Biking, Kayaking, Tramping, and More Biking

Well, we finished our day to Marahau with a lovely ride along the coast of the Tasman Bay. We rode along a hill with several ups and downs and were surrounded on both sides by forests. However, there were stretches where the forest would cease and breathtaking views of the Sea and the surrounding hills took its place. I can't describe the beauty of these views with words. Despite almost swallowing a bee, getting stung on the lip, and boiling up in the sun, the views stand out in my mind more than anything. We ended in Marahau near the start of the Abel Tasman National Park and camped at "The Barn" where we set up our tent overlooking the Park and the Bay.

The next day, we left our bikes and tent behind and set out for a Kayaking adventure. We joined a tour that ferried us west along the Tasman Bay shoreline and into the Abel Tasman Park area. They dropped us off with Kayaks and left us on one of the many beaches in the Park. First we kayaked to a nearby island that housed a seal colony. There were seals galore basking in the sun. They sure don't have a hard life. The seals lie around on the rocks all day in the midst of clean and refreshing blue-green water, unique rock outcroppings, and gorgeous forests. When they feel bored of sleeping on the rocks, they slowly get up and plop themselves into the Bay where they roll around, flap their flippers, and scratch their faces. They are very playful looking creatures in the water and we were watching them play only feet away. I could have stayed there all day. It is a good thing we didn't though... as we kayaked away, there was a string of dolphins coming across the Bay. We kayaked out to sea a bit and were within yards of the leaping dolphins. I have never seen such a sight in nature. They gracefully dove up and down along the water and occasionally jumped way out of the water to show off their beauty and talent a little more. I could have ended my day a very happy camper right then.

But our journey continued... we kayaked on and stopped at a couple deserted beaches with unique rock arches and outcroppings. After lunch and a brief swim we headed to Anchorage beach where we would end our kayak journey. However, instead of paddling ourselves in, our guide instructed us to join our kayaks together and broke out a sail for us to hold up. The wind filled the sail and brought us nearly to shore. It was a blast!

Most people on our tour took the ferry back from Anchorage, but Megan and I decided to walk back on the Abel Tasman trail. The "4 hour" walk (which really only takes 2 or so) provided more of the spectacular views we had seen the previous day. Panaoramic views of the blue Bay, the lush forests, islands of rock, and distant grey mountains in the background. I think that the feeling of wonder for these sights must diminish eventually, but they haven't for me so far.

Today, we made plans for another bike journey. We decided to leave our bags behind and take a bus out west so that we could bike back for two days without all our gear... just enough to get by on. Megan woke me up with a start this morning when she looked at the watch and realized it was broken (Oh Dear!). We hurried to get up, found out that we were up 25 mins. late, and quickly packed to leave. We left our stuff behind and set out for a 10k. ride to meet the 8 o'clock bus out to Collingwood. As we pedalled along in a hurry (not knowing exactly what time it was), we realized there was a large hill between us and the bus pick-up spot. So we huffed and puffed our way up... as we were beginning to tire and worry whether the uphill would ever end, we saw a long uphill road continue in the distance. However, before the tears of despair began to fall, our road took a turn and began to go downhill (phew!). We ended up making the bus in plenty of time. The bus took us to Collingwood where we continued our day of biking. We biked along the coast out to Farewell Spit - the northwestern tip of the South Island. The ride was a bikers dream... flat roads, beautiful views of the Bay, and a car about every 5km. We made it out to Farewell Spit and realized that 6km. of deep gravel road sat between us (with our roadbikes) and the beach we wanted to see. Luckily, we ran into a friendly couple from Reading, England who gave us a ride to the Wharariki Beach. We parked and tramped out 20 mins. before arriving to a view of smooth dunes, clear blue water, and enormous rock arches in the water. The views were well worth the trip.

At last, we set back out on our bikes and headed back east - past Collingwood again and on to Takaka... a total of 80km for the day. In Takaka, we found a bike shop to fix a spoke that broke along the way and arrived to a friendly hostel with a dog named Russel. We have just eaten and now I am about to crash.