Deep In the Mangroves

Kayaking field notes //

Stunning glass conditions. Best conditions we’ve ever had despite its being the middle of winter.

New place names (we made up) — Fish Alley, Secret Lagoon

We paddled deep into the mangroves on the incoming tide. We explored and fished, lost ourselves in the sanctuary of the channel carved through the mangroves. The tide went slack, turned and we rode the outgoing tide back out to the harbour.

At one point, we crossed from the channel through a thinnish stretch of mangroves to a secret lagoon we spotted (one of at least two). We didn’t think to look behind us until we were ready to make our way back to the channel. Lucky it wasn’t very thick. We recognised a gap and a larger mangrove tree and found our way back to the channel easily.

I thought about what it would be like to become lost in the mangroves. It would be incredibly difficult to navigate your way out of them, but, if you knew the tides, like being lost in the woods, you could follow water running (out) to open water and find your way, provided your kayak wasn’t stuck in a batch of thick mangrove forest.

One water rescue — a plague skink swam straight at my kayak from god knows where and climbed aboard. I thought he was a tiny water snake (which reminded me of Lake Michigan) but then I remembered NZ has no snakes and I saw his four tiny legs. I was careful of him once he’d stowed away and tended to him by paddling more gently and telling him what the plan was, giving him regular updates about when we would get to shore. L said, you know it’s a plague skink right? I said, yeah, I don’t care. Humans are a plague species too. If I was lost at sea I’d want someone to pick me up and take me back to shore.

I hooked a big kahawai at one point while we were in a V of the mangrove channel. He jumped, made a big splash and raced straight for the mangrove edge pulling my kayak into the mangroves and busting off the line. It was a good, fun, fight, and I was happy he got away though I would have liked to have seen him a bit closer up than when he jumped. He straightened out my hook so L had to put a new one on for me. We didn't get too badly tangled in the mangroves considering the tide was ripping out by then.

It’s been almost a year since we were out in the kayaks and we both love it so much!! It is so quiet, peaceful, nourishing and fun and more often than not we are the only ones out there. More kayaking adventures to come.

Thanks for reading xo

Anne