Saturday 5th August - So we started the day in Picton. It seemed a really pretty town as we headed out of it! We just don't seem to have enough time to stop everywhere! We took a really interesting road along the coast headed north west to Abel Tasman national park, hoping to go sea kayaking which is a really big thing up there. I say the road was interesting in the way that if you didn't keep an interest in the many bends you were likely to fall off the edge of some very sharp drops into the sea! The max length of vehicles on it was 8metres so we had a good 2metres to spare! Got there safely in the end later that afternoon to a town called Motueka which is where a lot of the kayaking is based from and booked onto a day long paddle the next day. Sunday 6th August - Up bright and early for our trip and yep, you've guessed it....it was raining! Apparently this just makes the sea calmer so it's all good! There were 6 of us on the trip, 3 couples and the guide steve who was really cool. Got chatting to one of the couples Daniel and Martha, who'd been travelling for 8 months. They were really nice and had a good laugh with them. After having to change into some sexy thermals and wetsuits on the beach we got into our kayaks. They were all doubles so me and Laura shared and may I point out not once did we a) argue about anything kayak related or b) capsize. Was a really awesome trip. Paddling got really tiring sometimes and we had to ride some fairly big waves but we both really enjoyed it. Laura decided Steve's canoe was like Mary Poppins handbad when we stopped for lunch! He pulled out a teapot, gas stove, sandwiches, soup, table clothes, fruit, muffins and a tent type thing he put up to keep us dry while we ate! Highlight of the afternoon was paddling to an island with seals on it. Taking pictures is tricky out at sea in a kayak but we managed a few! We were so stiff by the time we got back to campsite but thankfully as we'd booked in for 2 nights we got half an hour in the spa pool they had!! was so nice! hopefully might stop them hurting in the morning!