Kayaking to the Maori Carvings, Pt. I
Yep, yet another thing to cross off my little NZ bucket list. Kayaking! It's weird - for some reason, kayaking has never really appealed to me back home, when it's just paddling around in a fancy canoe with a bunch of scenery you've seen a million times before around you. It's a whole different story when it's someplace cool and exotic with the added bonus of HISTORY and ADVENTURE and GIANT WAVES all around you. Definitely cool.
So here's what happened: I was just cruising around downtown on my day off a few weeks ago, minding my own business, when my phone rang in my back pocket. My first thought was, "Aww, that better not be work asking me to come in on my break," but the caller ID came up as "Henry, Blackcurrant." So I flipped it open and chatted with Henry for a bit. It turned out that Viola - great German girl, former cleaner, doing an insane tour of the North Island by mountain bike right now - was back at the hostel, hoping to go out to the carvings by kayak, but the company wouldn't take her out unless she could find one other person. I guess it was a slow day, and they don't go through all of the trouble of unloading the boats and driving people out unless it's worth the effort. She only had a few more days left at Blackcurrant, so she wanted to make them count. The problem was the price - $90 for one trip there and back, roughly three or four hours out on the water. Not horrible, really, compared to bungee jumping and skydiving, but I was on a bit of a budget at the time. You see, that was around the time that I was losing hours at DB , and Christmas shopping had put me out another chunk of money. So my initial reaction when Henry called me was, "Man, I'd love to go, but I don't think can. Sorry!" And I ended the call right there before I could think much more about it. After all, I had a mission. I had to get my shopping done and get home in time to do my washing.
Then I took a few more steps and stopped dead right in the middle of the sidewalk. "You know what? Forget it. I'm in New Zealand. I'll worry about it later." I pretty much just changed my mind right there and called Henry to let him know I'd be there after all. Viola was understandably thrilled. Then we just had to wait until 1pm rolled around for them to pick us up. I guess it was kind of a slow day for them because it was just us and this one couple from Austria, who were both very nice. The company itself - Kayak to the Carvings - has been there forever, but it's just recently undergone a change in ownership, so the guy who took us out - Elliot - had only been doing it for about a week and a half. He was a pretty cool guy. Kiwi, born and bred, with a lot of experience with kayaking.
Anyway, they picked us up in a little van with a trailer attached for the kayaks and drove us down to the iSite to meet the other group. They couldn't take eftpos/ATM cards, so I had to run across the street very quickly to get some cash out for them. Then we all piled in, signed a consent form, and headed out towards Acacia Bay. Apparently, there are at least three or four rival kayaking companies in the Taupo area who all do the same thing and launch from the same place because it's the closest beach to the carvings, which, by the way, can only be reached by water. The only roads that go out there are part of a gated community for the uber-rich and can't be accessed by the general public, and even if you could get out there, the carvings face the lake, so there's no way to see them except from directly across the water. There are some crazy mansions out that way, too. I think the cheapest one is supposed to be $2 million or something like that. One of them is supposedly made of glass and can turn opaque at the touch of a switch so that no one can see it and has a helipad on the roof. Crazy stuff like that. I'm not really sure why, because the view is gorgeous, of course, but it's an excellent view from all sides of the lake. Doesn't really matter if you're at Location A or Location B - every house on the water has an excellent vantage point, but the ones in Acacia Bay just happen to be insanely pricey. I guess people with money like to live near each other?
The end of the road
So we drove out of town for about twenty minutes and stopped at a little dirt road just past the main part of Acacia Bay. It was literally just a grassy area for pulling over on the side of the road, but I guess everything past that point is private property. I forget exactly how far away it is from the carvings in actual distance, but I believe it was somewhere between 3 and 5 km (2-3 miles) on the water. Doesn't sound like a whole lot, but the wind and waves make it seem like a lot further. On that particular day, the wind was INSANE. Legally, we're not supposed to be out there if it's more than 20 knots, and it was 15 knots when we set out. So the waves were really, really high at certain points. More on that later.
The little cove we set out from - yeah, I know, doesn't look too windy, right? Hush.
