A threatening
murk descended into full-on torrential rain as 15 hardy kayakers
headed to Te Anau for two days paddling on Lake Manapouri in late
November 2003. Trip Leader Mike Brettell tried to look on the bright
side as the van’s windscreen wipers struggled to keep up with the
deluge, but the prospect of two days of heavy precipitation didn’t
fill anyone with great joy. But... as so often happens with the
unpredictable weather of Fiordland, the next morning dawned sunny
and still and the thought of two days on the water was a much more
enticing prospect.
We met on the shores of Lake Manapouri with Daphne Taylor, one of
the co-owners of Fiordland Wilderness Experiences from whom we had
hired most of the kayaks. As only a few people were experienced
kayakers, we got the full briefing - including Daphne giving a very
thorough explanation (and demonstration... on dry land, mind you) of
the procedure to follow when one capsizes. This seemed completely
superfluous, as we observed the perfect mill-pond of Lake Manapouri.
But, what did I say about the unpredictable weather of
Fiordland...???
The group eventually departed at about 10.30 am in seven single
kayaks and four double kayaks. Despite the fact that I had only been
kayaking on one previous occasion, I soon got into the rhythm of
paddling, and the great conditions made the whole experience very
pleasurable. We lunched at a largely sandfly-free bay (called Stony
Bay), at which time most of the party decided that their wetsuits
were getting rather hot, and the cool waters of the lake looked
quite inviting. However, I suspect by the reactions of the brave
bathers, that the cool waters lived up to their reputation, and
(interestingly enough) nobody had a particularly lengthy swim!
Our destination for the day was Moturau Hut in Shallow Bay, and we
intended to work our way there following a bit of an explore up the
lake to Hope Arm before turning back to our camp site for the night.
However, the weather decided that it had been benevolent for long
enough, and we started to battle an increasingly strong sou-west
wind. Now, having been kayaking only once previously, I had felt
reasonably confident that the challenges I had faced in the sea at
Stewart Island would surely be worse than anything that could happen
on a mere lake. Wrong! The size of the waves and the force of the
wind turned the mill-pond Lake Manapouri into a boiling cauldron and
we all had to work hard to paddle to Shallow Bay.
The plans for part of the group to continue paddling further around
the bay so that they could camp there rather than stay in the DoC
hut came unstuck because of the weather. This created something of a
debate with the DoC hut warden, who, in line with DoC’s policy,
would not permit camping on the site. However, as Mike pointed out,
the safety of the group would be compromised if they were forced out
again onto the churning waves. Eventually, I think they agreed to
disagree, and nothing was said when about six of the team dossed
down on the beach.
The wind wasn’t much better the next morning, and Mike didn’t
inspire great confidence within me when he suggested that if we
needed to check out our capsizing technique, these were perfect
conditions. The first challenge was getting off the beach, and I
have to confess to some considerable nervousness at this point.
However, all went well, and some determined paddling meant that
everyone managed to launch off the beach... no mean feat considering
the gale-force wind.
Although fine, the rest of the day was always made challenging by
the strong wind. Ironically, the wind was almost non-existent where
we stopped for lunch (Supply Bay), but apparently this was entirely
due to its sheltered location. Back out into the lake, we spent the
afternoon aiming for the shoreline at Manapouri township - a
location, which whilst always visible, seemed to take forever to
reach. Arrival time back at the shore was about 3.00 pm, and
everyone had battled the waves without capsizing...a great
achievement, considering! Here’s hoping it’s a technique that we
never have to put into practice...
Thanks to Mike and the OTMC for a great experience.