Sharks, glaciers, and lagoons

In 24 hours I’ve four-wheeled along a deserted beach, fished from the coast and caught two shark (each about one meter long ), cooked the shark over a campfire at sunset with two locals who have become instant friends, kayaked part of the Okarito lagoon, hiked to see glaciers and travelled about 8 eight hours down the coast to Wankaka, mostly with Germans.

All of this came about because Okarito was circled on my map, by whom and why I couldn’t remember, but I didn’t have a plan except to see and do as much as possible and the Okarito lagoon sounded exotic.

My generous Californian driver, Kevin, dropped me in Okarito, a village 12 km off the main road, where the only “store” is a kayaking and adventure-touring shop run by two Kiwi friends in their early 20s, Sarah and Shaun. The store is opened by one of the 20 families that lives in the village.

Three days earlier Ken, a man who lived in Okarito, and who picked me up on highway 1 when he was returning from his annual trip to town, offered to give me a cup of tea if I made it down his way. (He wasn’t the one who circled the location on my map- still can’t remember that detail.)

I entered the shop, lingered until all the other customers has been sent out to the lagoon, kayaks in tow, and struck up conversation with Sarah and Shaun. The three of us instantly hit-it-off and they gave me a phone to contact a very surprised Ken, a kayak to meet him (Ken, a well-known villager, lived at the end of the lagoon. One had to kayak across the water and ride a 4-wheeler 20 minutes up isolated beach to reach his house.) and a place to stay for the night when I returned three hours later with the shark that Ken and I had caught while fishing in the ocean (I caught the fish, Ken handled the flaying.)

The three of us cooked dinner over a fire on the beach, watched the sun set into the ocean and the stars emerge, unhindered by competing lights, and Sarah and Shaun took it upon themselves to create an itinerary for my coastal and southern travels. Since both were from the South Island and had travelled extensively, I valued their insider advice.

The sent me on my way with a plan, great memories, and a steaming cup of coffee to go.

Two hours later I was checking off the first item on the Sarah’s “To-Do List” hike in Fox Glacier.