Tuesday night and were hoping to get to Westport shortly to wait out a bit of bad weather. With a bit of luck they will be there today/tomorrow. A MASSIVE thanks to Len from LEGEND PADDLES in Christchurch who's making them a new paddle to use, and fixing a broken split paddle for them as we speak. Cheers Len!!
Will have more of an update soon.
Ben
Sunday, 1 July 2012
12 mile
Made it up past greymouth to 12 mile.
Staying with Paul Caffyn first person to kayak around the south island.
Heading north again tomorrow. Should be in Westport in a few days. For a detailed update! Thanks for all the support KT. Her last day as support crew today :-(
Saturday, 23 June 2012
Okarito to Hokitika & a surf landing in the dark
It's about time we kept our readers happy with some epic West Coast antics! We were starting to get worried our adventure seemed boring, so here goes...
We left the small town of Okarito early in the morning of the shortest day of the year. The tide was low and we paddled out the mouth of the lagoon and into the surf. We were relaxed as it didn't look to epic but the first big wave I punched launched me backwards and flipped me over. I rolled up and tried to gain forwards momentum before the next one hit- for a couple of seconds I was teetering on the edge with a paddle blade clawing at the top of the wave trying to hold my ground whilst the rest of the wave tried to suck me back. After finally breaking through I boosted out the back and looked over to see Sim making it though no worries.
The sun was rising as we paddled towards Abut Point and within about an hour I could not hold it off any longer and I gave the fish a wee feed. The going was slow, and as the hours ticked by I keep chundering. The closer we got to Greens Beach the more we realised that we wearn't going to make it that day. We had a look on the map and it looked like it might be an okay landing about 6km before Greens. When we finally paddled into view of this beach, large waves rolled in and the thought of landing through this surf didn't seem too appealing. It was 5pm and the sun had just disapeared- if we boosted it we might get to Greens before things got really dark. The lemons were adding up but we decided to go for it.
Daylight was disappearing fast and we tried to radio KT to get an update on our landing situation. No luck. A tiny orange dot in the distance momentarily put our minds at ease, KT obviously had a fire going on the beach- at least we would have somewhere to aim for. We finally negotiated our way in through the surf. Sim went in first and disappeared. I followed and managed to get in a wild side surf in the darkness. After a second side surf I launched up onto the sand.
Daylight was disappearing fast and we tried to radio KT to get an update on our landing situation. No luck. A tiny orange dot in the distance momentarily put our minds at ease, KT obviously had a fire going on the beach- at least we would have somewhere to aim for. We finally negotiated our way in through the surf. Sim went in first and disappeared. I followed and managed to get in a wild side surf in the darkness. After a second side surf I launched up onto the sand.
KT's comment was "a bit on the late side, but I call that a success" haha. Being on land was awesome, and having a raging fire going and dinner on the go was a job well done by KT! It was a long day- nothing quite like paddling 45km on a packet of raro!
The next morning we got up early ready for the 45km paddle to Hokitika. Sim cruised off through the surf first and made it out the back sweet. I followed and managed to get about half way out before getting slammed and back surfed most of the way back in again. Wave after wave I couldn't make and headway, the sets just kept rolling in. I was getting dominated. After feeling like i couldn't take any more, I finally I made it out the back.
The day was as perfect as could be until we neared Hokitika later in the day. Huge waves rolled into the river mouth, it clearly was not a go-er for a landing. We paddled further north towards the edge of town where KT was waiting for us. The waves were breaking way out and it looked like it could be messy. I went in first and just as I got into the surf zone saw a huge wave about to eat me. I threw myself into it but it trashed me upside down. I rolled up and took a few strokes before the next one slammed into me. I was upside down, rolled half up, got smashed by the next one then did the long swim of shame into the beach. Sim made it in sweet with no dramas at all, not even a broken paddle. When I finally got on land my pants were around my knees haha.
At least all that was hurt was my pride and the only casualty was a jandal and a sponge. Maybe a bit on the damp side, but I'll call it a success! Character building i think its called.
So now we are in Greymouth staying with Sim's friend Jono until the weather improves. It's about 45K westerly at the moment which isn't that ideal. If anyone's keen to come and join our journey, get in touch, paddling on the West Coast really is awesome!
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Hi Everyone,
We are heading back to the West Coast today, and plan on paddling as far as Greens Beach (half way between Okarito and Hokitika) tomorrow. From there it will be another days paddle to Hokitika- hopefully we don't have to attempt a landing near Ross- we have been warned "avoid at all costs" haha. At least in a couple of days time, daylight hours will be on the increase- awesome! We should be able to get a post up when we hit Greymouth, but until then hopefully the seas die down again- its a 4m NW swell at the moment :)
We are heading back to the West Coast today, and plan on paddling as far as Greens Beach (half way between Okarito and Hokitika) tomorrow. From there it will be another days paddle to Hokitika- hopefully we don't have to attempt a landing near Ross- we have been warned "avoid at all costs" haha. At least in a couple of days time, daylight hours will be on the increase- awesome! We should be able to get a post up when we hit Greymouth, but until then hopefully the seas die down again- its a 4m NW swell at the moment :)
Saturday, 16 June 2012
Bruce Bay to Okarito
Sim, KT and I have made an unexpected trip over to Christchurch after my grandma passed away a few days ago. We are hoping to head back to the West Coast in the next few days depending on the weather. Here's a quick update on our latest adventures.
After spending more than a week in Bruce Bay we finally got the weather window that we had been waiting for. With an amazing panorama of the southern alps out to our right we we cruised north feeling a little apprehensive about our inevitable messy landing at Gillespies Beach. Rumor has it that Gillespies is one of the gnarlier dumping surf beaches on the coast, and the advice that I had been given was to avoid it. At least it wasnt an 'avoid it at all costs' piece of advice- definitely a good sign! When we arrived early in the afternoon KT informed us on the radio that waves were breaking further out but that we would be sweet as, a welcome relief. I went in first and made it within a couple of meters of the beach before getting rolled. Sim got smashed further out before making a clean run in to the beach- so far our combined roll count is sitting at 5 haha.
The following day we paddled north to Okarito in pristine conditions. Timing it between the sets we managed to surf in over the bar and into the river mouth without too many dramas. So far we are a month into our journey, but of that month we have only managed to paddle a total of 8 days. Two more paddling days should get us to Hokitika, and another day to Greymouth. Progress has been slow but i guess that what you get paddling on the West Coast!
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| Sim and I paddling out from Bruce Bay- photo by KT |
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| Sunset from Gillespies Beach |
The following day we paddled north to Okarito in pristine conditions. Timing it between the sets we managed to surf in over the bar and into the river mouth without too many dramas. So far we are a month into our journey, but of that month we have only managed to paddle a total of 8 days. Two more paddling days should get us to Hokitika, and another day to Greymouth. Progress has been slow but i guess that what you get paddling on the West Coast!
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| Arriving into the Okarito Lagoon- photo by KT |
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| Calm seas and the Southern Alps |
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| KT- our awesome Landing Analyst and Ground Specialist |
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