Last weekend was up there in the top 10 most amazing things I've done. I've waited 10 years to go to the Abel Tasman and it was well, well worth it 
. This is up in the north-west corner of NZ's South Island - we flew up to Nelson from Christchurch - only a 40 minute flight in another propeller plane.
Friday Night
Stepping off the plane in Nelson it was already noticeably warmer. This is the sunniest part of NZ, getting some 302 days of sunshine a year - definitely a change from the grey evening we left in Christchurch! Checked in to our room at the backpackers - not quite what we expected but cheap as chips so no problemo. Went out for pasta at Hot Rock Gourmet Pizza in Tahunanui which was awesome - would have had pizza if we hadn't already had that for lunch! Great range of local pilseners - Lighthouse and Harringtons are good. Back to the backpackers for not too good a sleep thanks to noisy French next door.
Day One
Every good roadtrip (well, kayak trip in this case) begins with a Maccas breakfast, lucky that was round the corner then. On to our bus to Motueka to get dropped off at the Sea Kayak Company in Motueka. No sign of Steve and Maureen yet. Had a quick briefing on the trip ahead of us before picking out what we needed to take (not a lot) and put everything in dry bags. 8 of us in our group plus the guide - a mix of Aussies, Kiwis, Canadian and a Sloth. Once everything was packed up, got in the van, stocked up on booze and took off to Marahau where we were starting paddling from.
Everything we had with us - that's all camping equipment, food and clothes was packed into our kayaks. Amazing how much stuff they can take - plus 2 people in each. Had a run-through of how to kayak, what to do if it goes wrong etc. before finally getting our skirts on and paddling away into the sea. Didn't know what sort of pace to expect, but was no pressure at all - everyone else in the group had only done a small amount of paddling so nobody really charging ahead. Once we got into a good rhythm it went very smoothly; sea kayaks have a rudder, which made steering loads easier just using the foot pedals. Paddled around Adele Island then out onto a more exposed part of the coast - "The Mad Mile". Our guide told us plenty of stories as we paddled - how this area was discovered, how the park was formed etc. Stopped for lunch at Bark Bay (I think!). Pleased we'd gone with the fully catered option - excellent gourmet food the whole time and plenty of it! Awesome carrot cake. Wouldn't have been quite the same if we'd been sitting there cooking instant noodles.
Packed the lunch stuff away, had a swim in the perfectly clear water, then back in the kayak to head up to our campsite for the night, Tonga Quarry. Stopped to have a look at the fur seals on Tonga Island - lots of young 'uns this time of year so making loads of noise. Hauled the kayaks up the beach and got the tent set up. Perfect location for us - "the honeymoon suite" overlooking the beach and Tonga Island. More swimming, then myself and SJ walked down the beach to check out the rockpools. Very low tide as was a full moon, so plenty to see - Starfish, Hermit Crabs, Snails, Sea Slugs, Urchins. I used to love rockpooling back in Cornwall - couldn't get enough of it this time either! Rescued a starfish (not chocolate) that was stuck too far up the beach - within minutes he was moving back to a safe spot on the side of a rock. Love it.
Back to the campsite just in time for Jan (our guide) to serve up dinner - chips and dips, pasta with meatballs and cake, all washed down with a bottle of Allan Scott Pinot Noir (quite suitable as Alan was already on our case). Sandflies, ah yes, there had to be something bad about all this, didn't there? Little bastards just don't give up, but use plenty insect repellant, cover up and never, ever itch them and you'll get through it. Myself, SJ and Jan went to check out the glowworms in the caves at the end of the beach. Turning off the headtorch there were loads of them - tiny lights all over the roof. Turning on the lights and there they were - some of the largest insects around - the Weta. Their physical appearance is that of a cross between a cockroach and a cricket with the addition of large legs. Right above my tete - huge one. Right next to the way out - even bigger! Got out of there pretty quick after seeing them - but good to know these ones don't bite and are deaf. Still, cave-dwelling FEAR.
Huge full moon outside, with thousands of stars, satellites and the occasional shooting star. Definitely quite a change from being in the city only the day before! Probably got to bed fairly early, hard to tell cos watch died on me, but who needs to know the time in a place like this. Great to get away from all electronics (apart from camera of course) for a few days.
Day Two
Sloth jumped up faster than any of you have seen him move in the morning - not even time for a "right, then". Sky was already starting to glow red, so straight to the beach to watch a beautiful sunrise. Only myself and 2 others had got up this early, so beach was unspoilt - the 4 metre tide having washed away any footprints. Got some fantastic photos, then back to campsite for breakfast of muffins and good coffee. No bacon to argue over 
. Feeling the aching from paddling already made it a bit harder to get the dry-bags back in the kayaks this morning, but soon enough we were off paddling out along the coast. Loads more seals along this part - very inquisitive like the dolphins, soon had them swimming along behind us, some even getting acrobatic. Apparently sometimes the young ones even jump up on the kayaks and sit there while you paddle along.
