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Day 20.
The drive to Nelson was fairly long and arduous but it was raining in Kaikoura and we had seen our whale, another tick on the list. On the way, we passed through just a taste of Marlborough's countless vineyards. It was still enough to be amazed by.
Nelson and the Abel Tasman National Park are renowned for being the sunniest parts of the country and the sun was shining when we arrived in the late afternoon. The first thing (or things) we saw upon arrival were flying whales, crabs, penguins and stingray. Being the big kids that we are, we made these our first stop and found out that it was Nelson's 21st annual kite competition.
First thing to do in any new NZ city is to head directly to the i-site, really useful information centres that can help you with just about anything tourist related. First task was to find a cheap campsite as there were no nearby DOC sites.
The woman at the desk told us of one site nearby that was pretty much the same price as many of the DOC sites but with all the amenities of a full priced site, we couldn't argue with that.
After exploring the pleasant city centre for a bit we drove along the coast a little to find Nelson's local beach, a very long, sandy and beautiful one. We didn't stay long before heading to our campsite.
Whilst cooking in the camp kitchen, we noticed a leaflet advertising a good looking day tour of the Abel Tasman and decided to book it the following day.
Day 21.
Back to the i-site again to book our trip and get some information. Pip also had to get some new flip flops after adding a croc to the list of things we've lost this holiday.
We had a day to burn before our kayaking adventure, so we decided to head north towards Takaka, stopping at some points of interest along the way.
Not too far from Nelson is a place called Rabbit Island, a stunning little island where nobody is allowed to live or stay the night. It was another beautiful day again and we stopped for lunch next to the beach before hitting the road once more.
It was then up the long and windy Takaka hill towards our next destination, Harwood Hole. Our Lonely Planet guide (and previous owner) led us to believe that this was a 'must see'... 10km down an awful gravel track and we were starting to regret coming already. We passed no other cars coming in the opposite direction (not that it would've been easy to pass) and were wondering where the hell we were going.
When we got there, we had to walk 45 minutes through an eerie forest and across some very rough terrain to reach what we had come to see. Barely accessible and without any safety barriers whatsoever is the deepest hole in the southern hemisphere. The area was full of sink holes and this one is a colossal 183m deep.
After peering over the edge, we soon turned around and trudged back, a bit disappointed with the end product of such an inaccessible place. It had taken so long that we decided not to bother with the Lonely Planet's other suggestion of 'the world's clearest water'. So, instead, we thought we'd go find somewhere to stay and make the world's best cup of tea.
Our departure point for the next day's trip was Kaiteriteri so we checked there first. No luck. Turns out this is a popular holiday spot for the kiwis themselves during the summer. Fortunately, our Spaceship came with a little book of 'Spacestations', businesses or accommodation who offer discounts to those in Spaceships. One of these was just a bit further round the coast and turned out to be brilliant.
Day 22.
That morning, we woke early and made our way over the hills, passing the many joggers and cyclists on our way to Kaiteriteri. There, we boarded the sea shuttle which would take us up the scenic Abel Tasman coast. In case you're wondering who Abel Tasman is, he was a Dutch explorer (and the first European) who discovered New Zealand, naming it after the province of Zeeland back in Holland. However, before even landing, his men were involved in a sea skirmish with the local Moari and Tasman sailed away never to return.
The colour of the water and the beauty of this coastline cannot be described here. To believe it, you have to see it for yourself. The sea is an incredible turquoise with golden sandy beaches and deserted bays literally everywhere. The whole region is protected from bad weather by the mountains which surround it on almost three sides.
One of the first stops was 'Split Apple Rock', a remarkably shaped boulder resembling, yes you guessed it, a banana... Just kidding, a split apple. We then made our way all the way up the coast before getting dropped off on the return journey in Anchorage and walking the short walk to our kayaking start point.
On the way, we somehow managed to bump into yet another person Pip knows from university. Small world. When we arrived at the pick up point, we met our guide Jeremy and found out we were the only two on the tour. Pip sat at the front of the kayak so she could point and boss me around whilst I sat at the back and steered with my feet.
Our guide was eager to show us the seal pups, so took us across a small channel to Adele Island, a bird sanctuary not far from the mainland. The water was still and the going was easy so we zig-zagged our way back to a lonely little beach on the mainland for afternoon tea. Jeremy, or Jez as he preferred, has a hard job. He has to take tourists out paddling in this paradise and relaxing on sun-kissed beaches, poor bloke.
After tea, he and I went for a swim in the turquoise waters whilst her majesty soaked up the sun's rays on the beach. He directed me to a place where I collected mussels for dinner that night before we set off on our final kayaking leg. When we got to the landing beach, we reflected on what had probably been our favourite day in New Zealand so far before heading back to the campsite from Kaiteriteri.
Not satisfied with our handful of mussels, we trekked seemingly miles out to the shore's edge to get more. Although we didn't really know what we were doing, we managed to make a half decent attempt at mussels in white wine sauce which I ended up eating most of as Pip was too squeamish.
That night, we took advantage of one of the perks of the Spaceship-Spacestation relationship by having a free outdoor hot bath. Don't worry, we had swim stuff on! Before going to bed, the day was rounded in style with a night sky full of brilliant stars and the Milky Way.
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