Viola and I got out of the van and started getting all suited up with the other two. It's not the most glamorous wardrobe, as you can probably imagine. Directly over your jeans and T-shirt is this giant rubber skirt thing to keep the water from going inside the kayak. You pull it up to your waist and have the rubber bib part flared down around your knees. Once you climb in, the skirt part gets stretched over the top of the hole so that - theoretically - you will stay dry inside while the water crashes over the top. This didn't really work in practice, but the logic was sound. Over that, you have your standard life jacket and anything else you want to put on. I had my trusty Colbert Report hat and about a gallon of sunscreen slathered on to keep me protected. Elliot then lead us through a brief safety seminar and a kayak-in-two minutes lecture. The whole thing is designed for any experience level, and I was relieved to find that, with the exception of Viola, no one there had kayaked before either. She had done it once or twice back in Germany, so she had a little more veteran status. That said, when it came time to choose who was going to man the rudder in the stern and who was just going to coast along in front with the easy job, I got "nominated" to steer from the back. Thanks a lot, Viola. But it actually worked out for the best, though, because now I feel like I could definitely paddle one on my own. If I had just been in the front, I wouldn't know about that whole aspect of it.
Viola and I, getting ready to set out
Elliot got his own solo kayak, but the rest of us were in two-man kayaks. Viola, as I mentioned, took the front, and I got into the back. The steering is a bit more complicated than you would think, but it basically involves putting pressure on these metal pedals at your feet while simultaneously paddling with your arms. If you want to go right, you press down with your right foot and keep in sync with the lead with your arms, and vice versa with the left. I had a little bit of trouble with this for the first half of the journey because I don't think the pedals were adjusted quick right to my height the first time around. I was told that my legs should be straight, so I had them down by my toes at first. On the way back, I adjusted them a bit higher so that I was able to feel them a bit more with my feet, and that made a huge difference.
Closer view of the kayak - notice the pedals in the bottom
He assured us that there was very little possibility of us tipping over, but just in case, he showed us how to rip the skirt off by pulling it towards us so that we weren't trapped inside the kayak, and he made sure that we were all securely fitted into our life vests. I wasn't too worried about it because I've grown up on a lake and everything, but it was nice to know that we wouldn't be stuck underwater if we capsized. He didn't really show us much about the technique, though, so I was a little bit lost once we hit the water. I knew that the little bump on the right side was supposed to be where my right hand went, but I wasn't sure if I was doing it properly with my left hand. I guess long, sweeping strokes are better because you don't tire as easily that way. Short, choppy strokes are supposed to put more strain on your muscles and wear you down a lot more. I think we were doing that a bit too much for the first part at least.
Hitting the water at last!
So he pushed out onto the water to practice for a few minutes while he secured the van and locked everything up. I was able to keep my camera out in front of me in a waterproof bag snapped to the netting, so I took a ton of pictures of us goofing around. As you can imagine, we weren't the most graceful when it came to finesse. We nearly crashed into the Austrian couple a few times and kept spiraling out of control, but it was fun in a "God-we-are-so-stupid" kind of way. The Austrians, on the other hand, caught on immediately. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that they had practiced it in advance, because they were perfectly in sync. The guy was also, like, 6'4" with big, beefy arms, so that also may have had something to do with it. I'm not saying that it was a race, but if it was, they definitely won.
Our practicing ground. God, we were horrible.
Anyways, once we Elliot joined us and we had all established the general idea, we set out across the water and towards the carvings. He let us know that it was going to be a bit rougher than usual but that we should be shielded from the worst of the wind for the first two coves at least. I was a little bit wary since it was already pretty choppy when we set out. So it was going to get even ROUGHER after the half-way point? Geez. Sure enough, he was right. There are about four main points in total to reach before you get there, and after the second marker, the waves got a lot more intense. It was all we could do to stay on course and not tip over! My arms were killing me by that point, and it becomes about 100x harder to paddle when there are waves around you. In smooth water, it's really not too taxing at all, but the hint of a crest will force you to strain just to go against the current. I wouldn't say that it wasn't fun, but we really couldn't stop and enjoy the view of the lake at all - just fight to survive, which was also kind of fun. Needless to say, the only photos that I have for the day look nice and peaceful because once it got choppy, there was no way to paddle and take pictures at the same time.
Mount Tauhara resembles a pregnant woman. Once it's seen, it cannot be un-seen.
Just when we were within sight of the carvings, however, Elliot pulled up in his kayak and shouted at us over the wind. I didn't catch all of it, but the gist of it was that it was getting too dangerous to be out on the water, and he was going to have to contact the harbor master before going further. We were so, so close! Maybe only 100 meters from the carvings. But we were forced to dock at this little cove and take a break. I wasn't really complaining because I felt just knackered after all of those waves. I could use the break. Meanwhile, Elliot paddled on ahead as a a scout and reported that the carvings were pretty much blocked. The waves were crashing together at a right angle in front of them, so even if we got out there, they would be completely obscured from view. Not too mention way too close to sharp, pointy rocks. The plan was that we would take a breather, wait about 30 minutes for the harbor master to report in, and then evaluate the situation. Out of curiosity, I asked Elliot what the wind was now, and he told me that it had picked up 10 knots since we had hit the water - making it 25 knots when we docked, 5 knots over the legal limit. That explained the waves, for sure.
