Tag: paddleboarding

Exploring Kuratau

On By exploringthelongwhitecloudIn North Island, Waikato Region2 Comments

I love watching the mornings here. We have a fantastic view out across the lake from the living room and deck. The days always start out with a blanket of soft coloured clouds hanging in the bays. The water is still and the bird song echos around. Our tree house accommodation really is in the most perfect location. As the day unfolds, the clouds move away, revealing a brilliant blue sky.

It is our last day here and we still have exploring to do. We head to Kuratau, a couple of bays over and take a walk at Whiowhio Park, a track that leads alongside the river. This is my favourite walk I have done on this trip. The path leds through shady trees, a welcome relief to the heat from the midday sun.

For a lot of the walk, you don’t see the river, and then there will be a clearing and in the words of Lachie

‘Wow Auntie Lani, this view is so beautiful’

Yes, it really is.

Bullrushes dance in the breeze, their long slender stems swaying so elegantly. The tall white cliffs contrast against the lush green forest and the clear, cool water that looks so inviting. The bird song is beautiful and again we are able to pick wild blackberries along the way.

And just when we are starting to feel hungry, thinking we must turn around and go back to get some lunch, we pass some people who tell us that Floating Rock Cafe is at the end of the track.

Perfect.

Set amid a small vineyard, the alfresco lunch is so good. Normally they serve wood fired pizzas but as it is a public holiday, they only have the snack menu available. Disappointing as I love a good wood fired pizza, but in the end, our big selection of snack food that we order for the table is all we need. We sit, eating, chatting and enjoying our surroundings.

Although we are doing a walk alongside the river, we didn’t come across anywhere suitable for a swim so once we get back to the car, we drive 1 minute down the road to arrive at a lovely little bay (sandy this time, thank goodness!) There are lots of people in kayaks, I have been wanting to do this all weekend. After making an inquiry with a kayaker, we find out they are for hire nearby. So Dad and I are straight down there and pick up a kayak and a paddleboard.

The paddleboard was probably the wrong decision for today, its a bit choppy out on the lake making the board rather unstable. I manage to paddle it up the lake to where the rest of the family are and then need a break – it was hard work! Later I get a go in the kayak and it is so much easier! They handle the waves a lot better! We spend a bit over an hour at the bay, swimming, kayaking, paddleboarding and enjoying the sun. The river feeding into the lake is quite calm and it is much easier to paddleboard there.

While heading back to the rental place a wave catches the board and tips me in. Unfortunately the waves have been pushing me closer and closer to shore so when I fall in, there is only a foot of water below me and I manage to scratch up my leg. I was filming on my gopro at the time –

This has been such an amazing few days. The weather has been perfect, the location has been perfect, it’s been a real summer holiday. If you love to be busy, enjoy shopping, and lots of attractions, then Taupo center is probably the place for you. If on the other hand, you want to experience quiet, peaceful bays, surrounded by trees, where the way of life is slow paced and relaxed, head to Pukawa or Kuratau or Hatepe or Omori. These places are little gems waiting to be discovered. And once you have found them, you wont ever want to leave.

Kunekune’s, Kakariki’s and Bioluminescent Water

On By exploringthelongwhitecloudIn UncategorizedLeave a comment


Day 2 of my holiday and my alarm goes off at 7am. I am instantly regretting that decision. But 10 minutes later, when I am standing on a paddle board in the middle of The Sounds on mirror flat water, best decision ever!

No one is around, I have the inlet to myself. I paddle out a way, stop, close my eyes and just listen. Birds singing, water lapping and that’s it. Places like this always make me want to move out of the city.

I am heading to the other side of the inlet, I was told there is a nesting shag colony. I stand on my paddleboard looking up at them, they are watching me to, especially the mama birds, they are keeping a close eye on me. Little fluffy chicks are perched up high in their nests. Then I look at the water below me. Crystal clear. I love to just watch in places like this. What initially may look like water and rocks starts to come alive the longer you linger. Sea cucumbers are the first thing I notice, then tiny fish darting about. Starfish and Kina are there too. Life is all around us.

