We'd booked into the morning kayaking session at Kaiteriteri Beach - a 9:20am start with an 8:50am check-in time. It was a blanket of grey clouds on the way up, with the temperature sitting at around 14 degrees. By the time we arrived however - the clouds were beginning to break up, and the sands looking fairly golden.
Assuming we would end up in the drink more than once, we all turned up in our swimming gear. Pretty much everyone else (sporty young/old things) were instead in their hiking/biking/cavorting Kathmandu gear - which didn't make us self-conscious at all.
There were 8 participants in our kayaking group (3 young German folk stuck with Team Martin) along with our guide, Cam (Cameron). A tall, fit and tanned version of Tim Minchin - he readily engaged with with us all while zooming across the water.
Our goal was Split Apple Rock (Tokangawha) a little further up the coast from Kaiteriteri. The tide was pretty low, so we made our way out around the headland, and then on past Ngaio Bay and Towers Bay. Jen was paired with an outboard motor known as Felix, I was with Josh - while Lily and Hamish debated paddling techniques in their kayak.
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| Josh - the enthusiastic |
Somewhere along the line Hamish took on a greenish caste - and moaned intermittently. Fortunately, we were coming up on Split Apple Rock - where we'd be temporarily disembarking from our kayaks.
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| Approaching Split Apple Rock. |
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| Group shot. |
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| Our transport. |
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| Split Apple Rock / Tokangawha |
Hamish had picked up considerably on the beach during our break - with the Lily/Hamish combo kayak motoring past everyone on the return leg. Things turned pear-shaped however, when Cam felt that the tide had come in sufficiently to run through a very small gap between rocks that had been high and dry an hour or two earlier. The water leaped and surged in the confined channel, and Lily was not overly-appreciative of her kayak-buddy's sudden overt display of nausea.
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| Made it. |
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| Some a little worse for wear than others. |
Having returned to civilisation, we picked up a mountain of chips with some onion rings thrown in. The carbs/fat/salt combo a known remedy for nearly all ills. Josh immediately threw himself into the water after lunch, and splashed about. Hamish meanwhile, flopped onto his back (arms and legs akimbo) on the golden sand and dozed while he digested his meal. Unbeknownst to Hamish, a couple of girls his age wandered by smiling at him - and then they both stumbled down a steep drop-off on the beach, flinging arms and the drinks they were carrying into the air. They recovered, dusted themselves off - and made a hasty departure, the dozing starfish entirely oblivious.
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| Kaiteriteri Beach |
It was a glorious day, and we reluctantly made our way back - calling into a small road-side town of Riwaka on the way. Coincidentally, there happened to be a teeny craft brewery by the name of Hop Federation Brewery located in just this township. I was aiming to just pick up a can of a random selection of beer - but the guy behind the counter insisted on me sampling a few varieties. I eventually settled on a variety of American Pale Ale called "Stubbies and Jandals" - coming in a very petite 1.3L bottle.
Just before we got back to our cottage, we checked out Tahunanui Beach (the only real beach in Nelson). We located a fairly swish-looking ice-cream truck, with some fairly glorious ice-cream varieties. The lady serving insisted the two scoops she deposited in our cones was really only one scoop. We graciously conceded she was in the right.
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