Taking on Jeff's Joy Get the Family Kayaking ... - Canoe & Kayak

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The view from Catherine Cove
After lunch at Te Horo the weather was holding and with a good tail
wind we investigated paddock rocks, more caves, cathedral arches and
had great fun playing around. We were now nearly at the southern end
of the island and we hadn’t identified where we were to spend the night.
Manuhakapakapa Bay (don’t say that one in a hurry) with just enough
space for two tents, provided our overnight stop. Again a waterfall close
by provided us with drinking and shower amenities. Masses of drift
“Why had we felt so anxious about all the
horror stories about French Pass?”
wood fed our fire on what was now a clear, starry and cool night. As we
listened to massive surf pounding the beach we wondered whether we
would be able to leave in the morning!
Day 5
The day dawned bright and clear and the surf had almost disappeared.
Flat water made for easy paddling around the
southerly tip of the island and back up its eastern
side to the infamous French Pass. On a slack tide,
we felt as if we were paddling across Oriental Bay on
a summer’s afternoon. Adding to the experience we
were accompanied by a pod of about 30 dolphins. Why
had we felt so anxious about the horrors of French
Pass? Afterwards we were told that this is where whirl
pools can sink ships and the huge drop offs under the
water cause massive turbulence of the fast flowing and
huge volumes of water entering the area.
The trip almost over, Andy just had to try again for
a fish and this time SUCCESS!!!!! A large blue cod
hauled in, we stopped for lunch, lit a fire and shared
pan-fried cod, just divine gastronomic delight!
We went on to Catherine Cove Resort with the
promise of hot showers, non-tinned food (although I
can assure you we still had plenty left!) and a proper bed.
Day 6
We all thought it was going to be a deep, peaceful and well earned
sleep… Mmmm not so! The wind howled and blew all night and worried
Rachel and I so much that we got up at 1am to move the kayaks to a
more sheltered location. I guess the boys slept through that part. By
morning the wind was still gusty and strong and we set off for the final
paddle back to French Pass. We had to cross it again, hugging the
coastline and rocks to avoid strong wind gusts. When we had to face
the wind, now gusting 30 knots, and the tide, we dug in and paddled
hard across the Pass and into the shelter of the bay. Unpacking on the
beach the wind was whipping up huge clouds of spray and throwing
them into the rocks where we had just been. I was glad we were no
longer on the water. The trip was over and it was time to have one last
cold shower in the public facilities at French Pass. We were getting
used to them by now!
We had great fun investigating the cave, cathedral
arches and playing around at Paddock Rocks.
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