We were excited to do the
full day kayaking tour that was had booked around Abel Tasman. A friend of our
told us that this was the best thing she had done in all of New Zealand.
It wasn't a bad day for
kayaking. It was a little cold to start off with but once with all the gear on
like the splash suit and kayak skirt, it was good.
We paddled down the coast
from Tonga Bay down to Anchorage swinging by a couple of islands including
Tonga Island to view some seals.
It was a decent day out in
the outdoors with the sun staying behind the clouds until the tour was over.
The water was very calm despite our guide expecting 30 knot winds. We saw a
couple of seals, but not the hundreds fighting over prime mating rocks that
would have been cool in a couple weeks time.
So far, I have to say New
Zealand had been rather disappointing. Shannon and I seem to have arrived probably
at a bad time during the year. All the travel literature we're using shows
people frolicking on the beaches and taking swims in pools after long hikes,
but it's been too cold and windy most of the time to take off my fleece. Here
at Abel Tasman, we're probably a month too early to see the seals and whales,
as well as enjoy the fruit season and even flowering of the vineyard plants.
The prices are expensive for
what we're used to, and I can't help but keep thinking about beach, warmth and
dirt cheap stuff in Asia, especially when we gave in this evening for a
delicious Thai meal in Motueka.
Doing some reading for our
trip ahead, it doesn't look too much more different. Queenstown looks interesting
being the adventure capital of the world, but Fiordland sounds similar to what
we have back home.
What's been good is that we
haven't had a problem finding relatively inexpensive accommodation and not
booking ahead of time. But I guess this is the tradeoff for low season.
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