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We woke up at 7 a.m. and microwaved the remainder of our pizza bread. We settled up for the campsite (it, like many places in NZ, ran according to the honor system. The office had been closed when we arrived the prior night, so we were allowed to use facilities, water and electricity as long as we paid them in the morning).
We headed a short way down the street to Ocean River Kayaks. We had been in touch with We were introduced to Julie, who would be our guide for the day. Also in our group were Liz (a nurse from the UK who was working in NZ for a while) and a couple from Switzerland. Julie gave us some quick paddling instructions, and we stowed our gear in the kayaks. Julie had forgotten her sunglasses, so she borrowed a pair of amber '70's Elvis Presley style ones from the lost and found. She never heard the end of that! The weather was warm enough that we were wearing shorts. We put on our splash skirts and life jackets and loaded the kayaks and paddles onto a trailer, which was being pulled by a tractor. We sat in the front of the trailer and were pulled down the street and onto the low tide beach by the trailer. It was surreal, as it was prime time for kayaking, and various groups of kayakers were all doing the exact same thing, with the same tractors and small trailers. Craig was in the back of the kayak, and was in charge of steering via foot pedals which turned the rudder, and I was in the front. Julie told us to get into the kayak, paddle like crazy until we are off the beach, and then adjust our spray skirts. Our cameras were in dry boxes secured by bungy cord to the kayak. Our water bottles were also secured by the bungy. Well, as soon as we got into the water, a huge wave came in. We didn't capsize, but we were totally drenched. We were sitting in a couple of inches of water, and my water bottle was nowhere to be seen. I would not see it again. We affixed our splash skirts (a little late to be of use, but...) When we got past the breaking point of the waves it was much calmer. We had views of Marlborough Sounds and Adele Island and the sunlight was reflecting off the water. We paddled across an open expanse of ocean until we got closer to the coastline. We then followed the coastline. The water was pretty calm until we came to the infamous "mad mile" which featured prominent swells. Near the end of the mad mile we stopped at Te Pukatea Bay for morning tea and hot chocolate and raisin bread. The beach was gorgeous. It was virtually empty, and the sand was striated in different colors and textures due to the workings of the tide. There were some gulls as well as some black birds with bring orange beaks (which we later learned were oystercatchers). I took a walk down the beach to photograph them, and then rejoined the group. Julie led us up a track through some gnarled, funky tree groves to a spot where we could look out onto the beach from above. We then tramped a little further and got to a point where we could see Anchorage (our ultimate destination). On our hike back down to the beach, we heard R2-D2 again. We excitedly asked Julie its identity. She said that it was a bellbird. Toward the end of our hike, I captured one on film. They are green and rather larger than I expected. We got back into our boats and paddled to Torrent Bay. There is a sandbar and a neat lagoon that only fills up at high tide. We crossed the sand bar, looked at the interesting lagoons, coves, and caves, and then set ashore. By now the clouds had increased and the air was chillier. I went in search of the rest room which was fabled to be just down the beach. I ended up wandering around a rustic "resort" and eventually found their rustic facilities. By the time I found my way back to the group, Craig was taking a dip, after being challenged by Julie. He had gotten into the water and as the lagoon had filled, the water pushed him along with the current. Liz took a photo for him so that he could prove he had swum, since it was taking me so long to return. But I returned just as he was about to get out. Julie made us lunch (lamb fajitas with all the fixings). She tried to pass it off as seal meat. She obviously didn't know whom she was dealing with. If we'll eat guinea pig, you'll have to do better than that! We then had tea and oatmeal cookies as the sandflies had us. Now that the tide was in, we were able to really fully explore the lagoon and a river's confluence with the ocean. We then paddled to Anchorage, and pulled ashore at around 3:20. This is the destination for many one-day and multi-day kayak trips. Julie, Liz, and the Swiss couple were heading on the next day. Liz was staying onboard a fishing boat that served as a backpackers, and the others were tenting. We got onto an aqua taxi (crowded motorboat) to take us back to the Ocean River headquarters. It took about 20 minutes just to get back to where the tractor had dropped us off, which gives you an idea of how far we paddled (13 or 14 km, according to Jude). When we arrived at the beach, the whole water taxi boat was winched onto a trailer, and a tractor pulled our stuffed boat up the boat ramp. It then drove down the street and let us off at Ocean River. Again, how surreal! Back at the headquarters, we took hot showers and then used the hot tub. Our arms were really sore, and the spa felt very good. We then took one more warm shower to wash the chlorine off, bought some t-shirts and postcards from Jude, and went back to the camper van. Although we would be staying in town again tonight, Jude recommended a different campground called Old McDonald's Farm. We decided why not stay at a different place, so we headed down the street to Old MacDonald's. It's a working farm with tent and camping sites. On the way to our site we saw chickens, cows, pigs, sheep, and even a llama. After checking out our site, we drove back to Hooked on Marahau for dinner. Tonight I got a peach Archers and a "vege strudel" (filo dough filled with veggies and cottage cheese) with garlic mashed potatoes and tomato sauce. It was quite tasty, and the veggies were pleasantly al dente. Craig got a 350 gram rib eye with potatoes, mushrooms, bleu cheese, and au jus. He had a Mac's Copperhop to drink. Dinner was so good. Craig thinks this was the best restaurant we hit on the entire trip. We signed the guest book, and by the time all was said and done we had no room for dessert (a first for me!) We went back to the campground and did a load of laundry. While it was finishing up, I wrote in the journal and we listened to our new "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" CD, and planned tomorrow's activities. |
 Craig sea kayaking at Abel Tasman  Craig and Steph sea kayaking at Abel Tasman  Te Pukatea Bay at Abel Tasman  Hiking at Te Pukatea Bay"  Te Pukatea Bay at Abel Tasman  Julie cooking lamb fajitas on the beach 
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