Day 52 - Kayak tour and packing the bike

Unfortunately, the weather was not as good as predicted the day before, so my tour was in jeopardy for a while. Fortunately, the rain stopped around half past nine and it cleared up a bit. If it had been raining, I wouldn't have felt like going on a kayak tour anyway. So after a short briefing, I set off. I stored my valuables in a waterproof bag, which I had used to transport my sleeping mat and sleeping bag on the bike tour. I attached it to the kayak with a cord. Kayaking is not as easy as it looks from the outside. It was a great joy to 'surf' in the waves of the ferries between Piahia and Russell. After about 1 hour, I reached the island with the beautiful bay for snorkeling that the rental company had mentioned. Although the weather improved, I was the only tourist on this island. So I put on the equipment and tried snorkeling. It took some time until I could find a suitable depth, before I dived too deep and water kept getting into the snorkel. The water was crystal clear, and the reef shimmered blue and silver. I could clearly see smaller marine creatures and many underwater plants. Without the snorkel, I dove a bit and at a depth of about 2.5 - 3 meters, everything was clear, after that it gets darker.

After spending several hours on and in the water, I returned the kayak and headed towards Whangarei. Once there, I stopped at a hardware store as I needed packaging material. Besides cable ties, I also bought these noodles that are used to help children learn to swim. (Please excuse me, I couldn't think of a better word, I hope everyone knows what I mean!)

I spent the night at an affordable DOC site near Waipu right on the beach, as tomorrow morning I plan to visit a cave and go on a several-hour hike from there. The evening program was more than filled with dismantling and carefully packing the bike. Tomorrow is my last full day in New Zealand before catching the flight the day after tomorrow.