I've had my eye on this one for a while, but knew it would be an epic trip unless the swell conditions were just right. Monday's swell looked too good to pass up so I left my intentions with friends and drove out to an empty parking lot at Sandfly Bay. From the carpark the shore break at Sandfly looked a bit bigger than I hoped, but beyond the waves the ocean was as calm as it could be. I carried the kayak and gear as far as the sand dunes, then attached webbing to the kayak and dragged it down the hill. It was even more effective than I hoped, but only served to encourage me onward with my kayak trip as I had no intention of dragging the kayak back up that hill!
I watched the waves for a while, noticing the bigger sets seemed sporadic and unpredictable. There were definitely good calm periods between them though so I decided to go for it. I stayed stationary in the kayak at a position I could easily paddle through the crumbling whitewash and watch the breaking waves beyond. I thought I saw an opening and paddled fervently. Then out of nowhere a large wave rapidly began to build in front of me. I was in the worst possible place and could already tell at this early stage that the wave would crest right where I was. It was too late to turn around or paddle away from the wave. My only choice was to paddle straight at this behemoth. As predicted, the wave began to crest right as I approached it. I was a haze of instinct and adrenaline as the front of my kayak hit the wall of the wave. I had enough speed that the kayak went halfway up the wave and the nose punched right through as the wave crashed right on top of me. To my great surprise I was still upright a few moments later, bouncing on the turbulent whitewash as it carried me back towards the shore. I paddled to break through the whitewash and could immediately see the next wave. This one was not as big as the first but I did not want to take my chances and jumped out of the kayak and held on for dear life. I made it through that wave alright and one more small one. Seeing a flat horizon I quickly jumped back in the kayak and paddled feverishly. I made it past the shore break and into the calm ocean, more than a little shook up. It took some time for the adrenaline to dissipate.
The Lovers Leap coastline was very impressive. I kayaked in the shadows of great towering cliffs of black rock with even blacker caves at the base. The natural arch at Lovers Leap was enormous from this lowly angle. I stopped in at the great cave entrance at Sandymount. I had to beach myself on a kelp-covered rock by riding the high point of a surge before the water drained back out. I had a look around the cave and ate lunch as the seal puppies watched or lounged. I then did the reverse maneuver back into the ocean. I had dreaded the 3km open ocean paddle across the bay at Allans Beach, but to my surprise it had the calmest seas and was actually really pleasant. I have never seen the southern ocean so calm!
I kayaked past Wharekakahu and the jumbly crags of Matakitaki Point. I kayaked through Teanaputa, the great catherdal-roofed sea cave tunnel through Cape Saunders. A bit further offshore was a small fishing boat, the first people I saw on the trip. I rounded the next point without much incident and landed on the south end of Papanui Beach for a drink of water and a snack. A large seal was swimming back and forth in the waves in front of me, innocently I thought. When I went to get back in the water he became more threatening- swimming towards me barking and teeth blaring directly in front of my so I would have to paddle through him. I walked the kayak a hundred meters down the beach and he followed, cutting me off from the sea. He was not happy. After this dance continued a bit longer it was clear he was not going to relent and I would have to make a move. I quickly dragged the kayak another hundred meters back, got in the kayak as fast as I could and paddled furiously past the small waves.
On land it was no worries. It was a slow moving blob of fat and I had a 2m paddle. In the water however the roles reversed. I was a small, delicate boat being chased by a giant-toothed torpedo! He caught up to me with ease and darted underneath and to the side of me with teeth on full display as I paddled as fast as I could. Before long there were two of them chasing me agressively and all I could do was keep paddling. I had never really felt threatened by seals before. They chased me for well over a kilometer but I kept paddling hard to the next point to be sure they were behind me. Along the last bit of coast and around the last point, Titikoraki, went smoothly but I kept an extra watchful eye on any seals I saw and made sure to give them their space.
Victory! The channel inlet at Victory Beach was surprisingly benign and I was able to enter it without having to contend with any waves. It was however a rather long way to finally reach the far side of Papanui Inlet. Fortunately I had timed it well and the rising tide was in my favor, as well as the wind.
At the far side I decided to suck it up and carry my kayak and gear the 900m over the hill to Hoopers Inlet. The few cars I passed (including a school bus) seemed amused. I then walked the kayak out into Hoopers until it was deep enough to paddle and paddled across. At the far side I found a suitable place to ditch the kayak and walked the dirt roads up the hill and then walked the track back to Sandfly Bay. Sun was setting on the bay as I climbed the last sand dune before the carpark. I then drove to pick up the kayak and called it a day. It was a wonderful adventure!
1 comment:
Two against one, it looks like those seals don't fight fair. Sounds like you came out on top this time. What a fun trip!!
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