New Zealand Explorer Motorhome Tour - Days 20-21

The town of Havelock has made a name for itself thanks to the farmed green lipped mussels. We stopped off for a brief stroll to admire the giant novelty rooftop mussels that emit steam when the restaurant below is cooking them up.

We drove to Kaiteriteri through the Rai Valley forestry plantations. The winding road was an easy route with plenty of crawler lanes for the trucks laden with timber to tuck into. We opted to give Nelson a miss because I had researched Kaiteriteri and was keen to explore whilst the sun shone. After a stroll up to a viewpoint we chatted with a kayak guide and decided to book ourselves on to the full day guided Big Tonga Marine Reserve trip

With the campsite a few hundred meters away from the pretty cove, I did not have far to walk the next morning with my cuppa and the camera to enjoy the sun rising over the sea. The sky was blue and the air still, both good signs for a leisurely paddle.

We were met by our guide Koha and were taken by sea shuttle boat to Anchorage, a white sand bay inaccessible by motor vehicles. En route we passed the iconic Abel Tasman National Park Split Apple Rock. Koha kitted us out and we agreed with her suggestion to reverse the itinerary to suit the forecast weather and tides.

It was a wonderful paddle north where we passed pretty coves, paused to watch fur seals and took advantage of the high tide to paddle into impossibly pretty creeks lined with ancient forest.

It soon became clear that the forecast wind direction was incorrect and we were in fact paddling into the wind which made the going tough.  By the time that we stopped for lunch at Mosquito Bay the wind was strong enough to pepper our lunch baguettes with sand. Koha was concerned that it would be tough going to continue to Tonga Island and suggested that we retrace our steps. We agreed and she confirmed our new plan to be collected by the sea shuttle back at Anchorage.

Back in the water and the conditions had changed quite significantly. We were told  how to handle the growing swell and given the opportunity to go ashore if we felt the going too tough. Despite the wind on our backs, paddling back felt ten times longer than the outbound leg as we were tossed about by the waves. We managed as best we could and Koha hollered words of encouragement on the odd occasion that she was visible in the swell.

I felt shattered, relieved and just a touch sea-sick when Marcus powered the kayak onto the beach. “Tough going eh? It was a solid 20 knots out there, with a good meter swell” Koha informed us. “If you’re grinning you’re winning!” she later jibbed. Erm, that wasn’t a grin!

The journey back to Kaiteriteri on the sea shuttle was equally interesting and very lumpy. The twin hulled boat had an open rear end into which the waves pounded, necessitating us passengers to sit at the front with feet and bags off the floor for fear of a good drenching. We are sure that we caught sight of a jellyfish washing aboard for a quick tour of the deck!