Our Up the Creek adventure this month breaks all the rules. For a start, we’re not starting at the river mouth. And our ‘creek’ is the mighty Waikato, New Zealand’s longest river. To do this justice as an Up the Creek adventure would take an entire book – or two. So we’ll just do the...
TAKING A PADDLE IN THE WORLD OF WAKA AMA Paddling waka ama is boating at its most basic. But maybe the most physically beneficial, satisfying and fun too. Sitting waist-deep in a thin fibreglass shell that leaps through the water with each pull of the paddles is a pleasant physical workout performed in the open...
One of the advantages of a clockwise circumnavigation of New Zealand is that, for the most part, the trip down the east coast of both islands can be completed with day-sails. This enabled us to keep to schedule heading south, making use of sometimes very narrow weather windows. Timaru, the next stop after Akaroa, is...
Recalling an inland delivery trip long ago in a land far away. The muddy brown creek marked the Florida–Georgia state line. The green, stygian forest of a national park crowded the north bank and on the Florida side, Hermanson’s Boatyard scrabbled a living on a clear strip surrounded by swamp grass and mangroves. We had...
New Zealand’s marine biosecurity system is designed to prevent marine pests arriving – and managing the impact of those already here. A bit like Covid’s vaccination/mask regime, much of the battle’s about stopping the spread. How can boaties help? By using their boats and keeping hulls clean. As a ‘containment strategy’ using your boat might...
Alex Stone takes us on a kayak or dinghy trip to the heart of Waiheke Island, the arms of Pūtiki Bay. If you tie your long hair back, and bundle it on top of your head, it’s called a pūtiki. A topknot. Pūtiki is both a verb – to tie something up, to tie into...
Part one of a three-part adventure describing Dave and Sue Mackay’s epic journey of discovery around New Zealand. One by one the fur seal pups edged their way into the sunny tidal pool at the edge of their creche. Thick, lush bush where they had been hiding was the curtain, the smooth granite rock shelf...
For most of the voyage they had encountered very little shipping: a handful of vessels had appeared on the AIS in the South Atlantic on passage from the Cape of Good Hope to Brazil.
Boat owners can be forgiven for being confused – our existing regulations contain quite a few misalignments.
