A Real Kayak Trip

We steamed into Tauranga, New Zealand, for the second time on Tuesday, April 18.  This time it wasn’t pouring down rain, but was sunny with fluffy, white clouds that indicated we’d have a great day.  Tauranga is home to about 123,500 people (2014), and was settled when the Maori were drawn here by an abundance of seafood. 

Mt. Maunganui looked way nicer in the sun rather than the rain when we walked around the base of it the last time.

I had heard that one meaning of Tauranga is “sheltered anchorage” and another is “place of rest.”  As we try to pick the adventure excursions that are more strenuous and there’s not likely so many people on them, I wasn’t so sure about “place of rest.”  We were going on a kayaking and thermal pools excursion today, the one that had been cancelled the first time we’d been here.  We’d have to paddle for an hour or so and I was a bit nervous about it as I don’t have much upper body strength.  Crap.  I don’t have much strength at all although I’ve been doing a little work on that on the cruise.  Maybe I should have rethought this when we didn’t get to go the first time.  Nope.  Never gave it a thought.

They took us to Lake Rotoiti, about 45 minutes away from our ship.  We’d be gone for about 6-1/2 hours today, and what a great several hours it was.

First we were given Mars bars (which I don’t like so I didn’t eat it) and a bottle of water, and then we geared up with life jackets and paddles.  We were also given skirts.  These are to put over the hole in the kayak to keep water out and keep you dry.  They hang over us with suspenders.  I wasn’t too sure as I was afraid of the kayak tipping over and me not being able to get out of it. 

We looked ready to kayak.

Stef was going to steer and was checked out on the controls.

We were given a bit of instruction on how to paddle as a team, loaded up into our kayaks and pushed into the water to practice until all of us were together.  A minute or two, and I was totally comfortable in the water, and I was paddling, happy as could be.

We had calm water, with a brilliant sun and a few clouds.  Even better, there were black swans here in the lake.  It was wonderful, paddling along, enjoying the water and the beautiful homes along the shore.  There is apparently no real road into these places so it’s quite nice and peaceful on the lake.  It was quiet and relaxing.

It's always a great day when I see swans.

The water was perfect and everyone was paddling like pros.

Our tour had been split into two groups and our group was now paddling along until we came to a small cave in the rocks.  We were told there were glow worms here.  One of our guides took the kayaks into the cave, two at a time, as the cave opening is quite narrow.  He then would push one kayak ahead into an even smaller opening in the rocks where your eyes would adjust and you could see the little worms … or maggots as he said they really are.  But the word maggot doesn’t seem quite as romantic as glow worm, so it’s not used.  There weren’t as many as in the caves we’d visited specifically just to see them, but it was still so nice to see these in a very non-commercial setting. 

We waited our turn to go into the cave.

As our guide would push us in, he was standing in waist-deep water as there wasn’t room for him in his kayak.  He said the crawfish nibble his toes.  Every now and then he’d let a little yip when one would nibble.  It was fun, and then we were off again, to the other side of the lake.

Once we arrived on the other side where the Manupirua thermal pools were, we landed on the beach and they gave us sandwiches and other snacks for a lunch.  Then it was pool time.

The setting was beautiful, and as the other group had gone to go see the cave, we had it mostly to ourselves.

Yep, this was nice.

There are multiple pools, with the top one usually being the hottest.  They cool as they drain from pool-to-pool, finally emptying into the lake.  It felt great.  I went from the thermal pools to the lake and back again.  The setting was perfect, looking out to the lake, laying in a thermal pool.  What a life.

We met Donna and Mark, the anniversary couple who fell off the raft yesterday.  I enjoyed them as they’re a very nice couple.   And they have a great sense of humor. 

Donna and Mark.

Then it was time to head back.  I was hungry now, so I ate the Mars bar.  It was a bit tiring toward the end of the paddling, but it was a great excursion.  The best one on this cruise so far.  It was fun, and we never, ever felt rushed like so many excursions seem to be.

 

Back across the lake we paddled.

 

My favorite photo of the day.

There are two kinds of kiwis, the green one we're used to and the yellow, that I've never seen nor had.  The yellow are grown on ropes that look like this.  The green are grown lower, kind of like grapes.  Now I want to eat a yellow one.

All too soon it was time to say good bye to the sacred mountain at the harbor entrance.

We met up in the evening with Mike and Vangie for appetizers in the Club Fusion for the Elite Lounge group.  We then go to dinner.  It’s become our routine, and a good one.  We all talk about our day and what we’ve done.  How can we find so much to talk about every day?  Usually it’s 2-3 hours.  I was tired today and my elbows ache a bit from paddling.  It could be way worse tomorrow.  Where’s the Tylenol?