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Published: March 31st 2006
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Surprise! Kate here - actually doing some work on the blog. Well, I thought it was about time I put in an appearance.
Thought I'd tell you about our big adventure to Doubtful Sound - sea kayaking.
Up at 6am in preparation for a 7am pickup. All looked a bit overcast which didn't bode well before we even left for the fiords. Apparently it rains on 205 days in the year - particularly summer - so it was inevitable really.
Met up with our fellow kayakers - 10 in total plus Katie and Reg, our guides for the day. Set off on the first leg - a 45 minute cruise across Lake Manapouri, the fifth largest lake in NZ. The cruise turned out to be a powerboat dash but was probably more fun - it could've taken days cruising ...
Arrived at the West Arm Power Station to be driven across to Deep Cove on the innermost edge of the Sound. (Actually, it's not a sound but a fiord, created by a glacier - a deep cut into the mountains producing water over 400m deep amongst mountains more than 1000m high.)
The 22km long road was
Fiord from on high
The view from Wilmot Pass unsealed and the only track that linked the Sound with the outside world. Apart from all the comments on how the road has been washed away so many times by the rains, the drive passed peacefully, climbing to a peak of 670m before descending rapidly down to sea level. We were told it was also the most expensive road in the country, costing $5 for every 2.5cm. Ouch.
Got kitted out in our kayaking gear - swimsuits, wetsuits, thermals, splash jackets and skirts, rainjackets, lifejackets, woolly hats with earmuffs - and it was all needed, I can tell you! By this time the rain had started and the cold was already setting in.
A short cruise later we were set loose. Double kayaks were the order of the day and no sooner had Natalie and I boarded and got settled, we looked around to see the rest of the group >100m away and us in the middle of the sound. Minor panic set in, remembering the talk of 'sticking together', 'waves bigger in the middle' and 'greater likelihood of capsizing' etc but we pulled together and made our way back as Katie approached to check all was well.
Team GB
Driver Kate gets her revenge on the Luge Munkeh I was designated driver for the day, which was hard work, made tolerable by the fact I was in charge! 'Co-pilots' were specifically told to 'button it'. I knew it was going to be a good day!
After this initial scare, we decided to stick close to the edge. At times it was rough even there, but not nearly so bad. The setting was just amazing though. Such an enormous expanse of water, surrounded by huge mountains and not a soul in sight. Doubtful is the second largest fiord, 44km long, up to 2km wide and over 440m deep.
Pottered along the waters edge, admiring the scenery - waterfalls, trees, moss, moss and more moss, while we perfected our paddling skills. The only disturbance was the waves coming in from the sea and the sudden strong gusts of wind. All I had in my mind was to keep pointing the kayak towards the waves and the wind to avoid capsizing - didn't fancy that one bit. Mind you, by this stage it had tipped it down and we were pretty wet already, sat in our own little puddles of sound.
After about 2 hours we were told
Cascading Waterfalls
Just one of many drive through kayak washes ... that our boat and our packed lunches were on the other side - at least 800m away across the deep, rough waters. Not only that, but because of the wind we had to kayak diagonally away from the boat, heading straight into the wind. Great.
This was pure pain. It took 45 minutes of hard paddling. Boy did we deserve lunch. Who's idea was it to pack fruit and muesli bars? We were sorely missing a Mars Bar each (not to mention a roast dinner, open fire and dry clothing). Ever tried going to the toilet in several layers of wet clothing including a tight wetsuit on a rocky boat?!
Got back out for the afternoon session to paddle along Hall Arm, which was, funnily enough, an arm off the main sound and so was far more sheltered and calm. The fear of capsizing could disappear at last. It was much narrower and with that, much darker and it felt even more secluded. Natalie described it as a lost world.
Well, we paddled happily down here for another 2.5 hours, admiring cascading waterfalls upto 800m high and even kayaking under some, whilst looking at and learning about
Doubtful Sound
Ominous, huge, moody and deeeeep. the wildlife.
Katie told us that recent earthquakes (2003) had rocked the Sound so badly that entire strips of the mountain side had fallen into the fiord, along with hundreds of trees. Bare strips of rock were the only signs of any disturbance. The sound runs along one of the major fault lines in the area. I think Katie could have kept this bit of information to herself until we got back ...
At one point we spotted some little people on the other side of the sound. Hobbits we thought? (Or maybe a Sugababe Kev?) But no, they were just fellow kayakers.
By this stage we were getting quite confident and putting on the speed and then enjoying the odd bit of drifting at other times. Eventually, and luckily since we were beginning to flag, the boat arrived to pick us up. Jumped (staggered) on board and quickly got into dry clothes before freezing.
The return was rather more jolly (even the sun decided to come out) and we cheerfully compared aches and pains with our fellow kayakers on the cruise back, comforted by hot chocolate and cookies. By the time we arrived back at
Captain Kate
(Is that a Mars Bar she's sneaking out??) the campervan, we realised we were absolutely exhausted.
Natalie had dosed up on drugs (of the prescription/legal variety) to avoid undue back pain and I was quite envious. I felt the pain in my arms most - it was as if someone was holding my muscles so tight I couldn't extend my arms - never have they hurt so much. Natalie said she felt nothing (prrphh). If I hadn't been sat behind her, I'd be convinced she didn't bother paddling all day!
All we could manage was a walk to the Italian for pizza takeouts which were woofed down the minute we returned to the van. Think we needed to replenish all those calories we had burnt off. An absolutely amazing, fab day (but boy do I hurt).
OK, think I've done my typing stint! Am sure N will be back again soon on our adventures at Wanaka and the glaciers.
Love
Kate and Natalie x
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Jim
non-member comment
More! More!
Really enjoy the monologue, this makes it a dialogue. Just keep sharing your wonderful experience. Love from us both Jim and Gaynor