After the activities of yesterday, we could have slept for hours. However, alarms were set to wake us before dawn so we could take full advantage of our camping position. See, we were camped facing east, looking out over the beach and out to sea. Which meant we had front row seats for watching the sunrise, all without having to leave our tent.
Sitting there huddled together waiting for the sunrise was lovely. As far as we were concerned, we could have been the only two people on the planet. The sea looked calm, the beach looked serene and the sound of the waves breaking on the shore was gently soothing. Ever so slowly the sky brightened as dawn approached, then almost suddenly the top of a glowing orb appeared on the horizon.
As the sun climbed slowly up into the sky, heralding the start of a new day, I couldn’t help but smile. This seemed absolutely perfect. The views were magnificent.
Eventually, the sun had risen and it was time to rouse ourselves and unwrap from our sleeping bags. Having emerged and shaken off the aches that come with sleeping on a thin roll mat, we headed down to the beach to make porridge. It was great to enjoy breakfast, and all too soon we dismantling the tent and stowing everything into the kayak by the water’s edge. Fully loaded, and with Laura sitting in the front seat again, we pushed off and headed out to sea for day 2 of our kayaking adventure.
Today we were continuing our journey north, aiming the reach the northern most beach on our map. We had booked a water taxi back to Marahau, and given we were booked on the last water taxi of the day, missing it wasn’t really an option. Also, we had set out as the tide was coming in and had been told that the bays and inlets north of us were only accessible whilst the tide was high. Given we were keen to see as much as we could, we paddled on skipping past Torrent Bay. Blue skies ruled the day, making the sea glitter as we bounced our way over the slight swell. The weather also meant that we could continue to enjoy the gorgeous scenery of Abel Tasman National Park as we passed by.
Having skipped one bay, we opted to head into the next one. At the back of the bay, two inlets diverged inviting us to choose which to explore first. Choosing the closest, we headed in. The waters under us were wonderfully clear, meaning we had a great view as it got shallower and shallower. Whilst this was clearly an inlet that only existed either side of high tide, it was unfortunately little more than a tidal pool formed behind a sandy beach. Turning tail, we headed back into the bay aiming for the inlet on the other side.
Heading into the second inlet, we spotted numerous jellyfish floating in the water looking like clumps of seaweed until we passed close by. There is a certain elegance in the way jellyfish swim, and I was glad we had a stable kayak! Heading further into the inlet, we found that not only was it large to enough to encompass an island, it also ended in a waterfall, with waters tumbling down the rockface into the salty sea below.
Keen to continue our journey, we headed back out sea, ever conscious of our taxi deadline. The headland we were emerging out to bay to pass around was marked on our chart as a danger area, and so with Laura on the lookout for rocks hiding below the waterline, we gave the coast a wide berth. The rocky headland almost looked foreboding and would certainly damage any vessel straying too close!
This was to be theme for the next part of our quest, with sea meeting rocks all along the coastline. This rugged beauty provided a contrast to the sandy beaches that had accompanied us until this point. In places the rock walls were sheer, bringing back memories of our cruise in Milford Sound. The layering of rocks, tilting skywards, was clear and gave glimpse into the processes that created Abel Tasman.
It was as we were paddling along that we suddenly encountered paddlers coming the other way. See they emerged suddenly from the rock! Turns out, on closer inspection that there was a low rock archway and these people had just paddled through it. To me, that seemed like a challenge and an adventure, so I started edging us ever closer until we were nosing into the arch. It sure was narrow with just a paddle width either side of the kayak and the roof was little more than an arm length above my head.
But it was exciting, winding our way through, complete with the challenge of not touching the sides. The initial arch led to a central area, almost square in shape and open to the sky. Alone in this courtyard, it seemed clear that this national park was pulling out all the stops to treat us!
Getting out the courtyard was achieved through a second archway, this one taller and wider than the first. Once through we were bathed once again in sunlight. Thank goodness for the high tide, I suspect any more than an hour later and the arches would have been impassable.
