Salty Sea Dogs
We were up horribly early on Friday morning to get ready for kayaking, but for once we managed get somewhere on time
We jumped in a water taxi which took us all the way from Kaiteriteri to Mutton Cove, and then we paddled to Separation Point, which is the very northern tip of the Abel Tasman National Park. We were thrilled to see fur seals and penguins fairly early on (we had no idea at the time just how many seals we would get to see on our way back down the coast). From this point onward we were paddling back down the coast, and so with the current, making our lives a whole lot easier! We had a fair bit of wind and swell, so we were pleased not to have to battle against the current as well. We camped the first night at Onetahuti beach, and we were spoilt rotten by our guides with the food and drink that they came up with. The trip was not turning out to be as tough as we had expected!
Day two had us leaving Onetahuti fairly early in order to paddle round to Shag Harbour. This is a tiny ‘harbour’ which we were hoping to paddle in to as it’s supposed to be beautiful at high tide. Unfortunately we were too late and had to abandon our kayaks and walk in instead. We still got an idea of what it would be like with the water, and got ‘up close and personal’ with a few more seals!
Later we visited the seal colony at Tonga Island, and then stopped for lunch and a swim at the beach near Tonga Quarry. The evening’s campsite was at Bark’s Bay, which had a gorgeous lagoon so we went back out on the kayaks, and Giles finally got to have a go in a single kayak, and spent ages practising his eskimo rolls.
Once again we were spoilt with our food in the evening, the highlight for me was the chocolate fondue although I was very surprised to learn that I was not the biggest chocoholic in the group, and had to give in and let Graham have the final ‘cleaning the bowl’ duty!
Our third day was a long day of paddling, but again, more seals, more beautiful golden beaches, and more fantastic coastal scenery. Unfortunately we had rain for the last hour we were out on the water so we all arrived back in Kaiteriteri looking like drowned rats! However, a good time was had by all, and we were all sad that it had come to an end (although maybe our arms were glad of the rest).
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