Tag Archives: Bay of Islands

GPS Tracks, Kayaking, New Zealand

49. Paihia

Tuesday, March 31: Sunny with a few clouds and a bit of a breeze on the bay

Kayaking: Paihia – Bay of Islands – Waitangi, 5.7 km

Centabay

In the night the keys had slipped off the towel rail and dropped onto the floor among the stuff packed there and it took a little while of thinking to work out where they had to be. Was awoken by the manager to get me to move the car and I moved it onto the street where a 120 minute slot was free. About the only business that had to be transacted was printing out the DOC ticket for the walk tomorrow and since the library had banished all wifi users to the park I tried a commercial operator in an “adult” shop. First computer had something wrong with the graphics card, but the second printed out the pdf just fine for $1.6. A couple of things had to be bought for the hike and I thought that – just for the two days – I would opt for bread and have sandwiches made up for both days’ lunches. Short inquiry at the i-site about safe parking – apparently possible at either a camping ground or the backpackers. Read more…

Swimming, Travel Planning

Ironman I: Swimming

One of the factors responsible for the drift in my memory that occurred in the 34 years I didn’t visit New Zealand was that I had been training for cadetship in Surf Life Saving in 1974/75 and was swimming up to 1200 m a session in times that were acceptable for the exam (400 m/8 min), and had subsequently reverted over the years to being little more than a hobby swimmer. Of course, for anyone (particularly someone young) who can regularly swim distances like those, a distance of several hundred metres simply becomes a distance that can be crossed.

My parents did not allow me to swim across the Bay of Islands to the island that, thanks now to GoogleEarth, I know is only 400 m from the shore; not because they thought I might not make it, but because there were speed boats flitting about; in any case, I made it up the Waitangi River to the Haruru Falls from the jetty at the motorcamp, which was about 200 m. That would have been a trivial distance. Read more…