Down the Morda Brook

This site is a journal of adventures in New Zealand inspired by The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow by A.J. Mackinnon. This book is the inspirational story of the authors journey across a continent in a small sailing dinghy. Whilst the story is told with a copious amount of artistic licence and somewhat impenetrable literary references (for a layman such as myself), it beautifully captures the spirit of the everyday adventurer.




The Morda Brook is "a sinuous little blue line on a map that should not be considered a navigable waterway". Near the beginning of his voyage Mackinnon embarks on a descent of the Morda Brook as the only route between the English canal system and the river he intends to travel seaward. The canals are left behind as 5pm recedes, which the reader will recognise as the official start time of all good weekend adventures. Unsurprisingly the evening is not straightforward. Encounters with overhanging trees, muddy water and darkness damage his boat and leave him disillusioned. Next day he patches up his boat and continues downstream with another story under his belt.

With this in mind, join me as I follow the profanities of Mackinnon down the Morda Brook.



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