I was paddling past this extremely remote part of the coast and noted two tiny figures on the lower ledge that appears just left of centre on this image...
... one figure appears to the right of the picture, a fisherman, providing perspective.
How did they get down to this spot? A ladder! Try placing it against the first image for still more perspective. Above, and slightly to the right, of the guy in the picture above. Unbelievable!
Day 122, Mar 29 2010
It was getting more and more difficult to get up in the morning. The sun too seemed reluctant to rise. When I’d started my trip sunrise had been near 5:30am. Now it was after 7:30am and it was far cooler too. Some of the incidents I’d found myself in of late weren’t helping either.
Despite my lack of enthusiasm I began paddling at 8:45am. A brother, Damon, had arrived in New Zealand a couple of days earlier and we’d arranged to meet at Port Waikato which I hoped to reach… if I was successful in getting away from Raglan.
Here we go, again.
It was a clear morning with a rare easterly blowing. An easterly blows offshore, flattening the sea and swell and was therefore something I was thankful for. The tide was still coming in although it was not far from high. This meant a slower trip out to the entrance than it had been three days earlier when it had already turned and had swept me out so quickly.
The bar still ahead... ominous or inviting?
Conditions looked much improved and the channel that led away from the entrance was far more settled. I noted waves to the left and right of me but none directly ahead. It felt like slowing going, paddling against the current as I was, and it was not until 9:30am that I felt I’d passed the outer reaches of the bar and could begin tracking north up the coast.
Waves to the right and left, but certainly far more settled.
I’d initially had it in my head that Port Waikato would require a 60km paddle, so I was pleasantly surprised to note that it was nearer 50km when I checked my GPS. The coastline too was relatively straight, meaning that I could hug the shore - never more than a kilometre away - and avoid the worst of the winds that were blowing directly out to sea, neither helping nor hindering me.
I’d lost two caps in the vicinity of the bar at Raglan. One upon arriving, and a second, that had been purchased whilst at Raglan as a result of the first loss, on my previous and unsuccessful attempt to leave. So for the very first time I was paddling without cover on my head. I put on lots of zinc and sunscreen to compensate for this but could do nothing about the constant water thrown up by the paddles that landed on my head and ran down my face. Closer I suspect to the Chinese water torture than water-boarding (simulated drowning).
Raglan in fact had been unkind in more ways than one. I’d omitted to mention in my account at the time that I’d also ruined my phone. It had not appreciated the salt water I’d found inside its casing after our extended swim. Possibly worse however was that I’d also lost one of the cushions I’d put so much effort into having couriered to me from a rubber factory in Hamilton. I’d had high hopes that it would solve the problem of my aching backside.
I’d lost two caps in the vicinity of the bar at Raglan. One upon arriving, and a second, that had been purchased whilst at Raglan as a result of the first loss, on my previous and unsuccessful attempt to leave. So for the very first time I was paddling without cover on my head. I put on lots of zinc and sunscreen to compensate for this but could do nothing about the constant water thrown up by the paddles that landed on my head and ran down my face. Closer I suspect to the Chinese water torture than water-boarding (simulated drowning).
Raglan in fact had been unkind in more ways than one. I’d omitted to mention in my account at the time that I’d also ruined my phone. It had not appreciated the salt water I’d found inside its casing after our extended swim. Possibly worse however was that I’d also lost one of the cushions I’d put so much effort into having couriered to me from a rubber factory in Hamilton. I’d had high hopes that it would solve the problem of my aching backside.
The coast...
Fortunately, none of this proved a problem and from this point forward the paddle was mercifully uneventful. I watched the green hills and cliffs slip by, keeping a watchful eye on the lingering swell affected by the offshore breeze and marked by bright white plumes of spray as a result.
Certainly, I began to feel tired after the first four or five hours and this played a part in what direction I took when I rounded the final headland. I noted that the river mouth (the Waikato is New Zealand’s longest at 425km, and comes from the Maori and translates as ‘flowing water'), was a further few kilometres along the beach that had just presented itself. I also noted surf activity there so the decision as you can imagine was not a difficult one. I was on this occasion going to avoid the bar altogether!
I was already heading in, making for the more protected corner whilst having observed a number of surfers in the water, when one put both arms up in the air. I knew immediately that it was my brother. I knew now without any doubt that I’d picked the right spot to land. I had help at hand!
We greeted each other before I continued in towards the shore. For what it is worth I ‘surfed’ a wave in. It peeled left and my kayak went left and I never once felt like I was in trouble. Quite exciting and unexpected. Unfortunately such clean waves are few and far between.
With my brother’s assistance we loaded his car with my belongings whilst I began the “400 metre” walk to the campground wit the kayak on my shoulder. I stopped after covering at least that distance, standing on a street corner wondering which way next, and when my help might return when I noted a small navy blue tip-truck coming up the road with an empty tray.
I was still in the process of deciding whether I should flag it down when I noted the that the smiling face behind the wheel was none-other than my very resourceful brother! Transporting the kayak the still required kilometre was not now going to be a problem. Damon commented that I looked "lean".
Certainly, I began to feel tired after the first four or five hours and this played a part in what direction I took when I rounded the final headland. I noted that the river mouth (the Waikato is New Zealand’s longest at 425km, and comes from the Maori and translates as ‘flowing water'), was a further few kilometres along the beach that had just presented itself. I also noted surf activity there so the decision as you can imagine was not a difficult one. I was on this occasion going to avoid the bar altogether!
I was already heading in, making for the more protected corner whilst having observed a number of surfers in the water, when one put both arms up in the air. I knew immediately that it was my brother. I knew now without any doubt that I’d picked the right spot to land. I had help at hand!
We greeted each other before I continued in towards the shore. For what it is worth I ‘surfed’ a wave in. It peeled left and my kayak went left and I never once felt like I was in trouble. Quite exciting and unexpected. Unfortunately such clean waves are few and far between.
With my brother’s assistance we loaded his car with my belongings whilst I began the “400 metre” walk to the campground wit the kayak on my shoulder. I stopped after covering at least that distance, standing on a street corner wondering which way next, and when my help might return when I noted a small navy blue tip-truck coming up the road with an empty tray.
I was still in the process of deciding whether I should flag it down when I noted the that the smiling face behind the wheel was none-other than my very resourceful brother! Transporting the kayak the still required kilometre was not now going to be a problem. Damon commented that I looked "lean".
It had taken 7 ¼ hours to paddle 50.8km. At approximately 1:30pm I passed 2,000 km on my journey. It had taken me fifty-three days to cover the first thousand whilst the second thousand had taken sixty-nine days.
