South Island Adventures

After a much needed (well, maybe just for me) rest day in Picton on the South Island, we headed just south into the Mt. Richmond Range for a four day wilderness trip that took us over countless (only because we weren't counting) peaks and connecting ridges. We didn't really have much information on the route, because our original plan was foiled due to "impassable" trails. However, good map in hand, we set out hoping to do the route in 3-4 days, with enough food for 5 or 6. After the first day, we realized that "tramping route" definitely did not mean TRAIL, so we thoroughly enjoyed the solitude of not seeing another soul for 4 days. Although there wasn't always a definte trail, the route was indeed well marked and route finding was never a problem. The un-anticipated challange for us was that the going over wet, slippery, rooty, rocky, terrain with frequent down trees was a little slower than we're used to hiking. This didn't create any problems, but seriously altered our actual vs projected hiking times based on looking at the distances and elevation on the map.

The very next day after getting off the trek, we hired two single kayaks out of Marahau, on the border of Abel Tasman National Park, and headed up the coast for two days of paddling in the Tasman Sea. Before the trip began, we had a 60 minute kayaking "lesson" from Mitch, the Independent Guides owner, who wanted to make sure we were spot on before sending us off into the great wide open. While very informative and usefull, for for safety and our paddling form, it sometimes felt a bit like being barked at by a drill instructor. Natalie (Netty, as Mitch called her) seems to take the brunt of the barking. The weather held well for us, with only a little rain the first day, along with some decently sized swells. We paddled among drippingly green islands with sandsone bluffs and caves, past seal colonies, and over glowing blue jellyfish floating in emereld green water. The second day the tides were in our favor on the way back, and we were able to explore way up an estuary at high tide.

After a night camped next to gypsy wagons headed for the Marikou gypsy fair, we continued south and west to the coastal city of Westport from where we'll try to embark on another trek if the weather decides to change its mind....

Sam