Sam and Lucy's blog: kayak

Paddling the Abel Tasman coast

New Zealand's nine great walks are said to showcase the separate and unique tramping and hiking experiences the countries landscape has to offer. So once we reached the warmer weathers of northern south island, we couldn't ignore the endless options available to complete this classic trip.

The 55.2km trail can be hiked, kayaked, water taxied, sailed and even probably swam, although they don't advertise swimming it. So with the lonely planet guide highlighting kayaking in the Abel Tasman as one of the top 20 things to do in NZ. We decided hiring some boats for a sea kayak expedition was a must do. Unfortunately, due to the powers that be, hiring kayaks without a guide for the whole of the trail is a no go for all the companies we found. This meant a compromise of two days paddling and two days walking.

Three days of sunshine and one of showers and rain, made the blue bird start very promising. After the short but informative brief out the way, it was us, two boats and the Tasman Sea.

Straight from the off, we broke away from the pack and headed in the opposite direction. Probably, worrying the hire company into thinking that they just lent boats to three people who can't tell their left from their right.... Twenty minutes in the opposite direction of the start of the trail, hides the peculiar rock formation called, split apple rock. This fifteen foot rock is amazingly split right down the middle and perched onto a small outcrop some distance from the coast. With our sight seeing tour started, we began our journey north along the coast.

Split apple rock

I'm not sure if it's the primordial urge for competition, but when there's a clear marker in front of you, this time it was the paddlers we set off with, all I want to do is beat that marker. Just like when out cycling and a cyclist appears in the distance, the challenge of chasing them down and overtaking them is the only thing that starts to matter. This time was no different.

With the trail being so popular, even as autumn starts to show, dozens of people took to the water the same day we did. Hire groups, guided groups, it didn't matter. They were all now silhouetted challenges on the horizon.

As we crossed Sandy Bay and our start point, we had an opportunity to marvel at our position; blue sky, calm sea and the flooding of muscle memory as we fell into the rhythm of paddling. That's when the urge started to fail, and as soon as we pulled up to our first golden beach to have a quick snack and drink, it fell away completely.

Short crossing to Adel islamd

With the competitive urge gone, we fell into a steady pace that seemed to pass the time quickly. A visit to the seal colony on Adele island and an early lunch, we quickly found ourselves on 'the mad mile'. One of the more exposed bits of coast, and luckily for us a sea breeze had kicked in, causing wind

over the tide and giving a mile of standard British sea conditions. Arriving in Anchorage at 3pm with big Cheshire cat grins and slightly damp clothing, we had loads of time to set up camp and enjoy the fantastic Torrant bay. Golden sand, blue skies and lush green forests, there's no surprise this camp spot and many along the trail have a two night maximum stay.

Anchorage

The second day of paddling was the day we were looking forward to; caves, bays, rivers and rock arches, tons of exploring. Packing the boats with calm seas and a warm sun rise was a perfect start.

Our trip managed to coincide with the biggest tides of the year, with high tide bang on in the middle of the day. This gave us easy access to French and Falls river's where we managed to spot a kingfisher and have some chilled out moments away from the sea. Paddling round the second bit of exposed coast 'foul point' was anticlimactic with the calm seas, but made paddling through a small rock arch enjoyable.

First tracks

Packing up

French river

Arriving at Onetahuti, our weather luck finally broke. The rain kicked in and looked like it was staying. Luckily, we had managed to unload the boats and pack our bags before the rain started properly.

We didn't need a psychologist to read the emotions of the other ten people sheltering in the cramped cooking shelter. Everyone missed the sun, already.

It took twenty minutes of walking in the rain before Amy voiced what all three of us were thinking, 'I miss the kayaks'. However, the two hours and a tidal crossing to the camp spot for the night passed quick enough. So when we rocked up to the camp spot which didn't have a cooking shelter, I took great comfort in drying off and getting dry warm clothes on in the tent.

A comforting end, to a contrasting day.

