Motuora Weekend
Great weather, great paddling, great location and a great group of paddlers - this is what makes a perfect weekend away.
The weather forecast earlier in the week and for the weekend looked a little rough, but none of that occurred and we had a perfect warm autumn weekend weather. The wind stayed at or below 10 knots the whole time, although it did move around a little and there was some good swell on exposed coasts that kept us away from the shoreline.
We set off from Sullivan's Bay on Saturday morning for very pleasant paddle across to Motuora. We were welcomed on the journey by a flock of petrels and terns that were feeding as we neared Saddle Island, and several penguins were seen in the water. Three other clubbies were already on the island, so we set up camp at "their end" of the campground - which left the only other campers (a large family group) to the other end. After lunch, Pauline led a trip around the island and Rob led a trip around Motuketekete and Moturekareka. Some chose to stay on land and explore, and as the afternoon evolved many of the group went to explore the island. Lots of swims as well!
So we were a pretty mellow group as the evening began, and the "campfire" chat was a great chance for some newer clubbies to meet the group. Luke may not have been able to be here, but Pauline and Janet were on pancake duty and soon there was a good stack to try the various shared toppings. The sunset was perfect. Later, many went on the hunt for the kiwi and some who have patience reported successful sightings.
On Sunday morning some of us explored the island again, and then left for Martins Bay before continuing down the coast. As promised, the wind turned to the east and this gave a bit of a surf landing and departure from Martins Bay. All arrived and left the beach upright, although a few of us had an unexpected bucket-load of water down our backs from the last wave on the way in. Nice. We paddled into the bay through an even larger flock of petrels and terns than yesterday. They swarmed through the bay, and flew straight through us without any concern. After a short break we headed down the coast - aiming for Big Bay but with Dairy Bay as the needed back-up due to the easterly swell. Lunch on the beach capped off a perfect weekend, before the short hop back to Sullivan's and the joy of unloading kayaks. A few of us detoured to Puhoi pub for a much needed refreshment and to ogle the motorbikes.
For those of you interested in Motuora activities, they have had a couple of recent great success stories. They have reared 2 gannet chicks this year, with one having fledged last week and the last one only days away. In March, Sian and Toby also led the translocation of nearly 100 Pycroft's Petrels, and Toby reported some of these are showing all the signs of being close to fledging as well. Take a look at the Motuora Restoration Society website to get the latest news. http://motuora.org.nz/