The PaddlerUK magazine December 2015 issue 5 | Page 55

Tara Mulvany

Fiordland
southern New Zealand

“Because it's like the final frontier, you can go paddling for weeks, even
months and barely see anyone. It's wild, remote and incredibly beautiful and
for more days than not, the weather forecast is for storm or gale warning in
force, torrential rain and 5+metre seas.

“Vertical walls of the fiords are covered in thick rainforest and you can paddle under plummeting
waterfalls, beside snow covered mountains and up meandering rivers. Then in the evenings you can
light raging bonfires on beaches and cook your catch of the day – the biggest blue cod you'll ever see!

“It’s a place you can go to escape and immerse yourself in the wilderness, where life is simplified
and everything around you is raw and powerful.

“When the storms come so do the birds, and huge albatross come out to play. On calm days you'll
see seals lazing on the rocks, penguins hopping up into the undergrowth to their burrows, and if
you're lucky, you can surf the wakes of the dolphins. It doesn't get much better than that.”

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