The Assistant Bishop of Auckland has begun a 10-day kayak voyage to mark the 200th anniversary of Anglican worship in the country

The Assistant Bishop of Auckland, the Rt. Rev. James White, has begun a 10-day voyage from Auckland’s Mission Bay to Oihi Beach in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand’s North Island to mark the 200th anniversary of Anglican worship in the country. On 30 Nov 2014 Bishop White accompanied b John Tuke launched two kayaks into the sea and began the 250 km journey north. “As I’ve reflected on the early history of our church I’ve been impressed with the fact that early missionaries and bishops travelled mostly by sea. Some of them were wonderfully intrepid and brave. So, rather than go for a journey by land, I have decided to go by sea,” the bishop said. They hope to travel 33km a day to reach Oihi Beach where they will celebrate on Christmas Day the 200th anniversary of the gathering of Maori and Christian missionaries for the first Christian service in New Zealand on December 25, 1814.