The place where we docked to take a break
We parked the kayaks on the shore and had a little impromptu snack on the shore. Elliot was nice enough to bring water, muffins, and pineapple lumps (basically chocolate with pineapple filling inside - Yum!), and I just devoured what was given to me. I was so, so hungry and felt like I had been working out for days. Then he said that we could explore the surrounding trails of the area and report back after 20 minutes. Viola had left her shoes behind, so she wasn't able to leave the beach, but I managed to take my camera with me and cruise around the forest for a short time. I was able to see some of those aforementioned mansions from a distance. The giant "Keep Out" signs discouraged me from getting too much closer. It was actually really nice and scenic with the lake rolling in through the trees and the clouds giving the woods a sort-of misty quality. I went out as far as I dared before having to return back, and then we all waited on the verdict. Bad news: the wind was still too strong, so we would have to return without seeing the carvings. Good news: Viola and I lived in town and had no commitments, so we were each given a Get Out of Jail Free card for the next opportunity. Which was really nice. I was worried that they were going to charge us full price for not seeing what we actually came for, but they said that they would honor a free trip for the next time the weather decided to behave itself.
The pretty little trail around the lake that WASN'T blocked off from the public
So we made the trip back after nearly making it all the way. It was still really choppy on the way back, but I felt much better for two reasons: one, I had adjusted the pedals, as I mentioned earlier, and two, I was secure in the knowledge that I had not wasted my time and money on something. $90 had seemed bit steep to me before, but knowing that I was going to get two trips for that price instead of one made it seem like a much better investment. By the time we made it back to the halfway point, it was a lot smoother sailing, and it wasn't long before we were back at the van. We helped Elliot load up the kayaks and started driving back into town without too much to report. The Austrians were very good sports about the whole thing. I felt sorry for them because they were on a schedule to be in another town by the end of the night and couldn't stay to get the free trip, but they assured us that they didn't really care. They were more about the actual kayaking and the experience itself and didn't really mind not seeing the carvings.
And that was pretty much it for the first day. Bottom line: didn't get to see the carvings, but got a great workout, a lot of experience with kayaking, and the guarantee that the next time would be much smoother. With that in mind, Viola and I headed back into the hostel, immediately located the nearest hot showers, and collapsed into bed.
Tune in next time for the more exciting part of this adventure: Day Two, aka, Finally Getting to See the Carvings!!!
So here's what happened: I was just cruising around downtown on my day off a few weeks ago, minding my own business, when my phone rang in my back pocket. My first thought was, "Aww, that better not be work asking me to come in on my break," but the caller ID came up as "Henry, Blackcurrant." So I flipped it open and chatted with Henry for a bit. It turned out that Viola - great German girl, former cleaner, doing an insane tour of the North Island by mountain bike right now - was back at the hostel, hoping to go out to the carvings by kayak, but the company wouldn't take her out unless she could find one other person. I guess it was a slow day, and they don't go through all of the trouble of unloading the boats and driving people out unless it's worth the effort. She only had a few more days left at Blackcurrant, so she wanted to make them count. The problem was the price - $90 for one trip there and back, roughly three or four hours out on the water. Not horrible, really, compared to bungee jumping and skydiving, but I was on a bit of a budget at the time. You see, that was around the time that I was losing hours at DB , and Christmas shopping had put me out another chunk of money. So my initial reaction when Henry called me was, "Man, I'd love to go, but I don't think can. Sorry!" And I ended the call right there before I could think much more about it. After all, I had a mission. I had to get my shopping done and get home in time to do my washing.
Then I took a few more steps and stopped dead right in the middle of the sidewalk. "You know what? Forget it. I'm in New Zealand. I'll worry about it later." I pretty much just changed my mind right there and called Henry to let him know I'd be there after all. Viola was understandably thrilled. Then we just had to wait until 1pm rolled around for them to pick us up. I guess it was kind of a slow day for them because it was just us and this one couple from Austria, who were both very nice. The company itself - Kayak to the Carvings - has been there forever, but it's just recently undergone a change in ownership, so the guy who took us out - Elliot - had only been doing it for about a week and a half. He was a pretty cool guy. Kiwi, born and bred, with a lot of experience with kayaking.
