Malcolm Gunn

... and then it rained

Posted by Malcolm Gunn on 18 May 2010 | 18 Comments

It will come as no surprise to those who know me that my presence in the Marlborough Sounds coincided with the abrupt end of the region's drought.  The Indian summer bowed so abruptly to the monsoon that it was lucky to avoid a prolapsed lumbar disc.  What was dust is mud.  The thought of our return to Pelorus Sound for three days kayaking sustained me through a few days of common cold with uncommon 'flu symptoms last week, so it was with some relief that I was on the ferry on Friday night with Brent, Peter Ian and Grant, heading for the mainland, even if I was a little below par.

A balmy Wellington heavy with cloud morphed in to a black sky deluge by time we arrived in Picton.  The Humpback whales a couple of km off Tory Channel were a brief diversion from the darkening sky!  It is a long drive from Picton to Titirangi Bay - we stopped off briefly to leave our kayak trolleys with the good folk at Portage Resort Hotel en route.  The tortuous road had Ian puking out the window somewhere near Kenepuru Saddle.  Frogs leapt and rats and mice ran ahead of the headlights and possums stared stupidly as we approached - "Check it out, two moons" as the ad. said.

Titirangi Bay was no refuge from the rain and after pushing the van out of the mud, our driver set off for the return trip to Picton and something called super14 on the telly.  We got to camp in the rain.  My spirits soared as my instant dinner hit the spot - Backcountry beef curry, a roti and some coconut sambal - all the better for being out of the rain under Peter's vast fly. I'm easily pleased.

 

Saturday morning and the rain eased as we packed up and set off into a nor'easterly breeze and towards Allen Strait - although it looked more like a river with overfalls and a good 6 knots or so mid channel.  Sneaking around the southern edge was a doddle and soon we were surfing into xxxx bay to check out the wreck of the xxx.  The portage route into Beatrix Bay was not even slightly tempting with a choppy sea, a 'landing' peppered with kayak-eating rocks and a very steep but short route to the top.  On xxx head and into Pelorus Sound we went.  Once around Post Office Point we picked up a tail wind again and surfed most of the way down towards Maud Island that appeared as a black pyramid against the dry grassland behind.  Squalls crossed our path intermittently and a few boats bashed their way north, throwing up spray from all points of contact with the sea - give me a kayak any day!

A black sky foretold of the deluge that greeted us as we neared our chosen camp and it continued for most of the night.  By morning the wind had sprung up and promised us a good ride down towards Pelorus Sound and we made good time into Jacobs Bay for a stretch and bite to eat.  Lunch was a sodden affair.  Sardines eaten straight from their communal coffin at a rough and cheerless bach that had an acceptable deck.  By time we had that, the tide was in full cry heading out and our progress was slowed - it took ages to get past Pipi Beach.  Eventually the promised southerly arrived and we really had to slog it out for the last few kilometers to the entrance of Kenepuru Sound.  Any let up would have us going backwards, so it was a sustained effort.  Once into Kenepuru the slog continued though with a lighter breeze in fading light as we struck out for St Omer.  Again the rain set in as we appraoched camp and again we hastened to get things organised before dark.  Bent's dinner was memorable for all the wrong reasons.  It was hot.  It hosed down all night - thank goodness for tent flys!

Morning brought hope of better weather and by time we reached Portage, the sun was actually shining.  We hauled the kayaks on trolleys over to Torea Bay and had lunch in the sun before paddling across to Picton where the hot showers on the wharf were more than welcome!  For the next week it was enough to be dry, and to have something to eat that was not frioles con arroz a la Brent!

 

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