New Zealand Kayaking

Going Big and Goin Home

After departing from the North Island I hung out in Christchurch for a few nights (thanks Jono) before heading west-word back to Hoki. All in all I ended up kayaking 13 days out of my last 16 in New Zealand. Here are some of the highlights.

Well folks thats all she wrote. I'm back at home in Corvallis Oregon now, sitting at the kitchen table. Have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

FIRST DECENT.... kinda

My last few hitches in the huts were full of adventure! On one given day Byron, my fellow hut warden and partner in crime, sent off on an all day mission to attempt the first known decent of Waihohonu creek in the heart of Tongairio National Park.

Red Crater in the morning cloud. An early start was needed as it was going to be a big day.

The mighty Waihohonu with the Norther Circuit track crossing over. This was our planed take-out but it was never reached...

Byron in route to the put in. The creek is spring fed and literally comes out of the ground flowing with a good 200 odd CFS in it, we hiked up to the spring and scouted the run along the way.

The RX-4000!!! coming to you from your local big box shop. It was the craft of choice for the run and it was quite the task to inflate.

Byron with the spring in the back ground. It is hard to capture but the water really dose just jump out of the ground and take off like a train, pretty cool site.

This is when the action really starts. Upon nearing completion of the inflation process we came to the heart breaking discovery of a hole in the craft from its passed expeditions... It was small but would prove to be our undoing... we panicked and just put the raft in the rushing current and headed into the unknown... The decent was short lived and soon we could not bail fast enough to stay afloat, water was coming in and the raft was losing air fast. We said "may-day" and drove for shore. Soon after we secured the raft, and had a good laugh. We had made it a grand total of 200 some meters from where we started...

The raft was deflated but our spirits were not. It had been a valiant effort.

Byron starts the long walk home. We had no choice but to retrace out steps back to the planed take out and then all the way back to our hut.

OK folks life has been a wild ride the past 4 weeks, I've been working as a hut warden in Tongariro National Park. About week two there was house fire and where i was staying and I lost 95% of everything i brought to NZ.... Bugger! below are some of the high lights and low lights of my time up north.

WELLINGTON