Nelson Lakes by Kayak

I was pretty keen to try out my kayak on a multi-day trip, in particular one that also involved some tramping. I headed north over a few days, sheltered out of the rain for a day at Alex's in Methven, then continued north to Nelson Lakes. 

I stayed the night at the DOC campsite at Lake Rotoroa and then the next day headed off. Since it was my first time setting up the kayak for a multi day mission it took a couple of hours to work out where and how to pack everything. I'd thought the backpack would fit behind the seat, but it was just a smidgeon too long so I ended up just lashing it on the front top deck and putting the yellow dry bag over it. Inside the yellow bag I put the lunch items plus snacks and cooker and beverage bag. Nice to have a cup of tea enroute, something I learned from adventuring with Jude!

I can see where a large dry bag that fits the loaded backpack would work quite well on that front deck, but instead I stowed the sleeping gear in a dry bag behind the seat. Instead of a foot cushion I put my hiking shoes and assorted stuff that doesn't mind being trampled into another dry bag and shoved that up the end of the bow space. Not a lot of room but it worked. The rest of the food went into a third drybag behind the seat, as well as my water bladder, and finally the rest of my sundries went into my new MRS bow bag that I recently bought for my packraft, and that got tied onto the rear deck.

Once all sorted I parked the car up near the campsite and the water taxi office as I figured that was probably a safer spot than parked in the lakeside carpark. When I had dropped my drysuit off with Daan in Murchison to get the neck gasket replaced he'd offered to store my bike, so at least that's one less thing to worry about.

I walked back down to the lake and kitted up, setting off around 11:30am.

For this trip I'm wearing thermals underneath the kokatat pants I bought in Rotorua a few years ago, but they are a bit tight around the hips and bum. On top I'm wearing a Peak paddling top that I just bought in Christchurch a couple of days ago. It's very comfortable and hopefully won't be too warm. I also bought a kayak paddle, which is longer than my packraft paddle so allows me to use a more shallow stroke meaning hopefully a lot less water dripping into the boat. I'm wearing a kayak skirt but it doesn't quite stretch over the coaming so I'm having to concentrate on my strokes to make sure I keep the paddle more horizontal.

The kayak tracks really well and it's lovely to see the foreward momentum when you stop paddling. It's also possible to get good shots of the reflections on the glassy lake because the kayak hardly creates a ripple.

I stopped at a little beach for lunch, where I also boiled the billy for a cuppa, then continued my paddle down the lake. The occasional breeze caused some ripples on the water but mostly it was glassy with amazing reflections.

Aside from one other family out fishing I saw no one else all day. Surprisingly for a sunny Sunday.

I got to the hut about 3:30pm. Paddling time was somewhere between 3-3.5hrs. Unfortunately my Garmin watch didn't record the first bit to my lunch stop.

The jetty was first to come into view, and then the hut behind it. There was a beach to land on, and I managed a very awkward disembarkation of my boat. Nothing got wet and the boat stayed upright!

I pulled the kayak up onto dry land and secured it to a tree, then brought everything inside.

Then it was time to get the water gear off, chop up some firewood and get the hut nice and cosy. It's sure to be cold overnight.

When I was collecting wood I saw the tape and signage. Apparently DOC are doing a 1080 drop tomorrow and the paths up the Durville are closed. The map of the 1080 area however, excludes here so I'm a little confused. In theory Tiraumea and Mole Saddle, the whole Durville valley, and Mt Misery are all outside the drop zone. Not entirely sure what I'm going to do tomorrow as I had planned to go tramping!

The mist on the water the next morning was gorgeous. I could see the helicopters doing drops in the Sabine Valley, but nothing near me.

After breakfast I packed up and paddled across to the jetty near the walk up to Mt Misery Hut. I tried to find a research hut near there, unsuccessfully, and continued to debate with myself whether I should go tramping anyway.

In the end I didn't, so I paddled over to Sabine Hut where I had lunch in the sun, with not too many sandflies for company, and then slowly paddled back down the lake to the campsite.

My paddling technique is perhaps a bit shit, because I don't think I'm much faster than I would be in a packraft. There is better tracking and more momentum, so it probably is faster, but I'm really quite slow. Room for improvement....

Back at the carpark I tried to use what was left of the sun to dry the kayak. It's a very slow process, and my biggest beef with this boat. I'm not sure it's the right craft for NZ conditions...

Then I headed back to Murchison to pick up my bike and plan my next trip.

That's next..

Hutbagging by fatbike and inflatable kayak

Packrafts aren't perfect. They do a great job of being jacks of all trades, but they have their limitations. Newer, more rigid crafts are being designed to be whitewater specialists, but on flat water nothing beats a proper kayak with a keel. Also packrafts are downright unsafe and dangerous to be in on open water in windy conditions. Let's face it, I needed a kayak.

I didn't want a hard shell, because I have nowhere to store such a huge piece of kit, and I also didn't have room to carry it on my vehicle with a full sized rooftop box already installed, so I decided to purchase an inflatable kayak from a retailer in Australia and have it shipped to NZ.

It's a fairly clever design with aluminium bow and stern ridges, but otherwise heavy duty PVC bladders covered with a hard wearing fabric. It uses similar stitched technology as used in inflatable SUPs to ensure  a rigid floor and it has a small keel to allow much better tracking. It's not as fast as a regular kayak, but it's not a bad compromise. 

I took it for a test run on Lake Wanaka and had a pleasant hour or so paddling, but then discovered it's major drawback: it takes forever to get it dry!!

Perhaps in Australia it dries easily, but not so here in drizzly autumnal NZ, where transporting a damp water craft between fresh water bodies is downright irresponsible. NZ has some very nasty water borne algae and bacteria that everyone is doing their best not to spread by cleaning and drying their equipment between watersheds. It literally takes days for it to be fully dry....

Following my eye checkup I headed out of town, this time over to Queenstown to Moke Lake, where I camped the night. The next morning I headed off on my Surly Wednesday to visit a couple of huts on the back side of Ben Lomond. There were a few hills to climb ( I walked them) but it's a much more comfortable way to cycle rough dirt roads than the gravel bike.

After Moke I headed south to Mavora Lakes, where I set up camp for a few days. The next morning was clear with not much breeze so I inflated the kayak and paddled up North Mavora Lake to visit West Burn Hut, encountering a bit of a headwind in the final hour to the hut. The kayak handled the wind well, though it was hard work. It would have been near impossible with the packraft. I had lunch and a cuppa, then paddled back, this time with a tailwind and a small rolling swell. The kayak handled the conditions well and the trip back took a fraction of the time of the trip out!!

Last time I was at Mavora with a bike I had a slow leak in my front tyre, but this time I had no such issues. I drove down to the fishing access on the Oreti and cycled the rough track downstream. It was muddy and rocky in places but the fat bike made short work of the terrain. Two huts were visited: Upper Oreti and Lincoln Hut, both cute old huts with real character. There are still a few huts I'm yet to visit in the Eyre Mountains, but they'll require a tramp!

But now it's north again, chasing the good weather....