Bon voyage ... Wayne Jones about to head off from Gisborne bound for Mahia - the next stop in what he calls Wayne's Audacious Kayak Adventure, which started at North Cape and will end in Bluff. Photo / Murray Robertson
Bon voyage ... Wayne Jones about to head off from Gisborne bound for Mahia - the next stop in what he calls Wayne's Audacious Kayak Adventure, which started at North Cape and will end in Bluff. Photo / Murray Robertson
Nelson man Wayne Jones paddled his kayak into Gisborne on Tuesday on a length-of-the-country voyage from North Cape to Bluff.
The mammoth journey is raising funds for Surf Life Saving New Zealand (SLSNZ).
The 69-year-old walked the length of the country via the 3000-kilometre-long Te Araroa Trail last year, andhe cycled from one end of the country to the other in 2020.
“I thought: ”I’ve cycled it and walked it, why not paddle it? So I’m completing the triathlon.”
His paddle was stolen and he's lost 8kg, but otherwise Wayne Jones is fighting fit as he kayaks the length of the country. Photo / Murray Robertson
He has called his epic journey Wayne’s Audacious Kayak Adventure - WAKA.
The keen outdoors enthusiast set out from North Cape - the country’s northernmost point - 35 days ago and reckons he should get to Bluff in another two months.
“My body’s holding up well, though I have lost 8 kilograms in weight,” he told the Gisborne Herald.
“I’m having an absolute ball, and apart from being pinned down on the Coromandel for a couple of days by bad weather, it’s been pretty good sea- and weather-wise so far.
He opted to stay longer in Gisborne with friends and sit out the southerly change that came through.
“I’ve not seen a single dolphin, whale or any other sizeable marine life so far, which is a bit disappointing.
“I did see a small shark off Tolaga Bay, about 3-feet long, that seemed more frightened of me than I was of it.”
Wayne Jones about to set off from the marina on the next leg of his length-of-the-country fundraising paddle.
He stayed in Gisborne on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, and paddled off across Turanganui-a-Kiwa/Poverty Bay this (Friday) morning bound for his next scheduled stopover at Mahia.
“The only real problem I’ve had so far was someone nicked my $800 carbon fibre paddle when I was staying at Te Kaha. I’ve been using my spare one and I purchased a new one off a manufacturer in Gisborne while I was here.”
He chose to raise money for SLSNZ because “I’ve always had a lot of respect for surf lifesavers. They do a wonderful job”.
His journey can be followed on the Facebook page Wayne’s Audacious Kayak Adventure (you need to join the group).
Donations can be made to the account number T R Smyth 010-190-0470029-00 or to Surf Life Saving NZ 12-3192-0043390-01. Make WAKA the reference.
