Abel Tasman

The journey to Abel Tasman was so long, starting with an early, rough crossing to the South Island followed by a long drive. We had a brand new bus who we ended up staying with for the entire South Island, it was another really nice group of people. We arrived in the dark, lit a fire and all sat under the stars getting to know everyone. The next day I woke up really early and went Kayaking for an entire day. We had an ex-army guy leading us which was pretty bad, but I was with the trainee instructor so I avoided him most of the day. The scenery was unbelievable! The water was completely calm, the sky bright blue, and there were seals everywhere! We stopped on the beach for lunch and explored all the islands, doing a bit of hiking in-between. The views from the view points were incredible; you could see the whole of Abel Tasman! After a long day of paddling I was told I needed to speed up so my instructor could get back first. I was so tired. After a whole day I was made to paddle fast, non-stop for about 45mins when we reached the shore. I got off the kayak and nearly fell on the floor. We had travelled over 12km but it was such a cool day; definitely worth it! That evening we all sat watching Cool Runnings and Skins our driver made us all popcorn and hot chocolate, a really nice end to the long day!