Chantelle, a friend called Ty and I all spent last Saturday kayaking out to Lane Cove in the Whangaroa Harbour.
As you can see from the pictures the place is pristine. We had been to the wharf at Totara North before for a fish and had watched boats heading out. It was great to follow in their wakes and see what lay around each corner.
It was Chantelle's first kayak journey and she did very well. We worked out from Google Earth that we must have paddled at least 12km. Conditions were good, apart from a head wind on both the way out and the way back (how does that work then?).
Lane Cove is an arm of Whangaroa where DOC have built a hut so that people can stay overnight. No food, cookers or electric ... just a roof over your head and some bunks. I will certainly be figuring a way to get out there again for an overnighter. Ty is more experienced at the kayaking and he trots out to offshore islands to camp. He had a little rod on his boat and he even managed to catch a snapper as we were moving along.
We got out for a stretch at Lane Cove and climbed up a steep path to the lookout high above. basically on top of the rocks you can see in one picture. The view from the top was stunning and panoramic. I have included just the seaward view.
We went home happy, if a little stiff in places. The boys had separated up to various friends to allow us a bit of quality "us" time. Hopefully we will do it again some time soon.
