A Whanganui Jouney

After researching for several months for our latest trip, we settled on the Whanganui River on the north island of New Zealand. This is the longest navigable river in New Zealand and consequently the South Pacific. The journey would take us from the glacier clad mountains of Tongariro National Park (aka mordor from lord of the rings) to the heavily forested canyons of Whanganui National Park (where maori settlements still remain). For 6 glorious days we canoed 145 km through kings country following the meandering river. The whaganui river, named by the local iwi people, literally means big harbor (in reference to its eventual outlet to the sea).

The section from Taumarunui to Pipiriki is part of the New Zealand "great walks" program, and includes over 200 rapids (grade 2), intact native podocarp forest, countless natural springs & tributaries, and the endangered brown kiwi bird. The first 4 nights we slept in our tent under the bright lights of the southern hemisphere milky way. After a mechanical failure, we moved indoors by the warm fires of the John Coull & Teike Kainga huts. We were fortunate to cross paths with only 2 other boating parties during this epic journey. The native Maori resolve to relcaim this "treasure" from the gov't, and is one of the longest running court battles over land claims.

The weather was kind as usual, with only 1 day of rain during our paddle. The feeling of floating on water, following the laws of gravity w/o roads or noise pollution was medicine, for a crazy world. I invite the masses to put down their TV remotes and go to their nearest patch "nature" (while it still exists) and listen to the land.

As an existentialist, i will never understand why people slave away their years for a few weeks off- only to spend them on a cruise ship or luxury hotel (surrounded by people paid to make you happy). I strongly believe it is important to let the mind go free from time to time, outside of the boundaries of the artificial "modern" world. There is a reason people feel refreshed after sitting by the beach side watching the waves tumble or walking through the mountains scanning the horizon. These activities engage all of our senses and put us in touch with our human self. Why is this important, just ask your neighbor if they have been stressed out lately?

Klepper Dreams

The call came a little before 7am Saturday morning. Barely conscious, I managed to grab the phone- it was Keith, a fellow scuba diver-he was taking his company's boat out and wanted me to join them. Only problem being the 5 hours of sleep i received after working the midnight shift in the ER. Putting reason aside, after taking a quick shower and throwing my gear in the car, I was speeding toward a beachside resort on the west of the island. The plan was for me to swim out through the breakers and rendezvous with the boat. A few mishaps later and I was clambering aboard the boat, with Keith stating that he's never seen any one swim through that side of the channel.

The boat anchored over a magnificent coral bed and off we went. The visibility was excellent, coral quality was high, and schools of fish were everywhere. This was definitively the nicest dive site I've seen in American Samoa. Following the dive, we set out fishing lines and caught a good size yellow fin tuna on our way around Anu'u island. Flying fish, dolphins, and a deep blue sky rounded out the morning.

Keith dropped me back by our house in Pago, were Michelle and I headed back to the western side via my scooter to complete the shuttle. The only road in Samoa parallels the sea in a snakewise fashion, providing vista after vista. After returning home, we decided that the time was right to christen our new klepper tandem folding kayak. We gently tied down the kayak on top of the taurus and 5 minutes later pulled up to the yacht club for the beach launch. As the sun sank upon the horizon we slowly paddled across pago bay, feeling lucky to be alive.