happiness abounds: nz day 7: abel tasman adventure begins

We had stayed the night in the Fellworth House in Nelson. This house is an old mansion that has been turned into a hostel. It was pretty interesting but not a place to stay for several nights. It is a hostel, after all.

Our bedroom in the Fellworth House.

Fellworth House

Kristin's journal entry: "The next morning (Nov. 28), we got up bright and early to drive to the Sea Kayak Company. We checked in with a woman who was making an evil fairy costume for a Christmas party (weird!). Our guide was really fun. She was impressed (and slightly worried) by how little we packed, but we got a smaller plastic kayak as a result. She taught us and two other couples the basic instructions and safety procedures, and we were off on our own by 10:30."

Nathan became a master kayaker. :-)

Nathan's journal entry: "Sea kayaking at Abel Tasman was a great experience, but not one that I plan on ever repeating. Kayaking was less strenuous than I had expected. I knew that my shoulder was sore from only two hours of rafting in Queenstown, and Kristin got sore after only one hour of kayaking in Sacramento, so I was planning for very sore arms. While Kristin's arms were really sore the first night, she did really well on the second day and didn't mention any arm soreness after that. My arms never got sore because it was easy paddling. What made it tough for me was sitting in that tiny seat with pressure on my lower back. So discomfort was one part I can live without, but the main drawback was that the whole experience was nerve-wracking!"

Kristin's journal entry: "Kayaking was harder than I think we both expected because of the waves and the sea breeze. My arms were practically numb by the end of the day, especially after the Mad Mile (an area with exposed headwinds). Our boat bobbed like crazy. We stopped at Stilwell Beach for a bathroom break, Watering Cove for lunch, and then Te Pukatea for a break. We saw a few penguins, lots of water birds, and one seal. From Te Pukatea, we hiked to Pitt Head to get a better view. There's a funny "lighthouse" close by - it's basically a light bulb propped up by some boards."

Kristin maintains that these are penguins. Nathan isn't so sure. If you think Kristin is wrong, please don't tell her...she likes penguins too much to bear that disappointment.

We called this Kiwi Rock because it looked like a kiwi bird!

Nathan actually smiled for this photo!

Nathan's journal entry: "I was steering trying to stay close to the shore for protection from waves while avoiding rocks that were sometimes hidden behind successive waves (those would pull the kayak closer to them with the way the waves moved around them). Steering also meant being mindful of the waves so that they did not push us into rocks or hit us directly from the side even when we were headed perpendicular to the direction the waves were traveling. There were so many things that could go wrong that I rarely felt comfortable outside of the peaceful coves, especially once I realized that those mild ocean waves that were barely forming white caps were taller than our little kayak and could toss us around if we were careless. Despite that, I enjoyed most of the kayaking because the Abel Tasman coast is rugged and beautiful and needs to be seen from the water."

Nathan's journal entry: "The first day was gorgeous, and we stopped at several beaches. With all the getting in and out of the kayak, followed by the walk to Cleopatra's pool (which has a pretty awesome natural spillway), sand had rubbed parts of our feet raw, primarily in the arch of the foot. My right foot bled a little that night, but it wasn't bad. The views and experience were worth it.

View from Pitt Head.

The paths right off the beach were gorgeous!

This photo shows the "lighthouse"...can you find it? Hint: top left corner.

Kristin's journal entry: "We kayaked to Anchorage to camp for the night. It was a pretty beach, but unfortunately, there were a lot of baby penguins that had died and washed up on shore. After setting up our tent, we hiked to Cleopatra's Pool. It was a pretty hike, but we got sand in our shoes, and our feet got really raw. The camp itself was a really nice one and fairly quiet considering the number of people there. A large group of teenagers was there, but they all went to bed after a trumpet played something similar to Taps. It was a powerful trumpet!"