The promised trailer and lift to the beach were ready at the agreed time of 7:30am. A dark Spanish girl who was in New Zealand learning to surf came along to see me off. I had all the inspiration I would need to get going on what was an intimidating leg. Having once before covered 60km I knew what I was in for. This knowledge did not encourage me.
A surf of a couple of foot was breaking. Waves always meant that I pulled hard and fast for momentum. I had to penetrate through the waves to avoid being washed unceremoniously back to shore in an inverted position. I had some excitement when just after 8:00am, a hollow, breaking wave, pitched directly in front of me. I leaned as far forward as I possibly could to become one with the kayak’s hull in the hope that we would pierce the vertical wall of water bearing down on me. It broke directly over my shoulders and I miraculously came out the other side. It must have looked superb from the shore!
Rough but favourable seas and winds for the first 3 hours.
Fully awake now, I had a good following breeze and seas for the first 3 hours making East Cape lighthouse at 10:55am. This is the most eastern extremity on mainland New Zealand and stands 154 metres above sea level. If I could have stayed here for a few day’s more I could have been one of the very first people in the world to greet the New Year situated as it is near the international date line!
The East Cape lighthouse, 154m above sea level.
Rounding the cape my bearing was now due south. I noted with some annoyance that the coastline was now almost completely protected from the north-westerly breezes. In fact it was decidedly glassy in places. It could have been worse and I recognised this, thankful at least that I was not having to battle into any winds. I could ill afford it today.
The water was suddenly very different.
I took the opportunity to have some food and mop up the water that invariably seeped into the cockpit when it had been rough. I readjusted the lumbar support behind my seat and tightened the rudder pedals. I wanted everything to be right and the opportunity presented by the suddenly smooth waters was ideal. I even lifted myself out of the cockpit, swivelled 180° and shimmied my way back along the kayak to the stern to ensure the helmet was not dragging. I succeeded in this manoeuvre without falling in, and successfully re-entered the cockpit. I would have to address the helmet issue later and permanently. This was not something I could have done in anything other than perfectly flat water.
The panoramic shots are misleading. These cliffs are well over 100m high. No where to land and have a stretch.
I’d been paddling for 3 hours and covered about 20km but this had been with the wind and surf behind me. I had another 40km to cover, and therefore at least 6 more hours, but without the assistance of a breeze. Daunting, but thinking about it did not get me any nearer my destination. The time would pass as long as I myself, did not stand idle. This and the satisfaction I would feel upon the completion of this leg were what drove me on.
The next six-and-a-bit hours were tedious apart from another sighting of a sunfish and a quick chat with some surprised fishermen who I came across about 4km from shore. They could not believe how fast I was travelling whilst conversely from my perspective it felt like the kilometres were passing by achingly slowly. The headland I was aiming for seemed never to get nearer. As it was, my arms felt like lead weights when I finally beached at 5:10pm.
A whale, a shark? No, another sunfish!
The ‘freedom’ camping site did not offer much but it was on the beach and would allow me to pitch my tent without much fuss. This positive was cruelly outweighed however when I removed the rear hatch cover and discovered that I had not fitted the neoprene cover. The aft storage compartment had about 20 litres of water in it i.e. 20kg. What broke my heart was that my maps were saturated, and my sleeping bag and some clothing, even though they were stored in dry bags, were damp too.
I was extremely angry with myself, and so disappointed that the day would end like this. How stupid could I be! I answered this question aloud and with vehemence. It would have killed me had it been raining, but as it was I had just enough daylight left to lay the maps out on the grass and get them dry before they turned to mache - they were soaked. I ate a cold can of baked beans and another of creamed corn whilst the sleeping bag too, rid itself of most of the wetness in those few hours before darkness fell. Thankfully I was able to take my well earned sleep after covering 65km this day.