Anyway, they picked us up in a little van with a trailer attached for the kayaks and drove us down to the iSite to meet the other group. They couldn't take eftpos/ATM cards, so I had to run across the street very quickly to get some cash out for them. Then we all piled in, signed a consent form, and headed out towards Acacia Bay. Apparently, there are at least three or four rival kayaking companies in the Taupo area who all do the same thing and launch from the same place because it's the closest beach to the carvings, which, by the way, can only be reached by water. The only roads that go out there are part of a gated community for the uber-rich and can't be accessed by the general public, and even if you could get out there, the carvings face the lake, so there's no way to see them except from directly across the water. There are some crazy mansions out that way, too. I think the cheapest one is supposed to be $2 million or something like that. One of them is supposedly made of glass and can turn opaque at the touch of a switch so that no one can see it and has a helipad on the roof. Crazy stuff like that. I'm not really sure why, because the view is gorgeous, of course, but it's an excellent view from all sides of the lake. Doesn't really matter if you're at Location A or Location B - every house on the water has an excellent vantage point, but the ones in Acacia Bay just happen to be insanely pricey. I guess people with money like to live near each other?
The end of the road
So we drove out of town for about twenty minutes and stopped at a little dirt road just past the main part of Acacia Bay. It was literally just a grassy area for pulling over on the side of the road, but I guess everything past that point is private property. I forget exactly how far away it is from the carvings in actual distance, but I believe it was somewhere between 3 and 5 km (2-3 miles) on the water. Doesn't sound like a whole lot, but the wind and waves make it seem like a lot further. On that particular day, the wind was INSANE. Legally, we're not supposed to be out there if it's more than 20 knots, and it was 15 knots when we set out. So the waves were really, really high at certain points. More on that later.
The little cove we set out from - yeah, I know, doesn't look too windy, right? Hush.
Viola and I got out of the van and started getting all suited up with the other two. It's not the most glamorous wardrobe, as you can probably imagine. Directly over your jeans and T-shirt is this giant rubber skirt thing to keep the water from going inside the kayak. You pull it up to your waist and have the rubber bib part flared down around your knees. Once you climb in, the skirt part gets stretched over the top of the hole so that - theoretically - you will stay dry inside while the water crashes over the top. This didn't really work in practice, but the logic was sound. Over that, you have your standard life jacket and anything else you want to put on. I had my trusty Colbert Report hat and about a gallon of sunscreen slathered on to keep me protected. Elliot then lead us through a brief safety seminar and a kayak-in-two minutes lecture. The whole thing is designed for any experience level, and I was relieved to find that, with the exception of Viola, no one there had kayaked before either. She had done it once or twice back in Germany, so she had a little more veteran status. That said, when it came time to choose who was going to man the rudder in the stern and who was just going to coast along in front with the easy job, I got "nominated" to steer from the back. Thanks a lot, Viola. But it actually worked out for the best, though, because now I feel like I could definitely paddle one on my own. If I had just been in the front, I wouldn't know about that whole aspect of it.
Viola and I, getting ready to set out
Elliot got his own solo kayak, but the rest of us were in two-man kayaks. Viola, as I mentioned, took the front, and I got into the back. The steering is a bit more complicated than you would think, but it basically involves putting pressure on these metal pedals at your feet while simultaneously paddling with your arms. If you want to go right, you press down with your right foot and keep in sync with the lead with your arms, and vice versa with the left. I had a little bit of trouble with this for the first half of the journey because I don't think the pedals were adjusted quick right to my height the first time around. I was told that my legs should be straight, so I had them down by my toes at first. On the way back, I adjusted them a bit higher so that I was able to feel them a bit more with my feet, and that made a huge difference.
Closer view of the kayak - notice the pedals in the bottom
He assured us that there was very little possibility of us tipping over, but just in case, he showed us how to rip the skirt off by pulling it towards us so that we weren't trapped inside the kayak, and he made sure that we were all securely fitted into our life vests. I wasn't too worried about it because I've grown up on a lake and everything, but it was nice to know that we wouldn't be stuck underwater if we capsized. He didn't really show us much about the technique, though, so I was a little bit lost once we hit the water. I knew that the little bump on the right side was supposed to be where my right hand went, but I wasn't sure if I was doing it properly with my left hand. I guess long, sweeping strokes are better because you don't tire as easily that way. Short, choppy strokes are supposed to put more strain on your muscles and wear you down a lot more. I think we were doing that a bit too much for the first part at least.
Hitting the water at last!
So he pushed out onto the water to practice for a few minutes while he secured the van and locked everything up. I was able to keep my camera out in front of me in a waterproof bag snapped to the netting, so I took a ton of pictures of us goofing around. As you can imagine, we weren't the most graceful when it came to finesse. We nearly crashed into the Austrian couple a few times and kept spiraling out of control, but it was fun in a "God-we-are-so-stupid" kind of way. The Austrians, on the other hand, caught on immediately. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that they had practiced it in advance, because they were perfectly in sync. The guy was also, like, 6'4" with big, beefy arms, so that also may have had something to do with it. I'm not saying that it was a race, but if it was, they definitely won.
