It was forecast for a warm sunny day and low swells along NE-facing coastlines so I persuaded my officemate to put in kayaks at the Aramoana Spit and see how far we could make it around the backside of the Otago Peninsula. The sea was perfectly calm with not a hint of a breeze (much to the disappointment of the sailboats not moving despite sails fully rigged). Marco had never kayaked before but he got the hang of it by the time we reached Tairoa Head at the tip of the Otago Peninsula, and then we made good time cruising along the coast. We past several world-class exposures of volcanic rocks with interesting erosional and intrusive relationships. Rerewahine Point was particularly interesting- an old volcanic vent with WWII bunkers perched on the edge of dramatic cliffs.
Tairoa Head Lighthouse, geology and seals
Rerewahine Point (note WWII bunkers)
We kayaked across the huge bay to land at the far southern end of Pipikaretu Beach to stretch our legs and have a bite to eat. Here we found out that since it was a sanctuary there was no access at the low tide mark (rather than the usual high tide rule), but we found out in the friendliest possible way and were soon on our way again, no harm done. We headed south to the headland off of Victory Beach where the waves were blasting the cliffs dramatically 30m into the air. We then returned the way we came with the swell now in our favor. A curious Little Blue penguin followed us for over a hundred meters, popping his head up a few meters in front of us every few minutes before diving again. It was really great to see the wildlife so prolific along this coast. On the way back I made a pretty exciting landing maneuver climbing up kelp and rocks so I did not have to urinate in my wetsuit. Once back to the harbor mouth we had a quick stop at Pilots Beach before heading back to The Spit. We kayaked over 16km of open ocean in a few hours- not a bad effort.
Pipikaretu Beach
Victory Beach and the Pyramids in the distance
The only stretches of the ~90km of coast between Blackhead and Waikouaiti I have not traversed by walking, climbing, swimming or kayaking are the short stretch at Lawyers Head and from Sandfly Bay to Victory Beach. Thanks to Marco.
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