kayaking the pacific islands. - Canoe & Kayak

Camp 1, Zephyr in the
foreground.
a kiwi family who have managed aviation at the mine for over 20 years.
Karen, Tom and their son Liam treated us to a BBQ and gave us some
good local tips. Another special night we stayed at a Kanak village B&B.
They brewed coffee on the fire, took us for a bush walk and cooked local
food – complimented with wild passionfruit.
While we swam in the warmth of the tropics and absorbed the sun’s
life giving rays, New Zealand was getting a winter blasting of rain and
snow, again convincing us that winter trips to the Pacific have to be
good for you.
Regarding our choice of vessel, we could not fault the inflatable canoe.
Incept have created the perfect, portable family adventure boat. We are
now making a list of river and lake trips for this summer. Next winter
we will have another Pacific Island mission – either to Tonga or the
Solomon Islands. The C52T, keeping in mind it is an inflatable boat,
is rock solid stable, glides through the water at surprising speed and
is easily manoeuvred. We loaded up one seating compartment with
four Sealline Multiple tie-down dry bags. They were easily stackable
in the canoe and easy-to-carry on land. The bags are perfect for rafting,
canoeing, or lashing to the top of a vehicle. Because of their heavy-duty
scrim-reinforced vinyl construction, we packed all our gear into them
in NZ and checked them at the airport.
Not a lot of gear is required for the trip. We had one tent, 5 Thermarests,
one set of paddling clothes (shorts and t-shirt) and one set of dry land
wear. Added to that we had one blackened billy for cooking on the fire
and some utensils for meals, snorkeling gear and books that had been
waiting too long to be read. We slept in silk bag liners.
The only safety gear we took was a spare paddle and a first aid kit but
we agreed an EPIRB and a Sat phone would be taken in the future – we
felt very ‘alone’.
The Lost Coast was a brilliant trip. It had everything we wanted and was
much more than we expected. Free camping in the Pacific Islands with
no one else around is unique and a wonderful experience. For six nights
we saw no people, had beaches, rivers, swimming spots, campsites and
islands completely to ourselves. The sea for 8-days was mirror calm with
light tail winds most afternoons. It was idyllic, a superb mini-expedition
for anyone, kids included.
Swimming Stop
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