Auckland kayakers celebrate ‘failed’ Cape Reinga to Tauranga charity bid
Though they didn’t complete their mission to kayak to Tauranga, Auckland couple Isaac Naylor and Abigail Hannah celebrated making it to Mission Bay in Auckland.
An Auckland couple who aimed to kayak from Cape Reinga to Tauranga to raise money for mental health and ocean conservation are celebrating their “failure” after making it just over halfway.
In February, the Northern Advocate reported Abigail Hannah and Isaac Naylor’s plan to paddle 1000km down the country’s east coast in single kayaks by Easter.
They hoped to raise $20,000 for Lifeline and Sustainable Coastlines, inspired by Hannah’s bout of depression seven years ago.
But Northland’s stormy summer limited them to 560km, forcing them to stop at Mission Bay on March 29, having raised just over $4500.
Despite this, they couldn’t be happier.
“We weren’t expecting the weather to be as rubbish as it was,” Naylor said.
“We had to listen to the weather and stop when it was bad.
“When it was good, we tried to make as much ground as we could.
“It really became about ‘can we paddle or can we not’,” Hannah said.
“It was big seas, so we had to play it safe with that.
“We got stuck in Tutukākā for six nights as there were 3.5m swells - we could see waves breaking over the Poor Knights.”
Northland faced three states of emergency this year, including a major weather bomb around March 25-26 and other storms that caused widespread flooding and evacuations.
Naylor and Hannah, kayaking with their tent, food and equipment and no support team, began their “Slow Paddle” from Tapotupotu Bay near Cape Reinga on February 9.
The next day they reached Spirits Bay but had to wait for the weather to clear before rounding North Cape.
They tackled “massive open exposed sections” including the Karikari Peninsula and stopped at about 25 campsites along the way.
Their adventure took 49 days, with 24 “incredible” days on the water, mostly in Northland.
“The locals were lovely, we met so many super friendly people,” Hannah said.
“At every campground people would come over and strike up conversation, interested to find out what we were doing.
“We saw whales in Bream Bay in the distance spouting and breaching, and one shark – a little bronzie.
“But the weather ended up being a big unknown for our journey.”
The couple ran out of time.
“We wanted to be done before Easter, but it was four days before Good Friday and another storm was coming in, and we were like ‘that’s it’,” Naylor said.
“ ... Auckland was as far as we could get.”
Hannah, a travel content creator and podcast host of Aotearoa Adventures, said it was an “amazing experience”.
She wanted to inspire others that it was okay to fail; the important thing was just to begin.
“When we set goals for these really big things, and when we miss them, it’s hard to talk about publicly.
“It would have been easy for us to disappear and not talk about that.
“But we got to Auckland and that’s epic, and we’re celebrating that.
“The nature of adventure is you don’t know what’s going to happen, but you go for it anyway.
“We appreciated each day we could get on the water ... it was stunning out there.”
The couple plan to resume their kayaking journey to Tauranga next summer.
Their Givealittle page will remain open.
Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and social issues.