Treking and kayaking on the South Island

Kayaking alongside Abel Tasman National Park
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Hi all,

The 3 hour boat ride from Wellington to Picton was beautiful – weaving in and out of the Queen Charlotte Sounds and its luscious green hills. Am afraid you’re just going to have to take my word for it on this one as I accidentally deleted all the pictures (honestly why make the delete all button so easy to push?!). Picking up our hire car in Picton we headed straight to the Abel Tasman National park on the opposite side of the island, stopping off just long enough in Nelson to enjoy a lovely (and completely un-pronounceable) native fish dish in a restaurant overlooking Nelson bay.

Us at the top of Mt Robert
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Abel Tasman National Park is supposedly one of the most beautiful National Park areas in New Zealand. With the park running along side the sea we began our exploration of the park by kayak, paddling along whilst our guide took us out to seal colonies and tucked away little beaches (one of which, so he said, was voted as one of the top 5 beaches in the world). Neither of us had kayaked before but I totally loved it; drifting along the calm seas with nothing but nature all around you was so relaxing and is defiantly something I plan to do more of it when we get back. Having pulled into a little bay mid way thorough the national park we then had to walk back through the national park, tramping through the undergrowth , stopping off for lunch at empty beaches (and getting eaten ourselves by the swarms of sandflies) and pulling ourselves up steep hills by ropes tied to trees.

Lochmara lodge
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With only 8 days on the South Island we were back on the windy little roads again the next day and headed up to the Golden Bay area. In the pictures it looks stunning – miles of sandy (I guess golden) beaches. Unfortunately it was belting it down with rain and even the Salmon lakes we went to go fishing in were re-stocking so we didn’t get to see much of the area. What we did find out though was that the next day back in Nelson a beer festival was a-brewing. Billed as the Southern Hemisphere’s answer to ‘Oktoberfest’ I was expecting big things from ‘Marchfest’. Bands from all around the world were playing , including a new- zealand German style brass band to kick things off.  However the heavy rain coupled with the fact that there were only a few beers on offer meant that it wasn't quite all that we had dreamed of.

Tarzan eat your heart out!
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With clearer heads than expected we then headed down to Nelson Lakes for a couple of days relaxing and walking around the lakes and its surrounding mountains. With the sun shining down on us, walking around the crystal blue lakes and into the park area was lush, and made for some picture-perfect photos (which after all is the whole point of walking). The shepherds must have also been happy because we were treated a spectacular red sky as the sunset over the lakes.

If the beer festival in Nelson had been some what under-whelming, the vineyards we then made our way to in the Marlborough region more than made up from it. Vineyards of all sizes were practically pouring the stuff down our necks. I now know my Pinot Gris from my Sauvignon Blanc, but after another 20+ wines I fear that our wine vocabulary only stretched as far “hmm that’s nice” or “ooh, this one’s fruity”!

On our last full day on the island we then headed back out to the Marlborough sounds to stay a night at an Eco-resort. Getting to ‘Lochmara Lodge’ wasn’t easy -a 2 hour drive along narrow windy roads (including getting stuck in a ditch at one point) and then a 2 hour walk along the Queen Charlotte track when the road stopped – but it was so worth the effort. Set on the front of Lochmara Bay, the lodge was an artist and wildlife retreat and as such was both a wildlife sanctuary and packed full of sculptures and paintings. After a day relaxing in hammocks and building up the courage to jump from the rope swing into the sea we spent the evening eating the tasty organic food, walking along the Glow-worm track, watching the phosphorus glow on the sea and sitting infront of the log fire. As an extra bonus we had also been upgraded from the cheapest room to the more expensive self-contained chalets over looking the beach. Perfect.

After kayaking around Lochamara bay and the sounds in the morning it was soon time to take the ferry back to Picton and get on the night bus back to Auckland. We may have only seen the very top part of the South Island – missing out on the glaciers, Mount Cook and Milford Sound further in the south- but totally loved everything we did see and do. Maybe next time…

Hope to hear from you all soon

Best wishes

Andy and Char