The "Un-Abel" Tasman

Ah, the Abel Tasman National Park. A place of beauty, peace, and tranquility. Where days are spent enjoying the nature that surrounds you while calming paddling down the big blue open highway that is the sea. Well, that was day one anyways.

Our three day kayak tour of the Abel Tasman started out great. We (Mark, myself and our friend Dan) started our trip with a briefing where we learned all the important skills of planning our trip, packing up our gear, paddling, and of course, safety and rescue skills. Not that anyone capsizes very often, but just in case.

We took a water taxi up to the top of the park for our first launch. All was well as we paddled to our port of call for the day. Mark celebrated his birthday by catching a crab, boiling it and eating it on the beach. We all went to bed feeling pretty good about the day.

The marine forecast for day two was not as pleasant - larger swell and more wind. We seemed to be doing fine though as we set off and paddled out to a lagoon just down the coast. We had to enter the lagoon through a narrow gap that only exists during high tide. I was nervous, but we managed without any trouble. The waves carried us in. We paddled around Sandfly Lagoon and talked about how lucky we were to be on this adventure and how beautiful the place was.

Now came time to leave the lagoon. Unfortunately for us, it was now low tide which meant the waves coming in were fighting a tidal river going out. Dan went first in his single kayak - he managed to make it most of the way out and so Mark and I followed with speed. Paddling like mad, we hit the waves and definitely got some air in between the swells - I just focused on paddling. Speed is stability, or so I learned during the briefing.

We made it out to sea just in time to turn back to see that Dan had experienced a change of luck and was getting washed back to the beach. He managed to get up on shore without capsizing, but his boat was full of water. We waited while he tried to launch himself back out, but alas, it was not meant to be. At one point, we observed his boat floating away from him back out in the waves and decided he needed our aid*.

We headed back to the gap to get into the lagoon as the beach break was not safe to land on. We paddled the same as before, but the outgoing tide and the incoming waves were a bad combo. We managed to ride a few waves sideways before the eventual capsize. I WAS TERRIFIED! Let's be honest, we all know I can't really swim.* But mostly, I hate waves. They put me totally out of control. So, here we are, capsized in the waves that were fairly large, being pushed out to sea by a river of outgoing tide.

Now is the time to remember our rescue training:

First step, determine if your fellow kayaker is ok. Check.

Second step, after deciding you can't get the kayak to the beach (even though it is like 5 feet away) flip it. Check.

Third step, front person swim around the front and stabilize the kayak while the back person gets in. Get capsized again by a wave before you get there. Back to step one.

Repeat step one and two. Get capsized by a wave again.

No time now for any rescue steps. Hang onto the kayak for dear life while multiple waves crash on top of it. Tell Mark that you are scared and think you need to try to swim for the beach. Have a mini panic attack. Try to swim for the beach and realize that you can't get anywhere against the tide. Back to the boat. Notice that your insect repellent and your sandals are floating away. Shoot.

Manage to get back to step one and two and three. Attempt the whole process twice and get capsized twice by a wave.

Finally, as adrenaline kicks in, complete all three steps plus get into the boat yourself (additional steps include pumping water out of your hull and praising the Lord that you are still alive, etc.).

Self rescue complete.

Being down to only one paddle (I abandoned mine during the chaos which is not recommended during safety training) Mark managed to paddle us over to the beach where Dan was busy trying to save his water bottle. Thanks a lot, Dan*. We all made it onto dry land, pulled the kayak up and then I laid there re-evaluating my life while Mark went to search for our lost paddle. Luckily, he found it.

We eventually launched back off the beach after waiting for the swell and the tide to go down. The sight of our near death was now a lovely beach. Go figure. Being paranoid, Dan took off paddling so fast to our next port of call that we had no choice but to follow him and head straight in. I didn't mind though. Day two over.

Day three had some big swells as well, but we were ok. We made it into a nice calm bay and managed to enjoy ourselves again for a while before ending our trip - slightly worse for the wear.

So, would I say it was a good experience? Mostly. But I think I'll stick to kayaking on lakes and very calm seas from now on. I don't think anyone will blame me.

*I was happy to leave Dan on the beach until the tide had calmed down, but Mark insisted we go to his rescue. Sorry, Dan.

*Some of you may be thinking to yourself that a three day kayak trip on open sea is pretty stupid if you can't really swim. You are probably right.

