The Abel Tasman National Park

The Abel Tasman National Park west of Picton and is great for those who intend to explore on foot or in a kayak. I was booked on a days kayaking which started at 6:45am at the bus station in Nelson! It is years since I was in a kayak for more than an hour or two and was looking forward to the adventure with some reservations about the aches and pains to follow.
I went with a company called Southern Exposure, from Marahau, they were great from beginning to end. There equipment looked newer and better looked after than lots I saw on the day. Bridget our guide was knowledgeable and enthusiastic which made the hours of paddling fly by.

The highlight for me was the group of seals we came across on Adele Island. Bridget gave us the option of continuing with the usual course or going a further kilometre or two to see if we could find some seals. The colony was more or less invisible until she pointed them out on the rocks where they blend in amazingly well. As we sat and watched the first seal, other younger seals popped their heads up to have a look and then waddled down to the water to get a better look. Two of the young seals swam around the shore for a while and then a larger male took an interest in our group. After a few minutes he came down to the water about twenty yards from our boats. We moved away but he slipped into the water and started showing off his aquabatics. As we drifted slowly away from the rocks, he swam towards us rolling his body with one flipper raised. He repeated his trick with the other flipper and then with both feet sticking out like propellers. Amazingly he was as interested in us as we were in him.


Sadly I did not take my camera with me but do have some “library” pics to give you a flavour of the fun we had.

The icing on the cake was to wake up the next morning without any aches and pains.