(Editor's Note: For those worried from the title that this is some throwback to colonial times and we claimed some uninhabited island for England, or the US, or some other hegemonic superpower, you are WAY overthinking the meaning of the headline. As Sarge said, "Lighten up, Francis.")
What was supposed to be the last full day of the trip, and definitely was the last activity of the trip, started early on Sunday morning at 8:30, when we met our guide, Daniel.
Daniel is an Irishman who works for
Auckland Sea Kayaks -- I had signed us up for a sea kayak paddle out to Rangitoto Island, which is a dormant volcano that dominates the harbor. We then would hike up the 850 feet to the top of the volcano, before hiking down and paddling back.
We hopped in the van, along with three Indian men working in IT in New Zealand (they are from India, not Native Americans!) and drove out to St. Heliers Bay, passing three other bays along the way. Another married couple -- a strapping German guy and his athletic Kiwi wife) joined us there.
It took a while to get everything set up -- we wore skirts for the long (15 foot) kayaks to keep our cockpits dry, and there are pedals for the rudder. The kayaks are too long for steering them the conventional way, with paddles. Instead, we used foot pedals to steer it -- which proved to be a hassle to overcome.
Daniel did teach us how to use feathered paddles, so that was quite helpful. From the ACK website:
For those unfamiliar with the term “feathering”, it’s the action of positioning your blades at opposite angles to one another to reduce the wind resistance while paddling. Put simply, while one blade is in the water the other will be angled so that it is slicing through the air resulting in greater paddling efficiency.
The start was less than auspicious. It took me a bit to get used to the steering pedals, so I was zigging and zagging all over the water. Meanwhile, the two Indian dudes in one boat had no idea what they were doing, so Daniel ended up towing them. I got the hang of the foot pedals, and Carol and I pulled far in front of the other three kayaks.
We kept having to wait, even for the uber-German/Kiwi younger, fit couple. This was not a simple paddle out on a calm Potomac Bay -- there was wind and waves. A couple of times we would have been drenched by a wave if not for the skirt that faithful kept the water out of our cockpits.
Three quarters of the way across, my right foot pedal slid forward, so anytime I needed to do a right turn, I had to stretch my foot all the way, straining to reach the turn pedal. It concentrated the mind.
It was about a three mile plus (probably 5 kilometers) paddle, and we did not land on a beach, but instead got out on a rocky narrow ramp. Thank goodness Daniel was there to hold the kayaks steady as we got out in the waves.
After a brief rest, we started on the hike up to the top of Rangitoto. While 850 feet up may not sound like much, remember, our starting point was 0, so it was all of that 850 feet. The path was relatively flat at first, with a modest elevation gain, but then got steeper close to the top. We walked through bush and wide open lava rock fields, with the occasional views back to Auckland.
The fun part of the trail were the signs. One said "20 minutes to the top" and after 10-15 more minutes of walking, the next sign said "15 minutes to the top." Uh, no. It's good to see Park Service personnel are as bad at math in New Zealand as they are in the USA.
Anyhow, the first overlook brought us to a great view of the cone, which apparently is considered to be the third most cylindrical cone in the world, behind, of course, the first two, which are (I have no idea, and have no interest in using my Google machine to find out). Then we climbed the final 200 meters of stairs to wooden viewing platforms at the top.
The views at the top are spectacular, the harbor, islands, the northern most point of the North Island, all of Auckland/suburbs, and more stretched out below.
Not shockingly, the hike back down was easier, although since we only have two good knees between our four total knees, we still had to take the downhill semi-gingerly. Once all the way back to the harbor, Daniel had a good meal going for us, including steak (he had a vegetarian options for the guys from India), quinoa, tasty bread, and some other non-traditional salad.
The trip back was harder. The wind had picked up (would have been a good day for the America's Cup sailing!), and the waves also picked up. We had to aim way left to end up back to the right. Fortunately for us, aiming way left ended up better for us than it has for the Democratic Party. (Relax, Dem friends -- it's not like three of the last four elections have turned out well for you!)
At the same time, the wind kept pushing the back of the kayak to the right, so the boat kept steering left. So, I had to slam my foot down on the right pedal and turn hard right the whole time just to keep the boat straight. At times my foot was cramping from the constant pressure from the toes on the turn pedal.
It isn't a competition, but still we kicked the butts of the other boats. We had to stop and wait many times -- we figure we would have save 20 minutes for each crossing had we not had to wait for our slower, younger, more fit compatriots (I'm not confused -- Daniel was a paddling dervish, but as leader, he had to hang with the group).
We weren't trying to "win" (well, kind of), but it really wasn't even close. At one point we stopped for a while, and the German-NZ boat caught and passed us. We started paddling from a dead stop, and within ten strokes had pulled more than a boat-length ahead. Watching the technique of the others was painful -- they carefully placed part of the paddle in the water and gently pulled it through. It was as though they thought if they put the whole paddle in, it would melt.
Having left around 10am, we were back a bit after 4pm -- a full day of outdoor activity. I was pretty happy with the day, and Carol was satisfied with her mad paddling skillz and making up the steep part of the volcano to the top.
Later that night, we walked down to the Harbour for dinner, stopping at the highly recommended "Oyster and Chop" where they sell, surprise, oysters and chops. Lacking a reservation, we didn't have to wait long for a table. The food was quite good, and fittingly I had lamb for our last night down under.
I will spare all the write-up of our painfully long trip back, only to point out it was 24 hours longer than it was supposed to be.