Back out on the open sea, we hung a left, still heading north and passed between two rocky stumps jutting out of the water. We could now see the beach the water taxi would be picking us up from, and so off we paddled.
About 20 minutes later, and with the hiss of sand underneath our hull, we beached ourselves on another golden beach. However, we still had two hours or so until the water taxi would be picking us. Might as well do a bit more kayaking! From the beach, there was an island out in the bay that looked like a good place to find some more seals. So off we went, out to sea for one final paddle.
The island itself was much like the others we encountered; lush green vegetation on top with rocky shorelines. Seals were lacking in numbers, but we still got to see a few lounging around. Yet we still had more time to kill. Consulting our map, it appeared that we had very nearly made it to the northern limit of Abel Tasman for kayaks, with only one inlet left to see. It seemed a shame to miss it, although we feared that by now the tide might be too far out for us to gain entry. Despite this, we figured we’d give it a try. And thank god we did.
Arriving at the inlet, and after avoiding the sandbars guarding the entrance, we nosed our way in. There were 3 entry channels to choose from, so we opted for the left. Heading in, we could see rocky obstacles under the surface, and indeed the water was so clear that we could see all the way to the bottom. The water was a shimmering green, bottomed out by white sand and contained by dark rocks. On rounding the corner, we were greeted with pure tranquillity. The wind was blocked by the boulders guarding the entrance, and the only noise was that of birds.
As we floated there, we realised that we weren’t alone! Yet we weren’t joined by humans. Instead, a little dark grey face was sticking out of the water watching us. We had been found by an inquisitive seal! One who seemed intrigued by us and wanted to check us out, which is exactly what he did, swimming all around us, alongside us and even under us. With the water being so clear, we could see all of his aquatic acrobatics. And they were mesmerising. Despite their awkward elegance on land, the movement through the water was graceful and powerful.
Bobbing there, joined only by an inquisitive seal, was magical. The clear waters gave us brilliant views of him whilst we were being warmed by the sun and surrounded by birdsong. The only downside was that we were conscious of both the receding tide (we didn’t want to get stuck) and the passing time (we didn’t want to miss the water taxi). As I manoeuvred us so we could start heading back to sea (Laura was busy in her role as chief photographer), the seal gave us a guard of honour from the lagoon.
At this point, it is worth noting that interacting with the seals is highly discouraged given they are wild animals. It was only by good fortune and due to the seal’s inquisitive nature that we got to experience such a special encounter of being checked out by seal. Whilst on these self guided kayaking tours, humans are encouraged to maintain their distance, something we had endeavoured to do. Just in this instance, the seal wanted to come closer to us.
Eventually, we pulled our way back out to sea, leaving our seal escort behind. Once out of the shelter of the inlet and bouncing over the waves, we set off to return to the beach to wait for the water taxi. On reaching the beach, it didn’t take long for the water taxi to appear and it was time to board our ride back to base. The water taxi is a fairly standard looking motorboat, with an open back on which the sea kayaks get loaded. All we had to do was load our baggage and sit down as the skipper loaded the kayaks. Can’t say I envy him as they weren’t light boats! Once all boarded and the anchor raised, we shot off, skimming across the surface. Certainly a lot quicker than kayaking!
It was both a shame and a pleasure watching the familiar scenery whizz by, knowing that we were leaving yet having had such a perfect time. Approaching the end of the journey, the skipper told us that we would be staying seated on arrival and that he would be parking on a trailer to be towed by tractor back to base. Strange, but it saved a walk!
Climbing down from the boat once back at base was sad, as this represented the end of our South Island adventures. See tomorrow morning we would be catching the ferry up to Wellington. The showers at base though helped cure any sadness, being both hot and powerful! And thus it was back into our campervan and off, heading for our final campsite of the South Island.
We had chosen to stay in Picton tonight, given we would be up early and on the early crossing. The drive to Picton was relatively uneventful and the scenery couldn’t compete with what we had seen elsewhere. And then it was bed time, our last sleep on an island that had offered us so many wonderful experiences.