I am back at the shore by 8am and already the wind is starting to pick up a bit. Early is definitely the best time to go. I think I will do another early morning trip while I am here. I read there is a point where the seals like to hang out at. That could be fun.

Lochmara has an underwater observatory. A semi submerged boat with glass windows so you can become part of the underwater world. The tour begins at the shore with stingray feeding and some hungry shags.

Lochmara used to have about 15 short tail stringray that had been trained for hand feeding. In Feburary, a pod of hungry orca visited the inlet and ate all their trained stingray. There are a couple of new stringray that they are now trying to train. The are such graceful creatures. Our tour is with a marine biologist who is able to share some facts about the stingray. Such as their size. They can grow up to 2 meters wide and 4 meters long!! The short tail stingray are one of the largest species of stingray. The one she is feeding today must be young. It’s big, but nowhere near that big. The sting that they have on their tail takes a very long time to regrow, so if they use it, it leaves them very vulnerable without any means for defense. For this reason, if the choice is between fight or flight, they will choose flight. The only time they would really sting a human is if you stand on them (you can avoid this by shuffling your feet in the sand) or if you interfered with them.

We then move onto the touch pond. Its an educational place and the children in the group are having a blast, picking up starfish, seaweed and hermit crabs. There are even a couple of seahorses in there (not allowed to touch them) but I use my gopro to film them. Like the stingray, they are very graceful and seem to be quite shy creatures.

We head onto the boat and down below the deck. We are transported into a marine world. Fish are everywhere and the shags are diving down swimming past the windows. I see lobsters and a moon jellyfish. Jellyfish are really interesting to watch. These particular ones sting, but their stingers are too small to pierce human skin so we don’t need to worry about getting stung by them. Its a whole other world down there and rather fascinating to watch!

After lunch I head out to see the animals being fed. Lochmara has a variety of animals on site as well as a rehabilitation center. The have some breeding programs and are able to educate visitors about the different animals. First up is the Kunekune pigs and they are hungry. They are incredibly messy eaters, they loose their teeth as they get older so their tongue hangs out the side while they are chowing down the food. A cheeky, brave Weka sneaks in to quickly grab some of the food scraps. Having the pigs helps with the waste management. Anything that can be fed to the pigs is. There is no waste disposal here so rubbish has to be shipped out.

Next up is the eels but they aren’t hungry. Our guide said they are pretty spoilt. They get fed blue cod but if they don’t think it’s fresh enough, they wont eat it and just wait for the next day. They are quite fascinating creatures. There are 2 varieties, the long fin eel and the short fin eel. They look very similar but the difference is important. There are not a lot of long fine eels. They can live up to 100 years or more and only breed once in their lifetime. They swim all the way to Tonga to breed, then the babies drift all the way back to New Zealand. I also learnt that eels can survive out of water for 3 days, so long as their skin stays wet. They can climb waterfalls that are 20 meters and jump 10 meters high. So, as our guide points out, if they wanted to leave the pond they are in, there is nothing stopping them.

Last up is the Kakariki. Our little native parrot with bright green feathers that look a bit like moss. They have a red crest on their head and blue tones in their wings. They are pretty little birds that make quite a loud screeching sound. We are given some bird seed in our hands and the Kakariki waste no time landing on our palms to feed. The first one that lands in my hand starts flicking off all the seed. It’s looking for the sunflower seeds. I really enjoyed this experience. It’s special to be able to get so close to them. One even lands on my head.

I decide to escape the day crowds and go for a bit of a wander around the place, there is lots to discover and explore. I come across some lamas, sheep and goat grazing in the grass. There are ‘Punga People’ carvings done into trees, a lizard inn, ‘Crumpy’s Camp’, a replica of an early bushman’s lodge and lots of signs that tell you about all the different flora and fauna. It’s an educational walk. Higher up, I come to the observatory. An open grassy area with hammocks. It would be a great place for star gazing. But also pretty good for an afternoon nap which is what I do.

After dark I head out again down to the bay. There is bioluminesence in the water. It’s too cold for me to be tempted to go for a swim so I grab a kayak paddle and move it about in the water and watch it sparkle in the night. I have never seen anything like this before.

Isn’t nature amazing?