Nelson-Abel Tasman (and back down again to catch the ferry) 16th-18th February

Carrying on from Nelson up to Abel Tasman we continued to be followed by cloud, it's getting beyond funny now! However we booked a kayaking trip and stayed a night just outside the park hoping the next day's weather would be more fruitful. Luckily for us it was, we had a really nice sunny day for our sea kayaking.

The kayaking was a really cool experience, until now we have been on bigger ships so quite far away from the wildlife we see but the kayaks allowed us to get up close enough to see and hear a little seal pup with its mum! Even when there was no wildlife to be seen the place was incredible, textbook golden sand (it looked like sherbet) and rainforest that came right up to the waters edge, no wonder it is placed as one of the top 5 beaches in the world.

At the end of the day we were pretty tired, 5 hours of paddling in kayak takes it out of you, we had just enough energy to stomach the 3 hour drive to the terminals ready for our ferry to the north island on the 18th of February. We are on the north island now, enjoying Wellington, the first proper city we have been in for 3 weeks (buildings with more than 3 storeys etc). We are moving on shortly to do yet more kayaking but this time on a river and for three days! Thanks for all the messages, we're hoping we will still have some arms left to write the next blog!

Love Alex and Sophie xxxxx