It was hard to believe the 1st day of winter was upon us during the Queen’s birthday long weekend as the sun was shining like it was a bright summer’s day! With the harbour as calm as glass, it was the perfect scene to finally try stand-up paddleboarding!
Jordan and I have been wanting to go paddleboarding for years now but plans just never seemed to work out. A couple years ago we bought a Groupon (similar to Grabone) for some lessons, but the company fell through before we could redeem the coupon and we didn’t get our money back. Last spring we tried to go down to Eastboard here in Wellington, but when we showed up the company was under renovations!
We knew today was going to finally be the day as the conditions were perfect. We hired a paddle and board from Ferg’s Kayaks down on the waterfront in Wellington and after a quick lesson were launched into the harbour!
It was surprising how easily we both picked it up. Quite comfortable on surfboards already, we quickly got our balance and were able to easily paddle our way along the waterfront. We went exploring down by Frank Kitts Park into the little inlet along the shore. Since it was a long weekend the harbour was quite busy with sailboats, rowers, kayaks and fellow paddleboarders – some even doing yoga on their board!
With the sun beating down on us the wetsuits were getting quite hot so Jordan took any opportunity to get wet and lunged at me, dunking me into the water. Despite the shock it was quite refreshing and sure enough that sparked a long spash fight that resulted in a few more spills into the water.
You can see it comes unexpectedly as I gingerly paddle along while Jordan is in pursuit until he’s close enough to make a lunge! (Quality isn’t great as the salt water kept caking onto the lens)
Jordan tends to get creative and likes to push the boundaries of anything we do. Of course we had to try straddling each others board in attempts to move as one large ship. He even stepped one foot on the tip of mine, keeping his other foot on his, allowing us to move through the water as one giant long board – he seriously is like a 5 year old sometimes!
As our confidence build we began changing our stance to allow for more aggressive, fast paddling which resulted in us racing down the harbour. I really loved how easy the boards were to maneoever and quickly fell in love with this new sport! I look forward to trying this again in Lyall Bay and maybe even get to catch a wave or two!
It was after our paddle boarding session that we did our interview for The New Zealand Herald along Wellington’s beautiful waterfront. Little did you know we were actually still wearing our wet suits! (hence why we look like we just came out of the harbour :P)
We were pretty excited when we saw the video and article get published on the NZ Herald. Even made the Most Watched list for 3 days! Check it out on nzherald.co.nz here!
Big thanks to Sam and Dan for pulling the video together – we loved it!
I remember how amazing the weather was over Queens Birthday – as well as getting out 3 mornings in a row to take some dawn photos – we also went for a big long walk/run around the waterfront with the kids on their bikes doing the Powerade Challenge and the water was like glass – a perfect day for learning a new skill! Looks like fun and something I'd love to have a go at one day!
Hi Meghan! It was a pretty spectacular weekend! We just heard about that Powerade challenge recently – will have to try that some weekend! Paddleboarding was a lot of fun – hope you get to try it soon!
Congrats on the NZ Herald mention! I loved the video – you all are truly inspirational and have a story that deserves to be told! Thanks for write-up on paddleboarding, too. I'd seen Groupons and thought it might just be a fad or gimmick, but your pictures make it look really fun! I think we'll have to try it sometime soon 🙂
Thanks Lauren!! We didn't get this paddleboarding through a Groupon, the one we tried to back in Canada ended up being a gimmick unfortunately, but we have had luck with other Groupons so they're not all bad! It was a ton of fun though and definitely want to do it again!
I'm loving your blog and videos (both Jenna and Jordan). I'm a NZ local living in Lower Hutt, a keen tramper, whitewater kayaker, traveller and adventurer, and I swell with pride when I read your opinions of the NZ landscapes, people, and of Wellington. I studied in the UK for a few years and really enjoyed that but was happy to come back to live in Wellington (my favourite city in NZ).
Hi Lucy! So happy you've been enjoying our blogs and videos 🙂 New Zealand is such a beautiful country and we've been amazed at the activities you can do here – and our list just keeps growing!!<br /><br />You should definitely check out Nova Scotia – I may be a bit partial as it's my home, but it is a very beautiful place and reminds me a lot of New Zealand (without the mountains
Congratulations on making the paper….Love, Love all your posts!
Thanks Rajivi! 🙂
This is a nice post explaining a lot about boarding winter. I really appreciate your efforts to do so. Keep Posting. If you have more information about this topic plz reply me here in the comment. Thanks in advance.
Paddleboarding into Winter is a amazing experience – you all are more inspirational. I loved the video.
Thanks for write-up on paddleboarding and sharing the experience also.
GREAT WORK LOVED IT.