kayaking the pacific islands. - Canoe & Kayak

Lake Rotoitithe
South Island version
By Stephen Le Couteur
Christmas Day, paddling toward southern end
of Lake Rotoiti.
Christmas Day 2007, the skies have cleared blue and we’ve
just landed our double sea kayak on a beautiful small
pebbly beach shaded by native trees, surrounded by views
of mountains draped in pristine native forest and golden
tussock, topped by rocky ridges and a few pockets of snow.
This then, is definitely not the Lake Rotoiti known to most
North Islanders who’ve never been fortunate, or
motivated enough to explore that other, bigger island
just south of Wellington.
It’s the Nelson Lakes National Park version. After an easy one and a half
hour paddle we set ourselves up
comfortably for the afternoon under
the shade of a South Island beech
tree. I take a breathtaking dip in the
crystal clear lake water, dry off in the
sun and can’t suppress a grin of pure
delight. My partner Imelda, beams
a huge smile too. We seem to have
the whole lake and the mountains to
ourselves. Not another person, not
a kayak in sight, just an occasional
motor boat about half an hour apart.
We can’t help but wonder, why at
this time of year bother sea kayaking
Abel Tasman National Park along
with hundreds of others who endure
bun fights every night over a space
to camp on a beach or even a patch
of sand to laze in the sun. And apart
from all the water taxis, did you know
there are now also scenic helicopter
flights over the Abel Tasman bays As the writer of another article in this
magazine some time ago wisely suggested, forget Abel Tasman in summer,
kayak it in winter.
This, the very first day of our Nelson Lakes excursion, is pure bliss. The only
things missing, and it seems silly, given the huge amount of hatch space on
board our Sea Bear double, are a foldable table, white table cloth (make
that linen), champagne and glasses, and Christmas Turkey. But we’re not
complaining, especially after the long escape from Auckland by car and the
sea journey from Wellington to Picton on the InterIslander ferry. Surprisingly,
the friendly vehicle check-in lady waved us through without charging extra for
the kayak with its metre-plus overhang at the rear of our station wagon. We
had to book the return sailing back in August to get an ‘early saver’ type fare
Time to stretch those kayakers’ legs. View over Lake Rotoiti on the
way to summit of St Arnaud Range.
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