Shorelines: Have sea kayak, will paddle

The Whangaroa Harbour is a gem. To call it a jewel in Northland's crown is far too civilised for this rough, uncut sanctuary between the Bay of Islands and Doubtless Bay.

There are few beaches worth speaking of inside the harbour's narrow entrance. Instead, the sheltered shorelines are a wonderfully bizarre display of natural sculpture, the eroded remnants of volcanoes that erupted about 20 million years ago.

Beyond the shoreline the sculptured figures soar skyward through regenerating native bush, keeping out the worst seaward storms. It is one reason why a large and beautiful old wooden ketch from Portland, Maine, was lying gently at anchor in Pekapeka Bay.

The yacht demanded a closer, admiring look. As I chatted to the skipper my drooling must have been palpable for he remarked that here we both were, in the same harbour gem, he in a craft worth a small fortune and costing another one to maintain, and myself in a sleek sea kayak that probably cost less than the rubber ducky tied to his ship's stern.

But while we were in the same harbour, I had been exploring nooks and crannies that he could never get to, even in his outboard-powered inflatable. I had paddled in and out of gardens of small rock stacks, surged through caves the sea has carved into headlands, and glided up a creek until it met freshwater flowing out of the hills.

Outside the harbour entrance I safely, and comfortably, negotiated a fair-sized chop and came to shore on a surf beach. Try all that, sir.

The yacht skipper's loss, and my gain, exemplifies the enduring reward for those who take to the water by sea kayak.

Pioneering Auckland sea kayaker Vincent Maire started the Auckland Sea Kayak Network to introduce novices to the activity and arrange paddles with more experienced leaders. His mailing list reached several hundred before he decided the network could take care of itself.

The growth of the sport has certainly been staggering. You need only witness the number of commercial operators up and down the coast to appreciate the demand.

Doubtless it has a lot to do with cost. Sea kayaks are poor men's cruise ships, craft absolutely designed to mess about in.

And they are so versatile. They can be paddled to Great Barrier Island - or taken by ferry - used to navigate the Whanganui River, or paddled around Lake Taupo.

But the best of sea kayaking most closely resembles tramping - though I can attest that it is much easier on older bodies. There are those who paddle sea kayaks in straight lines, but most are explorers of that richly diverse margin where water meets land.

Maire is an explorer and an apt author for New Zealand's first sea kayak guide. Published next month by New Holland Publishers ($29.95), The Sea Kayaker's Guide to New Zealand's Upper North Island lists more than 75 kayaking tours. Separate guides are planned for other parts of the country.

The east coast of the upper North Island is a sea kayak paradise, with hundreds of enticing and isolated spots. The only problem for a newcomer may be to know where to go, which is where Maire's guide is long overdue.

He outlines journeys as diverse as the classic upper Waitemata Harbour cruise to the Forester's Arms, Riverhead, and ambitious expeditions in the Hauraki Gulf. He notes safety considerations, camping spots, maps and how to get to the start of a journey.

The Abel Tasman National Park is New Zealand's most renowned and busy sea kayak route but Maire notes that the upper North Island has several journeys that are every bit its equal.

His picks are the northern coast of the Bay of Islands, especially Moturoa Island, the Black Rocks, the Te Pahi Islands and Cape Wiwiki, where there are "great beaches and islands to explore with caves at the cape and the chance to visit Marsdens Cross".

Whangaruru Harbour, Bland Bay and the Mimiwhangata Coastal Park offer "fabulous beaches", islands and good campsites.

Maire says his favourite sea kayak destination is to Tiiritiri Matangi Island. Its eastern shoreline has some of the best rock gardens in the Hauraki Gulf.

New Holland Publishers

Kayak

* colinmoore@xtra.co.nz