At last, consecutive days of sunshine!!
Had a late start today, may have been the glasses of wine we had with our dinner!

The sun was gorgeous today and we had planned to go kayaking, so 7km up the road into Pohara to the golden bay kayaks... We had missed the guides so spoke to Nigel on the phone who said for us to come up to Tata beach, Cornwall Place Reserve where he would wait for us with a kayak.
On route we found a signpost for penguins... We think they come inland in the evening... Some very colourful toilets and finally the beach.
Here Nigel was waiting for us with a yellow sea kayak, some lifejackets, a dry bag and camera box and of course some paddles... After a quick safety brief, where to go and what to do if the "westerlies" come in, we were set for the sea. Our destination was the Tata Islands, first to Nagawhiti Island. We were to stay out of the shipping lane (boats pulling tourists on rubber rings) and circle the island. It was very very choppy when we hit the open sea on the other side of the island and the fear almost made us miss a seal sunbathing on the rocks. You are not to go any nearer than 10m if seals are on land so we continued to the next island Motu Island. We took the calm side of this island as choppy waves discouraged us... At first... But it seemed a shame to be out there and not see around the whole island, so we braved it! The island had loads of birds nesting, mainly the Shag, the Stilt and the grey heron.
We thought it time for a little rest and headed for the "nice beach" said Nigel. It was deserted (see picture) and we dragged the kayak onshore, exposed the bikinis and went exploring. We had only two hours before we had to return the kayaks so we decided to do a return trip to Nagawhiti Island to see if we could spot any more seals. Our trip payed off and we sat with one seal for about half an hour as he showed off his swimming skills. He was then joined by a friend who jumped ashore and posed very timely for a photo before we headed back to Tata beach.
We braved a swim here before heading off to do our walk in the Abel Tasman national park.

We headed to the park in Lucy, who coped very well with the only road into the park, a gravel track over a humongous hill/mountain. We started at Totaranui and wanted to do the south coastal track but the tide had already started turning in so we could not cross at the Awaroa inlet. No problems though as we headed North on the Coastal track and decided to head up to Mutton Cove, route stated 4hrs return. This route was very beautiful and went through Anapia Bay, another gorgeous little bay only accessible by dinghy or feet, so there were only around 6 people on the beach in total! Once in Mutton Cove we attempted another swim but was a little cold so soaked up the sun before heading back. Total walk time was only around 3 and half hours, so was perfect.

Cooked own meal again tonight, steak and lamb from the supermarket, cooked on the barbie, Jo did an excellent job!! Accompanied with a vegetable pasta... Of which we have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Perfect weather, perfect activities, perfect day!!