Paradise and infernos

Hello All,

Well I am playing catch up as I haven't had internet access in days. When I left off I was about to go Kayaking in the Marlborough Sound.

Well I woke up that morning to a glorious day for paddling, I grabbed a hearty breakfast and headed to the dock to check in. There were 6 of us going out, including the guide, so 3 double kayaks. I lucked out and was in with the guide, which is always the best way to get all the insights as you paddle round. The scenery was amazing and we saw lots of shags (which, once I stopped giggling like a school girl, I realised were birds). We paddled in to the heart of the national park area, stopping for refreshments on a lovely quiet beach. It was really good fun.

We got back to Picton around 4pm and I jumped straight in the car to head to Abel Tasman (a 4 hour drive and I wanted to get there before dark, so it was beat the sun time). I made it injury free, despite another run of very bendy roads. I think I am getting used to them and find it odd now if I drive in a straight line for too long. This could be problematic when I get back to the UK!

I found Old MacDonald's Farm, where I was staying, no problem! How cool to be staying on a farm! They had a cafe, so I grabbed a burger and was eagerly watched by some hens, a peacock and some pea hens to see if I was in the mood to share my food with them (I wasn't).

I was in a 4 bed dorm, but only one of the other beds was occupied, by a really nice lady called Kate, from Cambridge, and it was good to have someone to chat with. The next day I took an Aqua Taxi out to Anchorage (which is a bay in the Abel Tasman national park). The taxi itself was great fun. It was quite windy so it was bouncing through the waves and I was getting pretty soaked. Nothing quite like it for waking you up! From Anchorage I had a nice tramp back to the entrance to Abel Tasman (which is where I was staying in a tiny town called Marahau), that took me about 4 hours, with stops at some of the pretty bays along the way, plus a bit of a chat with a girl that I bumped in to that had been in the same dorm as me in Picton. Small world of travellers out here, it really is.

The walk itself was fantastic with some amazing views, lovely patches walking through the trees and giant ferns, which gave it all a kind of pre-historic feel. Plus often you were completely alone on the track so it was nice to amble along, taking in the views, hearing the bird song and generally day dreaming.

That evening back at the farm, we had a guy in the dorm next to us, which meant that there were 3 of us sitting around, comparing travel notes and giving each other advice on must see places (Mount Cook has now appeared on my list of places to go after seeing Kate's pictures). It is so hard as I am fast running out of time and can't do everything. As the weather has been a little changeable I might just give the glaciers a miss, but that just gives me another reason to come back here for another holiday (maybe not quite as extended next time!)

The next morning was another day of Kayaking. I got up early and did the whole windy road thing to Kaiteriteri where the trip was setting off. This time there was 10 of us in 5 double kayaks. From the mix of people, you could tell that we were going to have a great time despite the grey and windy start to the day. There were 2 couples from Texas (the oldest in the group turning 70 next month) that were really good fun. A really sweet couple from the UK (Londoners, although Nora was originally from Wales but had what sounded like a Liverpool accent, confused me I can tell you). Plus our Canadian guide, Damian, his girlfriend Shelley (a Kiwi) and Damian's friend Jessie (another Canadian who was the 2nd guide for the group).

As Damian referred to the double kayaks as divorce boats, he shared with me rather than his girlfriend, so once again I got the best of the trip by being with the guide. Actually it was hilarious as Shelley spent a lot of the trip saying how hopeless Damian was and that they had no future. The couples loved winding Damian up by saying that every pretty secluded bay was a good spot to get engaged and I just took the mickey (unlike me I know). It was a real giggle.

We went far up in to the National park on an Aqua taxi to get our kayaks and we paddled out to an island that is a protected seal colony. There were seals swimming around the kayaks and seal pups watching us from the rocks (at only about 3 months old, they weren't allowed out to play by their mums). We headed to a bay to have our lunch and sleeping in the rocks by where we were eating was a big, lazy, male seal who had obviously gone there to escape from all the females.

After lunch we paddle towards Bark Bay where we were being picked up by Aqua Taxi at 4pm. Along there way were some great rocks that we navigated through paddling like mad and shreeking. It was great fun, bit of an adrenaline rush, although not really that scary. Not everyone went through them all, as I think that they thought we were a bit mad, but me & Damian were thrilled to see Ed & Virginia (Ed is the one turning 70 next month) following us through. We could hear Virginia going "Ed I said I didn't want to go through the rocks" while we saw them getting near the rocks and were shouting "Paddle harder!". They made it through fine, although I think I am getting to understand why they are called divorce boats.

This was the best kayak trip so far and I definitely have the bug now. Want to do more! Plus Abel Tasman is just a gorgeous place to kayak, everyone should go there! There is a sign up in the Park Cafe by the entrance to the national park that says "Smile, it's another lovely day in paradise", for me that summed it up. Abel Tasman is a little piece of paradise.

Anyway after that day trip I was sad to get up this morning and leave Abel Tasman for a 5 hour drive to Kaikora, which is where I am now. Nothing much to report about the journey, well except for the inferno part. As I was tackling the many bends coming towards Havelock, there were signs telling us to slow down to 30km/hr, I turned the bend and straight ahead of me the forest was on fire, with smoke coming out from the trees right next to the road (obviously they had that part under control or they wouldn't be letting traffic through, but it was still quite exciting). To our left where helicopters taking off with big buckets hanging under them, going over the trees and dropping water on the fire. It was pretty phenomenal to see in action, we didn't need any encouragement to all go at 30km as everyone was gawking out of their car windows. I couldn't help but feel sad though, as that beautiful wooded area was going up in smoke, I hope that they managed to contain it all quickly.

Well now I am in Kaikora. Weather permitting I am going Whale watching tomorrow morning at 9am (I checked in at Whale Watch and they think we should be good to go for the morning runs, although they are bit worried about the forecast for their trips going in the afternoon, glad that I followed the advice of the girl I spoke to when I booked, as she said I had a better chance of going out in the morning). Saturday morning at 5.30am I am going to swim with Dolphins (again weather permitting). Suffice it to say, I am not looking forward to the early start, or having to squeeze myself in to a wet suit again, but it is an experience that I really don't want to miss.

So that is my latest news... once again I have got completely carried away with all the details, but as you all know me, I can't help myself. At least I have managed to keep the tangents to a minimum!

Love to all