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Published: March 28th 2006
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I have just spent the last two days debating who is coming off worse in the battle of sandflies vs Morgan. Admittedly there must be plently of plump and fully nourished sandflies jumping around in Dountful Sound; My 30+ rapidly swelling bites give testimony that I have been an unwilling blood donor. However, today I experienced the ultimate delicacy- tomato, cheese and sandfly tortillas.............
Ive spent the last two days once again spending good money to scare myself silly and undergo various forms of torture. This time kayaking Doubtful Sound. Another 5am alarm call- this is worse than working!! 8 of us jumped into a mini bus and began a 3 hour journey by minibus/boat and minibus again to our launch station at Deep Cove. The kayaks were 2 man high spec sea kayaks- with lots of waterproof nooks and cubby holes to store gear. Tents, sleeping bags, food, thermarests, clothes etc etc were loaded onto the boats , and we were togged up with a thermal layer, followed by wetsuit, kayak skirt and lifejacket. The lifejackets had little mesh pockets at the front where you could store various goodies- shades, sunscreen, energy bars etc etc . Then we
were off! I paired up with a German girl,Olli, and we soon got into a synchronised kayaking motion. The Sound was amazingly stunning, extremely quiet for it was relatively early, and the peaks on either side rose up majestically. Gaugeing size is extremely difficult , and what we guessed was a 400 metre peak turned out to be actually 1,400 metres!! The water was really calm and there was an amazing stillness and silence in the Sound, broken only by the sound of birdsong! I can't remember ever in my life being surrounded by such peace and calm - its amazing how much noise pollution we subconsciously deal with!!
We kayaked for around 5 hours, with a break for lunch on a deserted landing spot. We aimed to leave nothing in the sound, so all rubbish has to be taken away with you ( including toilet paper if relevant)- sounds a bit gross but this measure has to be taken to preserve the natural unspoilt beauty of the sound. There are numerous waterfalls and bare spots on the rocks devoid of trees- caused by 'tree avalanches', where if one tree falls due to an earthquake etc a chain reaction
occurs where many others follow. This is due to a very shallow root formation in this area, leading trees to interlock roots to support themselves. I was also fascinated to see a fault line between 2 tectonic plates- literally a big crack between two faces of rock approximately 1km high. Amazing stuff.
Around 4.30pm we headed off to set up camp. The entry to the campsite is hidden by long water reeds and any passing boat would not know it was there. All boats have to be carried from the water by 6 men. After beaching the boats we set up tents and removed personal possessions. It was only then that we could change out of our wetsuits and cold wet socks into dry clothing. This presented a problem due to the afore-mentioned sandflies. We were camping in wilderness and they were everywhere. And they bite. So there we were 8 strangers trying to preserve our respective modesties by hiding behind trees to change , but once you took a layer of clothing off sandflies swarmed over and started biting ( and no part of the anatomy was sacred!) Therefore modesty was traded for comfort and speed of changing. I made a pact with one of the guys we would both turn our backs on each other while changing and shout out when we were decent. There were no formalities in our camp! There was one 'longdrop' toilet at the end of a path weaving through overgrown bushes, and a large insect shelter where we could all sit inside and cook, but that was our camp, and if you wanted to wash you did it in the river..........
So there we were 9 of us ( forgot to mention our guide) tucked away in the shelter, sporting woolly hats and thermals as night drew in and the water level crept higher and higher and to within 2 metres of our shelter. As it grew darker, the wildlife sounds increased- lots of birdcalls but also a roaring/grunting sound;Wild stags had been sighted 3 nights previously and apparently this was the calling of the stag. I suddenly had the feeling of being in a zoo....here we were in a flimsy, illuminated , see-through tent - like structure, while wildlife stalked and cried out all around us. Suddenly we were visible and they were not!
Plates and pots and pans were cleaned in the river by torchlight...as I looked up I saw the most amazing, brilliantly twinkling sky ever, with hundreds of stars visible. Again, I realised how the light-pollution in our cities hides such splendours; I spent ages with neck cricked skywards! And then to a bed which was so dark you couldn't see a thing, and all you could hear was the water lapping and wildlife calling...........
I slept badly, I have to admit. Partly as I was now itching like hell from sandfly bites, partly because I hate pure darkness and partly because I wanted to visit the
longdrop but I was scared of going and losing my way in the dark! However, the next morning, my rough night was rewarded when Olli came rushing into the tent telling me she had seen a stag. There it was, just on the other side of a rocky river bed from us about 40 metres away. We were standing on one bank staring at it, and it was standing on the other just gazing at us curiously. Occasionally it would toss back its head and call out, and only then were its magnificent antlers totally visible. This staring continued for about 5 minutes, then suddenly the stag snorted in our direction, threw back its head and galloped off. Only 3 of us saw the stag , so I feel rather lucky, and it was definitely a special moment...........
We packed up camp and were on the water again by 9ish today. Yesterdays calm, serene Sound had transformed overnight into a wind tunnel! And there was only one way home and that was paddling into the wind.....
Today has been pure grit ( and fear- again!) We were crossing waters 450 metres deep with white crested waves and a fierce wind and I was determined I wasn't going to be an underwater kayaker, nor was I keen to find out how quickly I could exit an upturned boat while attached to it by my kayak skirt. Our lunchbreak was at a little landing glade I have nicknamed 'sandfly city'...they were landing on hair, in face, on exposed and unexposed skin ; there were literally hundreds of them. They kept landing on my tortilla while I was preparing my lunch, and hence ended up as one of the ingredients!! The toilet stop was difficult too- as one girl commented, she had to keep slapping her backside to stop them landing....I took my chances but realised I shouldn't have tonight- for its ok to be scratching itchy bites on arms and ankles, but not quite the 'done thing' to be scratching bites elsewhere...!!!!!
We were finally off the water by 3pm and home ( exhausted) by 7pm. Despite the achey arms and multitude of bites it was well worth it- I reckon kayaking is the ONLY way to experience the vastness and solitude of the place. I'm sitting here at base again scratching like hell.
Sandflies 1 Morgan 0
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The Brummies
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Loving your Blog
Loving your Blog. Hope others are enjoying it as much as we are! Keep up the adventuring and let us know all about it. Is anyone else enjoying it?