Really not sure how to start or explain today, I am sure one day my question to the sky will be answered, but for now I am just looking around and trying to make sense of a really challenging day, and there was no paddling!

I listened and looked at the weather, so stayed away from the water as it was meant to be so windy. There were big gusts yes, at times today I wished and I think I should have paddled anyway, but as the morning got going the wind around the point did get rather relentless in its gusts. We know this as we went for a reconnaissance drive and this is when things turned very pear shaped for us.

This blog is about our daily experience so everyone sit down and get a cup of tea, (whiskey) you will need it, and maybe a large bar of chocolate.

My red kayak, Thelma, decided to throw her self off the roof racks of our camper van. Yes, she did, and oh yes she did a great job. She did not totally bounce and she has cracks and a good fracture along the base, obviously 1000km (and all the days of training) was all she could take being with me!!!! RIP THELMA.

Shitballs! But we have a spare, Louise (my white STAR, exact replica and sistership of Thelma) is starting out as the main boat now, just until we get to Wellington. Poor Mr Andy Warner, got the call and we have a Thelma 2 underway, and Thelma 1 is being sent back to the factory to retire on the wall and her parts will be stripped and used in her second version.

What happened you ask? Well roof rack tie down malfunction. It happens and it sucks, but there is actually no point getting high blood pressure over it. We gathered her up, placed her back up on top, sent some picturess to prove she was past repair, and continued on our reconnaissance trip to the next few bays.

We got lost, we took wrong turns, it has been a day of tests of our partnership and you know what we have not yelled or screamed at each other once. We sat in Cuzzie on the coast got and blown about by the wind. We said thank goodness I was not paddling and went, you know what world, keep throwing these tough days at us, we are stronger than you think!

I am hoping that we will not go through a kayak every 1000km, my insurance company may get a little miffed by then.

Ahhh what a day! Started off thinking we would be out for a couple of hours, but it turned into smashing a kayak, getting blown about on the beach, many wrong turns and eventually we ended up on the road from 10am till 6.15pm. Oh boy, a challenging, dreadful day.

The wind and the apps are saying stay put (but I am not impressed with them at the moment) the locals said they where cray fishing and it was flatter than a lake. My heart is saying get on the water and paddle, so very torn at the moment and a tad flat. But it happens, the reason I survive is I can cope. I can see lights at the end of a dark day. That is why I am a little mad/crazy and why I accept challenges. As a very wise person said to me before I headed off on this journey "No matter how bad you imagine it can get, you will have days which are far worse than you ever imagined". Yes buddy you have been proved correct on this statement, thank you for the advice, just please today do not say "I told you so".

Positives for the day:
We survived, only not such a good time for Thelma who got broken.
We did not scream, cry or argue. Brilliant partnership.
We planned the next leg of our trip, in fact Nat has it planned for the rest of the trip, weather and body permitting (it will even if I am half broken, I will keep paddling)
We sat and co ordinated Thelma's trip back to Auckland. Non Fragile Freight (sorry very bad humour)
We went to new and different towns (where is Weber ?) managed to detour far enough to get petrol in Dannevirke, oh and a Magnum for Nat.
We did not get any beach time today, so saved ourselves from sunburn, HA.

Aiming to be in Wellington by the week starting 7th December. Here in Porangahau dinner looks great, hope you all have not choked on your cup of tea/glass of wine (large tumbler of whiskey).

Don't feel sorry for the team, just keep following, as Louise (my white kayak) wanted a turn on the water anyway.

Red