Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Made it to Timaru.


An early start saw us make good distance before the NE breeze arrived at about mid day. By mid afternoon the wind was gusting up to 40 knots, making it too dangerous to complete the last few kilometres to Timaru. We came ashore through a heavy surf at St. Andrews, where we set up camp for the night. Stormy conditions were forecast for the next couple of days so we decided to end this part of our trip here.

Monday, November 23, 2009

A long, long coastline.


An early start saw us kayak past Oamaru before mid day. By mid afternoon the NE winds arrived just as we kayaked past the Waitaki River mouth. Found a good place to camp near Morven where we were invited to join Paul, Pam, Shaun & Laura Snoxall for hot drinks & afghan cakes at their home. A lovely evening followed by a cold & wet night tucked up in our tents.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Strong head winds hamper our progress.

Made an early start on Saturday which started with a 4 metre swell from the SW, but no wind. By mid morning a strong wind from the NE was making progress very slow. Rounding the headland to Moeraki was very difficult and we were glad to finally reach the Moeraki camping ground and relax in a hot shower, etc.
To-day we once again paddled into strong NE winds. We had to call it quits at All Day Bay around mid afternoon due to rough seas. Forecast for Monday is for SW winds in the morning, so we're planning for an early start to get as far as possible up the coast before the NE winds kick in again.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Storm blasts us!


Howling winds of up to 45 knots and heavy rain made for an uneasy first night camped out. The wind persisted to-day with a SW ocean swell of 4 metres. We decided not to attempt any kayaking and hoped the sea would calm down for tomorrow.

Had a good look around Karitane and met several of the local people. In the afternoon we kayaked up the Waikouatiti River to State Highway No. 1.

Enjoyed our stay at Karitane.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Starting our next stage to Timaru


A late start saw us paddling from Taiaroa Head by about mid afternoon. A slight breeze from the SW allowed us to paddle directly to Karitane where we made camp for the night.

It was a good start to the next part of our trip and the foreshore at Karitane made for a great place to make camp.