We checked out of Marsden Cove Marina soon after the office opened and with a little help from some passers by we were off our slip and out into the river in no time. I’d uploaded our detailed tracks from last year and were able to follow them in via the ‘back entrance’ into Taurikura Bay where we anchored.
We were last here on December 15th last year. The water, then, was 10F (5.5C) warmer.
We ate lunch then prepped the dinghy to go ashore. We found a small beach round the corner which I figured would reduce the distance we had to walk to the trail head for the Mount Manaia climb.
Sticking our feet in the water to tie the dinghy to a tree was a shocking experience and one we hope will improve rapidly. From there it was a comfortable walk of about a mile to the trail head. We climbed Mount Manaia last year when Sam and Ben were with us and we were accompanied by John from Sea Mist. Then, we’d already had a few hikes and were becoming conditioned to steep climbs. This time it’s our first real hike for a while and we felt it. The steps seemed to go on forever but eventually we made it to the look out where we briefly rested before pushing on to the summit and the excellent views.
The way down was much easier of course. The water wasn’t any warmer when we waded the dinghy back out. The rest of the day was spent reading and relaxing.
Unfortunately it looks like we won’t be able to rendezvous with the Bamboozles so that will have to wait until next year. We plan to just hang off the hook for the weekend before heading up the river to the Town Basin on Monday.
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