Shredding the Kawarau!!

We spent the weekend camping and playing on the Kawarau River in Central Otago. 

After a lazy start to our Saturday we packed the car and headed out of Dunedin around 1pm and headed north.  After about three hours in the car we were at the put in. It was an overcast but very warm afternoon.  Grace and John had the shredder inflated in no time and we were off on our first river trip in New Zealand!  The water was the color of blue PowerAde… That is the best way I can describe it, words don’t do justice to the beauty so I will leave that to the pictures…

That section of the Kawarau is called Dogleg, about 7km to the take out.  Once we had our campsite set up we decided to head off to Queenstown for a good bite to eat.  Ferg Burgers is a world famous burger joint, burgers the size of your face.  This place was hoppin, John and Grace found a small place inside to stand while they waited on our food, I elected to stand outside and watch the world go by.  People from all over the world were here, all types of languages and nationalities passed by, many joined the massive line for the best burger experience in the world. Once our food was ready we left the crowded scene and had a picnic in the park.  The scenery was of different quality but no less colorful…

We left Queenstown in Ferg-comas and headed back to camp to pass out. 

 

After breakfast the next morning we climbed into our gear and headed off to do another run on the same section of the Kawarau.  The day was bright and beautiful and it was great to be alive. We made a few friends at the campsite who were there paddling for the weekend too, so we set shuttle and went down the river together.  A little less than halfway you pass under two bridges, one of which is famous for bungee jumping.  (Which Grace has recently decided she HAS to do once she is old enough) Our run the day before was too late in the day to catch anyone jumping.  However, this time was different.  We eddied out and watched several people take the plunge; Grace loved it!
                

                         

There are really only three large-ish rapids on this section, the biggest being the last, Dogleg, in between there is a considerable amount of flat water.  Grace was able to paddle some, as well as crack her whip, she loves to sit up front and call out stroke counts, “Come on you guys! I’m paying you by the minute here! All forward!”  With the speed of the shredder and Grace’s pace, we were back at camp by lunch.  After a few quick sandwiches and some serious snacking we decided to go explore the beach and build a rock tower.  In our exploring John found what looked to be a nice spot to squirt and Grace and I discovered a sweet rope swing.  So we each grabbed our appropriate gear off the drying line and went off to play some more. 

The day was long and we were exhausted by the end of it; tucked in bed shortly after dark.  The next morning began much like the last, beautiful, bright and warm.  We had decided to see a different section, a shorter run further down stream known as Megs' run, about 5km.  This bit goes much faster, no flat water, canyon walls and squirrely water.  It was fun, and a good lesson for me, as I am still learning to read and react to the river.  We were at the take out in just over an hour.  John and our new buddies decided to do a second run, I don’t think these boys had seen a squirt boat in action before… their reactions at the takeout were priceless, “That’s not kayaking!  That’s scuba-diving!”  Megs' is quite a narrow section of river, which John swears there is not bottom.  The canyon walls cause the river to crash back on to its self, so most of the run is one long seam...

We were headed home by 3pm… Made it just in time to catch Grace’s registration for Girl Guiding, the NZ version of Girl Scouts.  We ordered take out, sat on the living room floor chowed down and watch Avatar on TV…

It feels so good to be worn out from a weekend of playing.   I am positive all three of us fell asleep with smiles on our faces, what a wonderful weekend of family, fun and adventure…

Driving 101

Well, the city of Dunedin has survived my first driving lesson... It is very weird navigating a car down the opposite side of the road and from what feels like the passenger seat.  I will admit I didn't drive very far, and I may have drove over a few sidewalks, but all in all I felt like it was a success.  (Apparently I take those left hand turns a bit too close)   
Our car is a little silver wagon, that beeps when going in reverse. If you know me well, then you know how appropriate this feature is... It just may save many buildings from the back end of my car. 

Oh, the Places You'll Go at Burning Man!

PENGUINS!!!

 

Well, we made it to Sandfly Bay last night... This is where the yellow-eyed penguins nest.  We were told it would be a bit of a mission so we packed layers of clothes, bottles of water and mentally prepared ourselves to be on a cold windy beach staring into the ocean for hours... 

Just like Allens Beach the land is protected, so you park a good distance from the ocean and walk through farm lands.  We walked along a loose windy road through a sheep farm.  Upon reaching the beach we realized that the walk itself was the mission... the high winds at the beach cause massive erosion creating HUGE sand dunes.  It was quite impressive, like being in the desert.  The first sand hill was massively steep, as we were running down with our arms stretched out like flying birds, other kiwis were drudging back up the hill after their time on the beach, not near as excited about their ascent.  

After only a few minutes we spotted a little yellow-eyed dude waddling up the beach right in front of us.  Not wanting to scare him off we quickly hid behind a sand dune.  These little guys are very shy and won't exit the ocean if they see you on the beach, so stealth behavior is crucial.  We were a little family of ninjas.  I was able to get a few good pictures of the penguin as he climbed the dune to his nest, it was pretty cool seeing him so close.  
We continued on to the end of the beach and followed the signs to the viewing hide.  There were several people there waiting the arrival of the penguins hoping to catch a glimpse and a few photos.  After a short wait an older fellow spotted one in the surf.  Grace had her telescope ready! (a.k.a. a paper towel roll, which she had decorated)  The nice gentleman turned to her and said, those types of telescopes are very clear but the magnification stinks, so he let Grace use his binoculars, at which point she tried to reach out and touch the penguin, John and I had a good giggle at her excitement and honest amazement to the whole experience.  

   

They never got much closer than the rocks below, but it was fun playing where's Waldo with penguins.  We enjoyed our beautiful surroundings a bit longer and decided to head back home, it was the night before Grace's first day of school and an early nights sleep is very important. As we guessed, the walk back went a little slower than the descent down the sand hills, one in particular is quite a challenge. It was a nice workout for our legs and feet, trying to climb a mountain of endless loose sand is very hard, in case you're wondering... We had a good laugh at each other as we struggled up, sometimes on all fours.  We were headed on our short drive home by 8:15ish and the sun still had a good bit of sky left, I love these long days of summer...