A Roller Coaster Ride In Abel Tasman

After spending a few days in Nelson, the sunniest place in New Zealand, Laura and I headed to Abel Tasman National Park. On Sunday (Nov 10^th) we started a 3 day overnight kayak along the coast of the National Park.

out in the kayak - day 1

Sunday morning we were picked up by the sea kayak company we were renting from. After a very quick briefing on how to pack our kayaks, where to stop, how to read the map and what to do if we tipped we were sent off into the sea completely on our own.

I have to admit it was a bit scary. The sea is massive... I felt so exposed! But thankfully it was a beautiful and calm day. I don’t think we realized at the time how lucky we were to have such nice weather.

We headed off in the kayak and had a leisurely paddle along the coastline. It was absolutely amazing. There were so many beaches all along the coast and the water was an amazing color turquoise.

only ones on the beach for lunch

After about an hour and a half of paddling we pulled up on one of the beaches for a lunch break. We had the beach to ourselves and it was so nice and sunny so we took our time and explored the beach a bit before getting back in the kayak and heading to our first overnight stop, Anchorage Hut.

One of the many beaches along the way

We got into Anchorage around 2:30 in the afternoon. The weather was so warm it felt like summer! We went swimming and hung out on the beach all afternoon.

feels like summer

While having the sun out was amazing, unfortunately for me my brain wasn’t working this first day and I didn’t stop to think about how strong the sun was... so I may have gotten a fairly bad sunburn (sorry mom). But I had definitely learnt my lesson and will now be applying sunscreen regularly.

Another mistake that both Laura and I made was thinking that our entire day would be filled with so much to do that there was no need to bring a book or anything. So come the evening we were both sitting at a picnic table twiddling our thumbs unsure of what to do. Luckily there was a short walk to another bay, so we set out to do that. Once again the view was stunning.

Day 2

morning sunrise

I was awake extremely early, which probably had to do with the fact that since we had nothing to do the night before I went to bed extremely early. Anyways seeing as I was awake I thought I may as well get up. So I set out for a walk along the beach (I was the only one on the beach) and was lucky enough to see the last little bit of the sunrise. At 7 in the morning it was looking like it was going to be a beautiful day. However this changed drastically by the time Laura was up and we ate, packed up and were ready to go. By this time it was almost 10 and the sun was hiding behind the clouds and the wind was picking up.

As we headed out further into the open sea the waves got bigger and bigger. I have to admit I was feeling a little seasick. But we made it to our next overnight stop, Bark Bay, and just in time too. Just after we had pulled our kayak up onto the beach it started raining. So we went to the hut and tried to get warm, although we were very unsuccessful and it ended up being an extremely cold 24hrs.

Day 3

Despite the cold weather of the previous day we woke up feeling hopeful. The sun was shining and we were confident we would have a good last day out on the water. But we were mistaken. As we made our way from the hut to the beach we could hear the sound of the waves crashing against the shore getting louder and louder. By the time we got to the beach we realized it wasn’t going to be a relaxing day like our first. Trying not to think about the paddle that lay ahead we got our kayak ready and were about to get in when we realized that the waves were coming in so strong that there was no way we could make it out on our own. Thankfully there was a man on the beach who came over to give us a push out. While we did get completely soaked we at least managed to get out off the shore.

this picture doesn't properly capture the size of the waves

For a very brief moment we felt relief, however that feeling soon vanished when we realized just how big the waves were. I don’t think I can stress it enough. They were so big that on the way down from each wave I got that feeling in my stomach that you get on rollercoasters.

Once we got out of the bay, both of us already feeling the seasickness and with the waves still getting bigger we noticed two groups of rocks looming ahead. Being in the back I was seriously worried that I wouldn’t be able to steer us around or through the rocks because the waves were pushing us so much. Not knowing if we’d be able to make it past the rocks we made a quick decision to turn around and head back to Bark Bay.

Coming into shore wasn’t quite as easy as we had anticipated because even though we were now moving with the waves we had been warned that this is generally when tipping occurs. Luckily we managed to beach the kayak right before the waves pushed us over on our side.

Coincidentally at the exact same time that we came in another kayak came in as well. Like us they had made the same decision to not continue due to weather. After speaking with the ranger to figure out how to arrange a water taxi back to where we had begun our journey he mentioned we had made the right decision as the weather was just getting rougher as the day went on.

Safely back on the beach

We thought the worst of the waves were over however our ride back in the water taxi was far from calm. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster, bouncing over all the massive waves. Along the way our driver actually pointed out a bird in the water, which he said was a penguin. Turns out our first day I had seen a bird that I said looked like a penguin ... but we didn’t know at the time that it actually was one!

Finally after a few days of being back on solid land I have managed to get rid of the swaying feeling that I was left after being in the kayak for a few days.

But despite the far from ideal weather on days 2 and 3 of our trip it was an absolutely unbelievable experience!