Lewis, Abel and Nelson

James and I left the next day feeling sad but Lewis Pass had some great views and we stopped at Mahuia springs for a soak to cheer ourselves up. We decided that Lewis Pass was our favourite of all the passes due to the beautiful views and the short but scenic walks available.

We got to Abel Tasman and the next day we were off on our kayaking trip. The wind was quite strong so we had a tough job getting out of the bay. Luckily I am a superb kayaker and James hardly did anything at all. We had our pick of private beaches and even though it was a little windy the sun was out and we built up quite a sweat with all the hardcore kayaking so we didn't get cold. It was a great day but I struggled with any kind of arm movement for the next couple of days!

We drove around Abel Tasman park to this amazing campsite called Totoranui where we had vague plans to meet with Anna and Mike. We had a rest on the beach and then caught up with them in the evening. We played the bowl game and James, Mike and I won. However, I don't think we displayed high levels of intelligence compared with the other team, for example Kate describing Napoleon; 'he died in the battle at alberque (or some French sounding town)' James describing Hitler; 'worst german of all time (not even German!) but we got the answers a lot quicker-winners! James and I went on a few walks around the area and then headed to Nelson for the evening. We spent two days in Nelson and would have liked to stay longer, it is a lovely city and our mouths watered as we wandered around the town looking in the nice restuarants and then eating pate with crackers in the park! We visited the geographical centre of NZ, which sounds a bit dull but the walk up the hill had panoramic views around the city and surrounding area. We had to be in Picton for the next day to catch our ferry to the North island but had the morning free. The cinema was a sweet independently owned building with a discount on Tuesdays so we bit the bullet and (sorry Jen) watched Les Mis. It was fabulous.