We had arranged to meet a couple of friends at Coxs Bay this morning for a kayak, but about an hour beforehand I got a text message from Gillian complaining that it was raining.
“It’s only water – harden up” I replied. So I was wondering if they would show up, and was delighted to see them parked by the boat club.
As it was still drizzling, Alan decided he would stay home, but the rest of us chucked on our raincoats and prepared to launch. The concrete steps are not the easiest place to enter the water, but we managed without mishap.
As we neared a low section of Meola Reef where the tide was high enough to paddle over it, the sun came out and we adjusted our clothing accordingly.
We admired the real estate along the Pt Chevallier coast, and discovered a new, tiny beach right beside the North Western Motorway. Once under the bridge, we turned sharp left and started up Oakley Creek.
Before long we came to the Northern end of the Waterview Tunnel Project. There was an Interesting article and video published in the Herald recently.
Up where the creek comes out under Great North Road there is a tunnel that we managed to paddle through. As it curves in the middle, we couldn’t see an exit until we turned the corner. On the far side, we managed to get a couple of hundred metres through through trees beside what once was Oakley hospital, before a rubbish collection weir blocked our way.
We backtracked to find a comfortable spot under a big pine tree to eat our sandwiches. The sun was hot all the way back home. I was rather surprised by the strength of the current caused by the now out-going tide crossing Meola reef. Fortunately we were travelling in the right direction.
So Alan missed out on an interesting exploration. How Auckland has changed since I first came up from Dunedin in 1944. We stayed for a while in a boarding house in Jervois Rd Herne Bay. I enjoyed the stormy weather and liked walking down to feel the sea-spray.