Grey skies over the coast

Waking up to drizzle on our first full day of walking was the motivation we needed to get up, packed and walking towards the next camp spot and a cooking shelter. Walking into the giant Totaranui camp, we were slightly blown away by the size of the 870 space camp spot. Once under a shelter we cooked, ate and dried off a little and by the time we set off again the weather was looking up again.

Apart from the Pacific NZ tree's, the coastal track had a very Cornish feel about it. The golden bays, light blue sea and granite cliffs dropping into the sea. Time seemed to flow from one bay to the next and before we knew it, we were at our final camp spot of the trail. Whariwharangi bay couldn't have been a more perfect final night, even if we tried. A dozen cheeky Weka bird's exploring our tents for food, a big golden bay and more mussels than you could dream of. This opportunity couldn't be passed and despite the grimace from the two vegetarians, I enjoyed maybe the two freshest steamed mussels I have ever had.

A friendly Weka

Mussels...

Waiting to open

Waking on the final day, we knew we had the toughest challenge of the trail ahead of us. It wasn't the 200 metre high hill, or the 6km to the car park, but the 21km hitch we needed to get back to the car. Luckily for us, our third car was a local dairy technician and kindly took us all the way, even though it was slightly out of his way. Another show of human kindness, despite our obvious four day hiking smell.

The final bay

All in all another fantastic experience on one of NZ's great walks. Although we would have loved to have completed the coast just by sea kayak, the walking gave us the contrast experience and by the end, we felt we had completed the Abel Tasman inside and out. A very diverse, flexible and varied track that has endless possible ways of enjoying the coast.

"Sam I'm going to chop some wood so we can get tea started" Lucy informs me, as I tap away at the computer trying to find the more interesting videos we've filmed over the past month. Our gas has ran out, so we're cooking on the wood burner again.
We have two more days here then it's back into the unknown again. Here, being a cabin quite literally in the middle of the woods, albeit a small woods it seems just as spooky as wannabe Blair witch project shack. It's one of Peel Forest Outdoor Pursuits Centres eco lodges, an off the grid cabin powered by solar panels, heated by fire and hot water from solar tubes.
We've been here for three weeks volunteering; painting, gardening, rafting, painting, kayaking, walking, filling in pot holes and more painting, but another three would easily pass by if we didn't have somewhere to be and by then we would be semi professional painters! A lot of the work has been the standard maintenance upkeep of the centre; of gardening, sorting and storing of kit and also the painting of a new eco lodge. It's the same as the one we're staying in; with 8 bunks, solar power, solar water, kitchenette, wood burner and a compost toilet. These cabins have a very modern feel, despite being a five minute walk into the woods and our stay has been very comfy with only two of us in an eight person cabin.
The location is great, two hours from Christchurch, thirty minutes from a decent sized town for the essentials but in the sticks enough to have the 'detached from the world' feeling. It's also on the door step to a variety of adventures and since being here we have walked up little mount Peel, kayaked and rafted down the lower Rangitata river, abseiled through some jungle and waded up a stream to a back country valley. Working with groups, but not having the overall responsibility of the activities has been refreshing and comfortable, as has the introduction of raft guiding from the very friendly staff of the centre. I could image nothing better than on a nice sunny, warm day, sat on the back of the raft helping some clients find their way down some fun and interesting rapids, wooping and wailing as we bounce from rock to rock. Just another qualification to chase I suppose...
With only one gas hob and a hot plate on the wood burner we've had to be organised with our meals, but I can comfortably say that this is the healthiest we've ate in a while. No oven, means no pizzas or chips, only fresh veg, pasta rice and stir fry's, and because the shops are 30 minutes away the junk foods of chocolates, cola and crisps are rationed instead of scoffed.
Now it's 9:30 and it looks like it's going to be an over cast night, meaning that the trees won't cast their werid and wonderful shadows into the room, which always seem to play with the imaginations, on top of the racket of the pesky possums that like to play on the porch. I hope I don't dream about painting...