Our practicing ground. God, we were horrible.
Anyways, once we Elliot joined us and we had all established the general idea, we set out across the water and towards the carvings. He let us know that it was going to be a bit rougher than usual but that we should be shielded from the worst of the wind for the first two coves at least. I was a little bit wary since it was already pretty choppy when we set out. So it was going to get even ROUGHER after the half-way point? Geez. Sure enough, he was right. There are about four main points in total to reach before you get there, and after the second marker, the waves got a lot more intense. It was all we could do to stay on course and not tip over! My arms were killing me by that point, and it becomes about 100x harder to paddle when there are waves around you. In smooth water, it's really not too taxing at all, but the hint of a crest will force you to strain just to go against the current. I wouldn't say that it wasn't fun, but we really couldn't stop and enjoy the view of the lake at all - just fight to survive, which was also kind of fun. Needless to say, the only photos that I have for the day look nice and peaceful because once it got choppy, there was no way to paddle and take pictures at the same time.
Mount Tauhara resembles a pregnant woman. Once it's seen, it cannot be un-seen.
Just when we were within sight of the carvings, however, Elliot pulled up in his kayak and shouted at us over the wind. I didn't catch all of it, but the gist of it was that it was getting too dangerous to be out on the water, and he was going to have to contact the harbor master before going further. We were so, so close! Maybe only 100 meters from the carvings. But we were forced to dock at this little cove and take a break. I wasn't really complaining because I felt just knackered after all of those waves. I could use the break. Meanwhile, Elliot paddled on ahead as a a scout and reported that the carvings were pretty much blocked. The waves were crashing together at a right angle in front of them, so even if we got out there, they would be completely obscured from view. Not too mention way too close to sharp, pointy rocks. The plan was that we would take a breather, wait about 30 minutes for the harbor master to report in, and then evaluate the situation. Out of curiosity, I asked Elliot what the wind was now, and he told me that it had picked up 10 knots since we had hit the water - making it 25 knots when we docked, 5 knots over the legal limit. That explained the waves, for sure.
The place where we docked to take a break
We parked the kayaks on the shore and had a little impromptu snack on the shore. Elliot was nice enough to bring water, muffins, and pineapple lumps (basically chocolate with pineapple filling inside - Yum!), and I just devoured what was given to me. I was so, so hungry and felt like I had been working out for days. Then he said that we could explore the surrounding trails of the area and report back after 20 minutes. Viola had left her shoes behind, so she wasn't able to leave the beach, but I managed to take my camera with me and cruise around the forest for a short time. I was able to see some of those aforementioned mansions from a distance. The giant "Keep Out" signs discouraged me from getting too much closer. It was actually really nice and scenic with the lake rolling in through the trees and the clouds giving the woods a sort-of misty quality. I went out as far as I dared before having to return back, and then we all waited on the verdict. Bad news: the wind was still too strong, so we would have to return without seeing the carvings. Good news: Viola and I lived in town and had no commitments, so we were each given a Get Out of Jail Free card for the next opportunity. Which was really nice. I was worried that they were going to charge us full price for not seeing what we actually came for, but they said that they would honor a free trip for the next time the weather decided to behave itself.
The pretty little trail around the lake that WASN'T blocked off from the public
So we made the trip back after nearly making it all the way. It was still really choppy on the way back, but I felt much better for two reasons: one, I had adjusted the pedals, as I mentioned earlier, and two, I was secure in the knowledge that I had not wasted my time and money on something. $90 had seemed bit steep to me before, but knowing that I was going to get two trips for that price instead of one made it seem like a much better investment. By the time we made it back to the halfway point, it was a lot smoother sailing, and it wasn't long before we were back at the van. We helped Elliot load up the kayaks and started driving back into town without too much to report. The Austrians were very good sports about the whole thing. I felt sorry for them because they were on a schedule to be in another town by the end of the night and couldn't stay to get the free trip, but they assured us that they didn't really care. They were more about the actual kayaking and the experience itself and didn't really mind not seeing the carvings.
And that was pretty much it for the first day. Bottom line: didn't get to see the carvings, but got a great workout, a lot of experience with kayaking, and the guarantee that the next time would be much smoother. With that in mind, Viola and I headed back into the hostel, immediately located the nearest hot showers, and collapsed into bed.
Tune in next time for the more exciting part of this adventure: Day Two, aka, Finally Getting to See the Carvings!!!