Back to Nature!
Kia Ora!
I am back from my nature adventure, and wearing warm, dry clothes! YAY!
The first day, Monday, was gorgeous. The sun was shining and the sea (Tasman Sea) was calm and a lovely turquoise-blue color. I got a lift to the Kaiteriteri beach, where I met my fellow travelers and guide. We were a group of six, with a nice international blend.
Lucy, a freelance journalist of primarily health-related articles for magazines
and Dan, a review editor for Empire magazine, hailed from London, England
Krista, an opthamologist from Vancouver doing a fellowship in Auckland for a year
Tim, a pilot from Brisbane, Australia, who is living and working in Hong Kong
Rene, from Switzerland
and Matty, a native Kiwi, our blonde-haired, dreadlocked 20-something year-old guide
I set out in my two-person sea kayaks with Rene, and cruised along the coast. We kayaked close to seals who swam alongside our boats, and watched them frolick like puppies (they were so cute!). They play like dogs do, wrestling with their mouths open. They are quite the pests, and enjoy playing and pushing each other off of rocks.
It's funny to see a seal climb up a rock, clearly to take a break and have a nap in the sunshine, and another one (or sometimes two) will poke him, or bite his butt, and make him so annoyed that he jumps into the water and starts scrapping with the others. My kind of animals!! ; )
We paddled along the coastline and explored remote harbors and lagoons. One in particular was called Shag Harbor, and it was full of caves. The water was so calm and quiet... it was extraordinarily peaceful and serene. We just kind of floating along, listening for birds (called Shags), and watching to see if any seals were in the harbor.
It was magnificent.
After a full day of paddling and sunshine, and before I could burn anymore (the sun is so strong!), we pulled our kayaks ('yaks) up on the beach at Bark Bay.
From the moment that we set the kayaks on the beach and started setting up camp, the wind picked up and we knew we were in for a stormy night. : )
The wind was strong, but we set up our tents and Matty started cooking dinner. While he got our vegetable curry cooking, Lucy and I decided to make a fire. We had a delicious dinner, complete with white wine, and we talked a lot about traveling and adventures.
For dessert, we made chocolate fondue with fresh fruit. Heavenly!!
We cleaned up dishes, and Matty said "C'mon Family, let's take a walk on the stormy beach!" So we strolled along, listening to the roaring of the waves crashing, feeling the rain and sea spray on our faces, and the wind whipping around us. It was so beautiful. We met up with a DOC (Dept of Conservation) employee who told us to move the 'yaks off the beach unless we wanted to lose them, because the storm was coming. By the time we decided to go to bed, the rain was falling hard, and it felt like our little 2 person tents were going to fly away!
It poured all night!
The next morning, the weather station announced gale force winds of 45 knots (almost 90 km/h) coming from the South. Since that meant we would be traveling into a headwind for the whole 6 hours back, Matty made the announcement that the sea kayak leg was cancelled. Regardless of the fact that it was pouring rain, and that we had a 20km hike back, a few of us (Tim, Krista, and me) decided to have an adventure! (Naturally!)
So we packed up our stuff, and although I wasn't wearing much more than a pair of polypropylene bottoms, a wool top, and sandals, we headed out for a hike along the Abel Tasman trail from Bark Bay to Marahau. It was supposed to take 7 hours of tramping up and down the coastal trail, through mud, and along the edges of the cliffs, but it took us only 4 hours and 20mins. (We boogied!) The trail was similar to the West Coast trail, but was a bit wider and much smoother, so I didn't have to navigate roots and slippery sections as much. We even had a bouncy suspension bridge to cross.
It was pouring rain the whole time, but because we were quite sheltered in the forest, I didn't get that wet. It wasn't until the last hour of the tramp, along the shores of the sea, that I got drenched. It was so much fun. We had great conversations about McDonald's & Super Size Me, life in Australia, New Zealand wildlife and flora, and the Canadian healthcare system in comparison to Australia And New Zealand. Time flies when you talk a lot! : )
We arrived sopping wet about 2 hours earlier than expected, and bumped into Lucy and Dan. After a steaming cup of long black coffee, they gave us a lift back to the Kaiteriteri beach. From there, the Kayak tour group trucked the three of us back to Nelson. We arrived at the backpackers freezing and wet, but very happy. It was an exhausting couple of days, but it felt so good getting back to the simple things in life!
I am back from my nature adventure, and wearing warm, dry clothes! YAY!
The first day, Monday, was gorgeous. The sun was shining and the sea (Tasman Sea) was calm and a lovely turquoise-blue color. I got a lift to the Kaiteriteri beach, where I met my fellow travelers and guide. We were a group of six, with a nice international blend.
Lucy, a freelance journalist of primarily health-related articles for magazines
and Dan, a review editor for Empire magazine, hailed from London, England
Krista, an opthamologist from Vancouver doing a fellowship in Auckland for a year
Tim, a pilot from Brisbane, Australia, who is living and working in Hong Kong
Rene, from Switzerland
and Matty, a native Kiwi, our blonde-haired, dreadlocked 20-something year-old guide
I set out in my two-person sea kayaks with Rene, and cruised along the coast. We kayaked close to seals who swam alongside our boats, and watched them frolick like puppies (they were so cute!). They play like dogs do, wrestling with their mouths open. They are quite the pests, and enjoy playing and pushing each other off of rocks.
It's funny to see a seal climb up a rock, clearly to take a break and have a nap in the sunshine, and another one (or sometimes two) will poke him, or bite his butt, and make him so annoyed that he jumps into the water and starts scrapping with the others. My kind of animals!! ; )
We paddled along the coastline and explored remote harbors and lagoons. One in particular was called Shag Harbor, and it was full of caves. The water was so calm and quiet... it was extraordinarily peaceful and serene. We just kind of floating along, listening for birds (called Shags), and watching to see if any seals were in the harbor.
It was magnificent.
After a full day of paddling and sunshine, and before I could burn anymore (the sun is so strong!), we pulled our kayaks ('yaks) up on the beach at Bark Bay.
From the moment that we set the kayaks on the beach and started setting up camp, the wind picked up and we knew we were in for a stormy night. : )
The wind was strong, but we set up our tents and Matty started cooking dinner. While he got our vegetable curry cooking, Lucy and I decided to make a fire. We had a delicious dinner, complete with white wine, and we talked a lot about traveling and adventures.
For dessert, we made chocolate fondue with fresh fruit. Heavenly!!
We cleaned up dishes, and Matty said "C'mon Family, let's take a walk on the stormy beach!" So we strolled along, listening to the roaring of the waves crashing, feeling the rain and sea spray on our faces, and the wind whipping around us. It was so beautiful. We met up with a DOC (Dept of Conservation) employee who told us to move the 'yaks off the beach unless we wanted to lose them, because the storm was coming. By the time we decided to go to bed, the rain was falling hard, and it felt like our little 2 person tents were going to fly away!
It poured all night!
The next morning, the weather station announced gale force winds of 45 knots (almost 90 km/h) coming from the South. Since that meant we would be traveling into a headwind for the whole 6 hours back, Matty made the announcement that the sea kayak leg was cancelled. Regardless of the fact that it was pouring rain, and that we had a 20km hike back, a few of us (Tim, Krista, and me) decided to have an adventure! (Naturally!)
So we packed up our stuff, and although I wasn't wearing much more than a pair of polypropylene bottoms, a wool top, and sandals, we headed out for a hike along the Abel Tasman trail from Bark Bay to Marahau. It was supposed to take 7 hours of tramping up and down the coastal trail, through mud, and along the edges of the cliffs, but it took us only 4 hours and 20mins. (We boogied!) The trail was similar to the West Coast trail, but was a bit wider and much smoother, so I didn't have to navigate roots and slippery sections as much. We even had a bouncy suspension bridge to cross.
It was pouring rain the whole time, but because we were quite sheltered in the forest, I didn't get that wet. It wasn't until the last hour of the tramp, along the shores of the sea, that I got drenched. It was so much fun. We had great conversations about McDonald's & Super Size Me, life in Australia, New Zealand wildlife and flora, and the Canadian healthcare system in comparison to Australia And New Zealand. Time flies when you talk a lot! : )
We arrived sopping wet about 2 hours earlier than expected, and bumped into Lucy and Dan. After a steaming cup of long black coffee, they gave us a lift back to the Kaiteriteri beach. From there, the Kayak tour group trucked the three of us back to Nelson. We arrived at the backpackers freezing and wet, but very happy. It was an exhausting couple of days, but it felt so good getting back to the simple things in life!
posted by lala at 7:20 PM
1 Comments:
Would love to see some photos of Matty. :) And he can cook!?
Post a Comment
<< Home