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We stumbled out of bed after our short sleep and headed to Motueka quickly to grab our lunch and dinner for that day. We had arrange to meet the girls at the supermarket but we took a while deciding what to eat and when we came outside they were nowhere to be seen. Unsure if they had gone without us or hadn't yet arrived we thought we better make our way to Marahau as time was running out to get there. Fortunately, as we were heading towards where we thought the place was we saw Tongaroa parked up in the street and swung in just in time to join the trip...phew! We got dressed up in some fetching wet suits and packed our food in the kayaks and headed to the beach where we would set off from. Perfect conditions awaited us, our luck with the winter weather continuing to impress us. A quick lesson on how to get in an out of the kayak from a guide and we were let loose into the ocean. The first island we were aiming for was fisherman island which was a mere 4kms away. We quickly leant the signal for distress was to put one oar in the air, as we were politely saying hi to a passing boat we were shocked to see it re-route and come to our aid. As thankful as we were to their concern we quickly apologised and they were back on there way not too happy about the change of course we had made them take, although it made us all laugh. After that we motored over there in no time at all then parked up the kayaks and began to explore. After we had conquered the small island we decided to tackle something a bit larger under good supervision from our guide Caitlin we headed towards Adele island. After a quick paddle across we were there, an incredible peaceful shore and untouched sand greeted us and a stingray swimming just off shore. After a quick strong man contest and a little explore around the island we stumbled across a black sand beach. Happy with our find we decided to set up camp on a large fallen tree on the beach and tuck into lunch. We had a few spectators as we dined one of which was the creepiest little bird known to man, we were convinced he was sent on a mission to assassinate us for a sandwich and some soup. Once we had finished eating we were all shocked by what what we found under the log we had been sitting on. A seal was lying underneath which was sadly dead, just how it died we were unsure but it looked as though the falling tree had landed on it although we seriously doubt that was the case. The girls went off exploring up the hill on the island and we relaxed on the beach taking the breathtaking views of the surrounding islands and clear waters in before heading back out in the kayaks. We left them on the island and went around the corner of the beach we had stopped on to have a look for some seals as we had heard it was the best place for sightings. It did not disappoint! We were greeted with one particularly playful seal who came into the water to investigate us. We navigated our way around the rocks for about an hour or so coming across some other seals then we thought we better get a move on if we were going to make it to anchorage where we would be spending the night. However when we half way between Adele island and the end of the 'mad mile' we realised that we still hadn't see the girls emerge from the island. Worried something had happened we began to row back towards the island and as we were nearly back they came around the corner so we span around and powered our way over to anchorage. Once we had found the right beach to stop on thankful again of our guide sending us to the right one, eventually, we were on shore and looking forward to some food and sleep after a tough few hours of kayaking. We were surprised to find out that there was no lights or electricity at the hut so things to do were limited. We had some food then decided to make the most of our surroundings and take a stroll along the beach under the stars towards a secluded cave at the end of the beach. All we had for light was a candle we had taken from the hut places in an empty can of budget baked beans, classy! However his enabled us to take in the spectacular nights sky. We crosses a small river on the beach and relaxed in the cave watching the tide come in under the stars. When the tide had made its way in we realised that the small river we had crossed was probably rather large now and we should head back to the hut. Of course we were right and it was now a full flowing river which we all had to run through, not he best thing to do just before you get in bed as the water was freezing! We laid on the beach for a bit more seeing a shooting star and making the most of our last few views of the clear stars we headed back to the hut to get a good nights sleep in before another day on the ocean. Waking in our sleeping bags, in the room which was no different in heat to the outside, we quickly got ready and enjoyed a relaxing breakfast, got our kayaks and gear ready and headed to a lagoon just about 20 minutes from the hut. Kayaking through the the lagoon following the girls was quite amazing. Super calm waters meant a few rows would give us a lot of distance which meant not a lot of effort was needed. We found ourselves stuck on some rocks as entered an extremely shallow area only to be rescued by super Catlin as we sat in our kayak enjoying the views. Gentlemen we are! Travelling back out the lagooon we realised we were quite late and had 2 and a half hours to kayak back to our original starting point as we did not believe in the expensive water taxi to get picked up. As we parted from the girls for a short while, who opted for the water taxi, we found ourselves at the beginning of the mad mile. With no time to relax we started the rowing mission. Rowing in tandem we finally made it to the end and with no time to feel tired we carried on and tested our fitness to reach Marahau on time. We were shattered! Meeting the girls back at the kayak centre we got ourselves ready with a nice warm shower and had a hot chocolate. This was where we parted with Catlin and Jen with no chance to follow them again as they head to the north island. Saying our emotional goodbyes and reminiscing some amazing times we left in different directions :( Loving the recent beauty we'd seen in this area we decided to stay in the Golden Bay region and drove to Takaka looking forward to a lot of sleep and relaxation.
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