This latest trip to New Zealand allowed me to complete a major milestone: mapping of all the major sea caves on the Matanaka Coast. I have now surveyed over 5.4 km of sea caves in less than 2 km of coastline, unparalleled in all the world. Without ready access to a sea kayak I ended up surveying the remaining caves solo by packraft. I felt surprisingly comfortable in the packraft and felt stable in the waves. I just had to be extra careful with my landings so as not to grate my boat on rocks or barnacles.
I also used the opportunity to fly my UAV over the coast, which gave me a pleasingly fresh perspective. I was interested to see just how much more offshore detail I could pick up compared to Google Earth imagery. Suddenly all the offshore fracture patterns in the reef were revealed with great clarity allowing for much better understanding.
The mysteries of the coast are gradually being revealed. I collected some great samples, which should hep constrain the age and erosion rates of the sea caves. I'm looking forward to writing this up in a publication. It has been many years of effort now, involving many dedicated field assistants.
View of beach sands on +4m marine terrace
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