C&K mag #34 dps-f spg - Canoe & Kayak

SEA KAYAKING
Four day trip with Greg
Havelock to Picton
Saturday, September 17-20, 2005
This trip had been arranged for a
couple of months. Greg Andrews (from
Christchurch) and myself (Kevin
Andrews). We are not related in any
way as far as we can ascertain, just
cobbers who met because our wives
were friends. We had been eagerly
waiting for the weekend to arrive. We
picked a full moon and also the tide to
run us out from Havelock. The idea was
to paddle our kayaks from Havelock to
Picton in the ensuing four days. The
weather of course was going to be great
at this time of the year.
As it turned out the weather forecast was shit and
more shit. However, Greg arrived and the decision
was made to have a go. After all we could always
come home.
So it was that Jenny, Kevin’s wife, took us down to
Ohingaroa on Saturday morning and we launched
in brilliant sunshine and a slight Nor’west breeze
and were underway by 9.25am.
We paddled across the Mahau to Putanui Pt in a
slight chop that got a wee bit larger in the Hikapu
Reach with the tide backing against the wind. As
we closed in on Pipi Beach I suggested to Greg that
a few minutes ashore would be in order. He
agreed, so we hauled ashore for a spell. From here
we carried on past Maori Bay, across the front of
Four Fathom Bay and round Turn Point. By this
time the tide was giving us quite a hand and we
were making good time and in reasonable
conditions we made Tawero Point. This was our
lunch stop. Here we stretched out in the sun in the
lee of a rock out of the blustery Nor’west that was
blasting down Tawhitinui Reach and watched the
fizz boats bouncing across the gap towards
Horseshoe Bay. This looked like our first big
challenge. What a grunt it was, a good half an hour
of solid paddling against a big choppy sea into a
strong head wind. Across Richmond Bay we went
with the wind now running more side on, hence a
little less effort was required. Also at this stage we
had a couple of Hector Dolphins decide to show
off for us. They jumped straight into the air in front
of us, leaping higher than our heads, they raced
38 ISSUE THIRTYfour • 2005
past the boats, dashed close inshore and out
again. Two Bottlenose dolphins arrived to join the
fray they swam around us a couple of times, just
magic. We paddled on and duly made the turn
into Ketu Bay where we determined that we would
camp the night.
In the bay five runabouts were all dragging scallop
dredges and a launch was hooked up to a mooring
for the night. We cruised in past the first two
beaches and finally decided on the third as it
looked to have the only camping site. We were
reasonably sheltered in here, possibly the best
spot in the bay available to our lifestyle. Five hours
had passed since Jenny had seen us off. Not too
bad a time for a couple of amateurs I reckoned.
We set up camp and dried our sweat-soaked tops
in the warm sunshine. About an hour or so later,
the wind was increasing and getting colder, so we
had tea and retired for the night. About 11pm the
rain started.
It was still raining in the morning, blowing a gale
from the south, huge williwaws streaked across
the bay, lifting spray 70-80ft in the air. Then the
rain and mist closed in and we could no longer
see across the bay. So to keep warm both of us
crawled into my tent and our sleeping bags. Greg’s
tent fly was not entirely successful so he slept in
the tent with me. In the afternoon the rain eased
to sporadic showers so we went for a stroll along
the beach to the head of the bay, coming back via
a road that had been kept in good nick. We
cooked tea and listened to the weather forecast
and decided that our only choice was to abandon
the idea of trying to get round Cape Jackson, the
top of the Sounds to Picton as there was a storm
warning out and it was a southerly.
After a blustery night we awoke to clear skies but
a rather brisk sou’west blow. We had a quick
breakfast, packed up camp and at 5.50am were
on the water. Destination Penzance Bay, Tennyson
Inlet. We cruised out of Ketu Bay on a calm sea,
rounded the corner into a real rugged sea and
extremely brisk breeze. We punched this for an
hour or so, finally gaining some shelter and a wee
break behind Maud Island. It was here that I asked
Greg to dig out his cell phone and contact Jenny,
my lovely and understanding wife, to request a
pick up at Penzance Bay, our ETA would be in
about three hours.
Well we popped out from the lee of Maud Island
into the biggest sea of the trip and as was now the
norm, another big head wind. At times on this
stretch we both thought that we were not making
any headway, but we were, slowly getting there.
One and a half hours of solid paddling saw us
thankfully resting in the shelter of Tarakaipa
Island in Tennyson Inlet. From here we popped
across to Deep Bay, and landed on a wee beach to
stretch the legs, before cruising around the
coastline in sheltered waters and sunshine
listening to the birds singing in Penzance Bay. Time