Addicted: September 2012

As many of you know, Aliyah and I have made the drastic decision to quite our jobs, pack up, and leave the country for 5 months. Destination: New Zealand! What you may not know is that we are planning a through-hike, a hike that does not loop back to its original destination, across most of the South Island. Although New Zealand has a well developed backpacking and mountaineering culture and thousands of well maintained "tramping trails" as they call them, not to mention an extensive back country huts network, they did not have a continuous trail that traversed the length of their country.

Since 1975, kiwi's have wanted to develop this sort of trail but it wasn't until 1194 that a man named Geoff Chapple really got the ball rolling. You can read the whole history on the trail's website,
but the short story is that the trail opened in December 2011. A handful of people have already walked the distance of the country via the developing trail which links existing paths, new trails, property easements, and a few sections of road or boat rides. Now the trail is more or less complete and we are going to try a large portion of it; the "Lord of the Rings" section through the southern alps. The chunk we are attempting is well over 1000 km (620 mi) and we are adding several side excursions into some of the more scenic diversions including Aspiring National Park and the Able Tasman coast.

A typical view in Aspiring National Park.

We are flying out on the 28th of October, a date which is getting ever so much closer as we rush to get things ready. I quit my job a few weeks early to afford more free time to pack and plan, and so this is what I've been up to the last few days:

Maps, maps, and more maps. I love this stuff but it makes me crazy after a while.

So, for updates on planning, our trip progression, and other kiwi news keep checking the blog as more addicted-style posts should be showing up every 3 to 9 days if I can keep at it. If not, Aliyah will also have a tumbler.

The kayak was originally conceived by the Inuit people who subsisted off the aquatic fauna of the inhospitable north pole. To the Inuit, the word kayak mean's "hunter's boat;" it was a vital tool for the survival of its creators and a symbol of their culture. While modern kayaks typically pop out of an injection mold, the kayaks of circa 2000 BC were framed by whale bones and covered with oiled seal skins. The hunter was quite literally sown into his boat by his wife who would tailor a fitted skin jacket tightly laced to the boat. This jacket formed the modern day spray skirts that enables a kayak and paddler to capsize the boat without taking on water.*

Although I wish I had a custom fitted whale bone and seal skin kayak, I don't think I could get around the Marine Mammal Protection Act for the sake of authenticity. Alas, my boat comes off the Malibu Kayaks factory line, seamlessly molded from dark green plastic pellets. It also lacks a spray skirt as the "sit-on-top" open deck design is self-bailing, virtually eliminating the risk of flooding. It is, however, designed with the original kayak's use in mind: hunting (or fishing as it were). My fully "rigged" kayak is equipped with all the modern bells and whistle found mostly on boast costing well over $3000 dollars; fish finder, GPS, marine compass, four rod holders, waterproof hatches, a live well, drift anchor, a marine VHF radio, and a cup holder for your beverage of choice.

Is it all necessary? Not at all, but it makes the experience more fun, more productive, and safer. Why not get a real boat, you ask? It is a real boat except that you don't need to register it with the man, you don't need an established launching facility, you don't need a powerful vehicle to tow it, and you can always use it by yourself. It has also rekindled my love for the Pacific Ocean as I'm able to avoid most seasickness in such a small an maneuverable boat. In college, I would tow my kayak to the yacht harbor in Santa Cruz with a make-shift bicycle trailer, paddle out for a few hours of fishing when the weather was good (most of the time in Santa Cruz), and be back in time for class. On a college budget, it doesn't get much better.

My tiny boat has taken be to some of the most beautiful and remote destinations of the Pacific as well as wild rivers of the north coast and alpine lakes of the sierras. It has also contributed to a wealth of fish tacos, abalone, crab feasts, and frozen fillets for me and all my friends. I am forever grateful to my tiny boat and encourage everyone interested to give it a try. You can rent a sit-on-top from almost any kayak rental company and bring a rod and a couple lures, you won't regret it. For an overwhelming volume of advice and a supportive community of like-minded anglers, check out the articles and forums at http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php . Fishing reports and opportunities to join other kayak anglers are posted daily and you can look for my occasional posts. My screen name is, you guessed it, Fishloomis.

*An interesting side note: this was also an invaluable technique for the Inuit as most of them could not swim. Who would want to swim in polar waters any way?

Fish porn: