Abel Tasman

We just finished three days in Abel Tasman National Park and then today in the Kahurangi National Park. Abel Tasman is the countries smallest national park, but also the most frequented. It's most famous for it's sea kayaking and coastal hiking track. We rented a kayak and spent two nights in at Bark Bay while kayaking around the coast during the day. The granite sand and sunny skies make for some of the most beautiful, clear blue water that I've ever seen. The first day was spent with a guide, Kyle, and two other travelers from England. Peak season is still a couple of weeks away and we were fortunate to have a smaller group. By the time we were paddling out of the park on Saturday most groups consisted of 8 or more people.

Kayaking was an extremely intimate way to see the park. During high tide we were easily able to paddle up several of the estuaries and streams feeding into the ocean. Several islands were also easily accessible including Tonga Island, the most popular, located in the wildlife reserve. Sea lions were all over the islands and the coast line - some of them sun bathing and others floating at the surface of the water balancing with one flap in the air. We snuck up a little too close to one and he growled at us a bit. On one occasion we saw a sea lion jumping out of the water and standing on its head. Birds were also more than abundant and we were able to cruise by a couple nests. We even spotted the Kiwi Experience drivers again - seems we're following a similar path through the country.

Since kayaking is an entirely upper body workout, we were also able to hike several miles of the coasal track in the evening - the combination was fun and exhausting. We were extremely lucky with the weather and spent most of all three days enjoying the most sun we've seen since being in New Zealand. I can't even begin to explain how overwhelmingly beautiful this place is and the pictures barely do it justice.

We finished kayaking Abel Tasman on Saturday and immediately started driving towards the west coast town of Westport. The weather quickly turned back to the standard downpour, but we decided to spend the next day hiking in the Oparara Basin within the Kaharungi National Park - a windy and rainy two hour drive North of Westport. We spent most of the day on short day hikes and exploring a couple sandstone arches and caves. The caves were our favorite part - not that the hikes were bad, but because it made the area unique. We saw more glow worms, New Zealands biggest spider, and some more wetas.

We're now in Greymouth and continuing South tommorrow towards Franz Josef - famous for two glaciers (Franz Josef and Fox). Adam Buckfelder (one of our friends from the Stennis) is supposed to be in town as well, so hopefully we get a chance to meet up. Nicole is set on doing some ice climbing tommorrow - a first for both of us!