Cruised into the serene turquoise waters of Shag Harbour - tucked away through a narrow rocky passage this went straight up there as a highlight for me. So peaceful, so unspoilt. Plan was to come back again at high tide to go snorkelling in here. Following this we had quite a long, tougher paddle across deeper water to Totaranui beach. Got quite a big campsite here and this is accessible by road, so was a lot busier than other spots we'd been to. Another great lunch and swim before back in the kayaks to head round the coast to our final campsite, Anapai Bay. Of all of the campsites in the Park, this was Jan's favourite, and we could see why. Unspoilt beach with soft golden sand and only room for 6 tents (5 of them being ours). Got the tent set up right back in the middle of the bush this time - Cicada making an ever-louder racket in all the trees, as well as leaving their empty larvae cases everywhere.
Went for a bit of snorkelling and saw a few urchins and big shoals of fish. As we were now out of the marine reserve, we're told it's ok to grab what we like for dinner. Sloth jumps straight in for this and starts collecting huge green-lipped mussels from the rocks - enough for a starter for everyone - damn good they were too! Can't get any fresher than that, can you?! Vege curry followed by pavlova and more stories of Abel Tasman, this time with a bottle of Hunter's Pinot Noir. Unfortunately the clouds came in so no more stargazing tonight; Alan got hold of us by the scruff of the neck.
Day Three
Anyone still reading? Bit of Slothanory isn't it? But so much to tell from this incredible trip. Up again to catch sunrise, but only just this time. Only Jan had got up for it - this was his last trip before heading back to Canada. Croissants, coffee and another walk along the beach with SJ. We would have carried on to the top of the coast (Separation Point) however we had a southerly wind, so had to get cracking back down south. Normally they have a northerly so the trip back is much easier and quicker. Shoulder pain and a blister wasn't allowed to get the better of me as we stuck close to coastline on the way back down - eventually though I found a technique that worked more comfortably - seems that pushing forwards rather than actually pulling back with the paddles works much better.
Stopped for a well-earned break in an awesome spot at Awaroa Inlet then continued south to a tiny beach just before Shag Harbour for lunch. Great the way our guide could still serve up a nice spread on the 3rd day with no eskie / fridge etc. to keep stuff fresh. Into Shag Harbour at high tide this time - quite different but still amazing. Paddled round as far as we could go then dumped the kayak to get snorkelling. Jan had spotted a huge stingray, which we watched from the kayak. Unfortunately he hadn't realised the time and we'd already overrun - I was the only one to get snorkelling and was just getting into it before we had to make a quick exit. Gutted, but we'll be back some day and this place won't change.
In fairly choppy seas we paddled our final bit back to Onetahuti beach where we unloaded everything and jumped on our waiting water taxi. Wish I'd got a photo of this boat with 8 kayaks on the back - still managed to nail it along the water though. As we approached a catamaran to drop somebody off, there was a pod of around 30 Bottlenose Dolphins in front of us. The guides jumped straight in to swim with them - wish I had too but these aren't quite as playful as the Dusky Dolphins. So much bigger too - around 3 metres long! That really just capped off an incredible trip.
Now we're Farming
Now this really should've had a photo! There we were in our water taxi with the kayaks on the back - the boat then gets put up on to a trailer and a tractor takes us back across the shallow water onto dry land. Tractors farming it out everywhere. John Deere, Massey, Ford, you name it they had it. Back to base for a quick swim then on to our accom for the night at Baker's Lodge in Motueka. Was great to get out of the same t-shirt i'd been wearing for 3 days covered in salt and sweat.
Farmed in to town for food and ended up getting a stonegrill - massive steak to cook ourselves and some well-earned beers and wine. Ended up having a few in Hot Mamas where there was a Bob Marley tribute band - nothing special. Great free muffins on getting back to Bakers Lodge.
Waitangi Day
Tuesday was Waitangi Day, the big national holiday to celebrate the signing of the treaty between the European settlers and the Maoris. Lucky then that we found out there was a big celebration/festival going on at the local Marae. This involved a welcome by the Maori elders and a Hongi (traditional greeting where you press your nose against the other) - Sloth in with all of this of course! Had some interesting talks in the meeting house about the history of the Marae, the Treaty and what all the carvings mean. Out the back there was the festival and a Hangi.
A great day considering all we had planned was a round of mini-golf! Rounded off with some awesome kebabs, couple of swift ones, before our flight back to slightly-grey Christchurch.
How's that for a Slothanory then? Hope you enjoyed it, I haven't read back though it so hope it makes sense too. One of my Top 10 things I've done. So lucky to have Sarah-Jaye here to enjoy it with me.
The End.