As we approach our shortest day, here in the Southern Hemisphere, the temperatures drop and the lakes near Rotorua lose their water-skiing and jet-boating crowds and present a more tempting kayaking destination. So, traditionally, we take a weekend 'off' from sea kayaking and do a little Lake kayaking. Our Mount Tarawera had a Mount St Helens scale volcanic event in 1886 and the area is still thermally very active. The DoC (Conservation Area) campsite on the far side of Lake Tarawera is called Hot Water Beach for obvious reasons - you can cook in the adjacent tiny creek and safely soak tired muscles in the nearby hot pools. The portage trail from Lake Tarawera over to Lake Rotomahana takes only 20 minutes to get kayaks up and over a ridge. This gives access to a even more active thermal wonderland - with bubbles giving some areas of the lake a ginger-ale like character and cliffs with many steam vents and small geysers demanding respect. Some small areas of Rotomahana are a bit of a threat to roto-moulded plastic kayaks - not to mention the bums inside them. The past weekend was a three-day opportunity to brave the cold and enjoy the still & crisp winter air. Driving down to the lakes early on Saturday morning, the outside temperature dropped to a scary -1C (30F). Aucklanders consider this to be 'arctic', so arrival at the foggy put-in at the lake edge saw some very cold feet. Luckily the mist burned off and the rest of the weekend was cool, clear and magic. Note that Natasha & I cheated and made use of the drysuits that we acquired for the Alaska trip. Never waste an opportunity ;-) Some photos here: https://www.dropbox.com/gallery/63886990/1/2012%20Tarawera?h=e2a01c Best Regards Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Jun 05 2012 - 17:21:02 PDT
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