Meet Bill. He’s old, loves the outdoors (especially lakes), is very photogenic and almost 5 metres long.
Bill is also made of wood and fibreglass and was handmade by a man called Mick in a garage in Ashburton, on the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island.
After a great experience kayaking in Thailand we were desperate to get back on the water experience some of New Zealand’s lakes from a different angle.
Mick, the 6ft5” canoe builder, built Bill Murray and 9 of his brothers in his little garage using a mould that he designed himself. He assured us that the canoe could hold several hundred kilos of “gear” and after agreeing on a price (that included 2 life jackets) we all shook hands and strapped our new mode of transport to the roof of our little van.
The next day we drove straight to Lake Tekapo and remembering Mick’s wise words that Lake Tekapo was very, very deep, and very, very cold, we pushed Bill into the water, climbed aboard and hoped that he was watertight... And he was!
After an amazing afternoon spent paddling around and filling our memory cards with photos, we returned to shore dry and firmly believing that this is the best way to see New Zealand’s lakes!
