Day 102, Mar 9 2010
I’d not slept well thanks to a 10° C night and soreness in my back above my right glute. The sleeping bag and two layers of thermals were not enough to stop the bite and I wondered if my chosen bedding was going to prove inadequate if the weather continued to cool.
Under such circumstances I was not encouraged to embrace the clear morning that dawned and recognising that Opunake, my planned target, would again demand only half a day‘s effort, I could afford to wait for the sun to climb above the hills to deliver its warmth.
Things began to improve once I got moving and I was extremely thankful when a couple of interested campers were kind enough to carry my kayak, partly loaded, down the bitumen road to the water saving me at least three trips.
Support crew!
It was again a 10:00am start but today I determined to begin at a more leisurely pace. I’m unsure whether it was this or simply the fact that I had the previous day under my belt, but the upper body felt more relaxed than it had yesterday.
Mt Taranaki offering a spectacle.
The backside and hamstring however was continuing to cause me discomfort. I would frequently have to cease my paddling to allow me to lift my butt from the seat in the search for relief, and then hope that by repositioning it, I would gain some, if only temporary relief.
Another point to aim for.
Whatever it was, it distracted me from the cliffs that continued along this part of the coast though my natural inclination to stay offshore meant I saw then only from a distance. They seemed less spectacular than yesterday’s probably due to a decrease in size. Taranaki however continued to grow in size, and I was treated to a number of glorious views although there was always the haze that indicated the distance between us.
Mt Taranaki looming larger.
The sun was shining and the following breeze was fresh, whilst the previously river affected brown water had changed to a deep emerald green. I was making the most of these conditions when I suddenly realised that I’d paddled amongst a huge number of birds sitting on the water. They were birds I’d seen countless times before but never in such numbers. There were literally hundreds of them and they allowed me to get very close before taking flight.
A 'raft' made up of hundreds of mutton birds.
I would learn later that day, when the hosts of the campground to which I was headed would lend me a book, that they were mutton birds. I learnt also that I should refer to them in the collective as a ‘raft’ of birds. I felt much more comfortable with this because the word ‘flock’ didn’t seem in the least way correct.
Approaching Opunake. In most instances it's a wonderful feeling when the destination approaches.
It was not soon after this encounter that I came upon my destination, Opunake Beach. It was a pretty site with a distinctive bay framed by headlands at either end of the beach, and the campground immediately behind it backed by lush green foliage. Possibly the prettiest surf beach in a traditional sense (Australian style), that I’ve come across in New Zealand… Bondi without the cafes and g-strings perhaps? A tidy and well-equipped campground without being garish offered a welcome place to pitch the tent at the end of the day.
I’d paddled 36.5km in just under 4 ½ hours.
