Despite the supreme effort everyone put in yesterday on the mountain we had to answer the bell at 6:30 a.m. to be ready for transport to the site of our kayak adventure. The early start was based on tides and weather.
A former Active Adventures guide has a kayak business just outside Franz Joseph that uses the very large Okarito lagoon which is across a narrow sand bar from the sea. A channel provides access to the changing tide so we benefited from catching the rising water.
After a quick on shore lesson it was onto the water.
The weather was extraordinary. Virtually no breeze, sunny and warm. Our guide couldn’t believe the conditions we enjoyed. Bird life in the shallow waters included the brown Godwit which is worth mentioning because of its migration route. These small birds fly nonstop from Alaska to NZ over a period of 8 – 10 days, the longest nonstop passage of any bird, anywhere. Herons were beautiful both stationary and in flight.
The shallow depth of the crystal clear water meant changing colours which only added to the beauty.
After two hours paddling it was time to head back. Our guide, Baz, was a wealth of knowledge and story telling which added to the outing.
After changing wardrobes it was back onto a nearby hiking trail to climb to a lookout above the lagoon. It started with an extensive footbridge across a marsh before heading up into the forest.
We learned the NZ definition of undulating, when describing a hiking track, is “contains steep sections”. Fortunately this undulating trail was wide and groomed and had plenty of flat sections.
The steepness was offset further by it being a relatively short hike of only a few kilometers. It was, however, hard work as evidenced by our appearance at the top.
And, per usual, the view looking back down at the lagoon made us forget our discomfort.
Our route back included swinging out to the sea and enjoying a walk along the sand/rocks. What a beach!
Back to the town of Franz Joseph to our accommodation at the Rainforest Retreat, a unique collection of buildings spread out over a fairly sizable campus. Unfortunately the absolute epicenter of the major tectonic plates intersection is about a block away and we learned the probability of a major quake happening in this area is rather high. Still, given the choice, this is an amazing place to visit.
The Bennetts On Tour 