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Lake Tarawera Multi-Day TripAs an extension to the Hot water Beach ANZAC Day paddle 6 paddlers in five kayaks continued on with a 3night 4 day paddle around Lake Tarawera, including a portage to Rotomahana to see the thermal area on the western shore. After packing and leaving from Boat shed bay we caught up with the day paddlers as they reached Hot water beach, we shared a lunch break and while the day paddlers took a dip we put up our tents anticipating possible afternoon showers. After waving the day paddlers off for their trip home we headed down to the end of the bay by kayak to the hot pools up a small creek. Unfortunetly these were not as nice as usual, a little flooded and full of small fish that really wanted to eat us ! Some rain in the evening. Our return trip back up the lake was pretty exciting for some of us and a learning curve for others as we 'surfed 'our way back to another hassle free portage back to camp at Hot Water Beach. Thanks to Dave and Adian for the muscle power getting kayaks in and out. Day 3.Wanting to miss the westerly winds out on the main lake we once again set off at 9.00 for our short paddle to Tarawera Outlet our next camp site. Everyone was holding their breath as we got closer to the entrance of the calm bay, expecting to see white caps but we were in luck and headed around the eastern corner into calm waters with a slight tail wind. Adian used his sail and i dont think he actually made may paddle strokes in that 9km paddle. As we arrived at the Outlet the weather changed and we had to deal with crashing waves as we landed on the shore. The forecast westerly had arrived but we were safe at camp. Later in the afternoon we walked down to view Tarawera falls. Day 4. We had decided to leave an hour earlier this morning to avoid the head wind, that we expected to pick up as it had the day before, but it actually didn't seem to stop blowing all night so we were discussed our options. Pam decided to hitch a ride back on a fishing boat, while the others continued with the plan to head off at 8.00 into what we thought would be a hard head wind. Nature was with us once again and as we paddled along the shore the wind and waves got less and the sun shone more so we ended paddling back on glassy waters, and after a short break at Humpheries bay we arrived back at Boat Shed bay at 12. I had a great 4days - Thanks Dave, Karen, Pam, Erin and Adian for joining me :) Thanks to BOP leader Sandy Clark for arranging the trip, great feeback from the others about the trip. Well done. Check out all the photos on our Facebook Page |
Well we (8 of us) finally we knocked the b…. off. The fourth trip plan came to fruition. The group’s first dilemma was whether to cover the arms in sunscreen or a paddle jacket. The sunny day clouded over but after a visit to the restored Copper mine and a quick blast up South Cove we arrived to our Hauraki Gulf paradise – Beehive Island. The sand was white, the water blue, the birds in abundance and the Austins tried to set the scene a bit more by bringing a pineapple. We all had a lovely relax and a walk around the island (takes approx 5 minutes). We must have slept through the predicted ‘variable 5 knots’ and instead had a good workout back to Martins Bay. We will have to have another trip when the water is warm as well as blue!
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Auckland Yakity Yak Club
As we, Andrea, Cary, Martin and Shaun, were preparing to leave St Heliers mid afternoon on the Friday, light rain and poor visibility made us question our motives. Without being able to see Rangitoto we headed off to Motatapu Island and after two hours paddling with a light south easterly we arrived Home Bay on high tide. After a damp night, we left Home Bay reasonably early knowing that we had a big day ahead of us and took advantage of the outgoing high tide to assist us across the channel between Home Bay and the north western end of the Waiheke Island coastline. We were making good progress towards Thompsons Point at the eastern end of Onetangi Bay, when low and behold we were surrounded by a pod of playful dolphins that played either side of Andrea’s kayak - a sight that we will never forget.
Whilst crossing Onetangi Bay the southeasterly suddenly got up and paddling got a whole lot harder, so much so that we headed to a steep stony beach for a short respite. Recharged we set off again, and the wind thankfully had disappeared as we made our way past Thumb Point to the southern end of Hooks Bay for lunch. We set off again in slightly choppy waters and headed south with a bit of rock gardening before meeting Paul, Linda and Cheryl at the northern end of Man o War Bay. By now the afternoon sun was upon us and Man o War Bay seemed to go on forever. Once past we made steady progress and waited for the forecasted south westerly to take effect as we rounded the southern tip of the island – luckily the weather gods were on our side and the wind never materialised allowing us to make steady progress to enter Rocky Bay, nine hours and fifty kms after leaving Home Bay on Motatapu. A sandy beach, a comfortable campsite and a couple of whiskies later made it feel all worthwhile!
Again, we left to take advantage of the high tide and the smell of bacon wafting from St Heliers approx 20 kms away. Luckily the south westerly winds didn’t really materialise and we had a good crossing to arrive back in St Heliers in time for a well deserved and most welcome brunch. A fun group and great trip made all the better for Andrea’s prior experience of paddling Waiheke. A total of 83.2kms, 14.5 hrs on the water at an average of 5.7kph.
I feel a rock gardening expedition along the north eastern coast of the island is certainly worth considering.