Today's objective was to paddle to Misletoe Bay, then walk back to Anakiwa, along the Queen Charlotte Sound at the very north of the South Island. The sky was overcast, for the first time for ages, and there was the threat of rain in the air. Sea Kayaking Adventures was a very professional organisation, who gave us a good briefing, and very good kayaks and equipment.
We set off, and soon encountered masses of jelly fish in the shallow bays. They were on both sides of us, and gently rose to the surface, then dropped down again.
We also saw quite a few sea birds along the way, including this magnificent fellow. A type of shag I think, but I'm not sure exactly which. A number of them, including piebald shags, were nesting in the trees or on the rocks by the side of the sound.
It was quite a long paddle, about 2 1/2 hours, but the water was like a mill pond for the entire time, and there were virtually no other boats out in the Sound. The only sounds were the calls of bell birds and Tui while we were close to shore, and the ever present sound of the cicadas in the trees.
We paddled, in overcast weather or drizzle, for about 14 kilometres until we reached Mistletoe Bay. By this point we were beginning to get cold, and it was a relief to get out of the boat and get into dry shoes. Unfortunately this was the day our lightweight waterproof jackets would have been invaluable, but it was also the day we had left them behind in the campervan.
After leaving the boats in the agreed location, and eating our lunch, we set off on the 13 km walk back to Anakiwa. The rain got heavier at times, but there was often shelter under the trees. We walked through bush, farm land and beech forests, occasionally being rewarded with views of the sound, for about 3 1/2 hours.
When we finally finished our walk it was very pleasant to get back to our van, and to change into more dry clothes. We reported back to our outfitters that we had finished the walk, then set off on the final section of the Queen Charlotte Drive to Picton.
Picton is where we will be catching the ferry to the North Island, but we were more interested in seeing this freighter moored up waiting to be loaded with the produce of so many of the foresting activities we had previously seen.
After picking up some supplies in Picton we drove on , through Blenheim, to our stop for the night at Marfells Beach, a DOC site on the east coast. It is a lovely spot, though fairly full of vans, right by the side of the ocean.
Whilst we were paying for our night's stay Mick got chatting to the camp host who asked if we had ever tried eating paua. By this time we were used to seeing the brightly coloured paua shells decorating so many NZ souvenirs, or being sold as complete shells, but we had never even realised the contents were edible.
Our host took us back to his van and shucked a paua for us. They look quite horrible, being very black and hard looking.
After removing certain portions of the paua, namely the green section seen here, we were told to slice the remaining meat very thinly, then to lightly fry the slices in butter. The green part was thrown to the beach, where a black backed gull immediately ate it whole!
And here is the resulting dish. The meat was delicious, and the edge portions, to our complete surprise, were the most tender. And the nicest thing is that I now have a complete paua shell to bring home!
We followed our unusual starter with steak and fresh corn cob, while watching a rainbow over the ocean. Off to bed now, tomorrow is our penultimate day in the van.
Posted with Blogsy
What an energetic day you had! No wonder you are looking so trim! Were the pauas just on the beach or did they have to be pulled from deeper water?
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