*To be fair, Dan couldn't see us from where he was and had no idea of our peril. He was busy dealing with his own. Please refer to sinceileftyeg.wordpress.com for Dan's version of the story.

When in Wellington

Known as Windy Wellington, the city definitely lived up to its name during our visit. One time, while crossing the road wearing my overly heavy backpack, I was almost blown sideways into oncoming traffic. Ok, it wasn't really that close, but I did move involuntarily to the side.

Besides the wind, Wellington does have a few things going for it. We went on a cable car ride up to the top of a hill and walked back down through the botanical gardens. We also had some good food and drink - places worth mentioning were the Bruhaus and Sweet Mother's Kitchen where they actually have good Mexican/Cajun food! Hard to find in NZ.

We walked over to the parliament buildings, Wellington being the capital city and all, and to some cathedrals. Actually, we walked a lot. Due to this fact, the boys were less than enthused about the cathedrals. But spirits did go back up after a baguette, cheese and wine out of a plastic bag on the pier. Classy.

We left Wellington early in the morning to cruise across to the south on the InterIslander ferry. It was an unfortunately rainy day so we didn't get to see much out on the water. I tried to go outside for a bit and just ended up with wet feet. Not worth it. Oh well.

Overall, we had a good time in Wellington. But it was windy. That is mostly what I remember.

When we left the Mount....

It was a sad day. Bittersweet emotions about leaving the most beautiful place we have ever lived to embark on more adventures around the world. We have managed to downsize our lives into two backpacks and two carry on size bags. Never mind the fact that I can barely carry my backpack and will be in trouble should I happen to lean too far to one side.

On the day we left, we took one last climb up Mauao. I love that place. It will forever be so special to me. I mean, really, just look at it!

We headed up to Auckland for one last weekend with the Canadian friends, plus Jamie and Laura. I managed to not cry during the goodbyes (Extreme Home Makeover is the only thing that gets me every time - Mark says I am heartless) but I did tear up a bit. Especially when Laura and I exchanged goodbye cards and we had bought each other the exact same card. Who does that? Really good friends, I suppose :)

We are now on approximately a 17 day tour of the South Island - planned by tours Koslowski - and then we head back up to Auckland. At which point, we will be leaving this blessed piece of heaven on earth called New Zealand to fly to Australia. I might just have an Extreme Home Makeover moment then.

I'll try to post something from each location we travel to, doing my best with hostel and McDonald's internet. We are currently in Wellington, so I'll figure out what is worth telling you about here and post that soon. But now, it's time to go eat.

P.S. I tried to post more photos, but it was taking approximately forever, so I gave up. Here's hoping it will work next time. I find blogs so much more exciting with photos....

Passionfruit?

Another one of the new foods that we have been exposed to here in NZ is passionfruit. Not just the flavour (which is as close as we get in Canada!), but the actual fruit. What a funny food. The look of it does not really fit with the name. You would expect some sort of lovely or pretty food. Is this lovely or pretty to you? Looks like a plastic, purple potato.

Despite what it looks like, I decided to try and make something with it because as it is season here, it's cheap and abundant. So, passionfruit cheesecake it is.

It doesn't look any better on the inside. Probably even more weird than the outside. It's this slimy snot like stuff with little black seeds. So unappealing. However, I wish you could smell the aroma that wafts over you when you cut it open. That makes up for some of the lack of visual appeal. Smells delicious!

And tastes delicious. I think it's better in cheesecake form, because when you eat the pulp and seeds on their own all I can think of is how weird the texture is. And let's be honest, cream cheese and sugar usually make things better!

Happy Valentine's Day

Does anyone in Edmonton remember some DJ off of the Bounce radio station named like DJ Quake or something? Or someone who was on the same show as him? He always pronounced Valentine's Day, ValenTIME's Day. Drove me nuts. Now I can never think of Valentine's without having that pop into my mind.

Anyways, we had a nice Valentine's Day. Had a gourmet picnic on our beach. We will miss it so much.

Much love to all our friends and family!

Not this again...

We are leaving New Zealand in just over a month! I have very mixed feelings about this. I was so unsure about coming here a year ago and now I absolutely love it and am very sad to be leaving. How did this happen??? I'll tell you how:

Incredible Scenery

An endless summer!

The excitement of traveling and exploring new places

And probably most importantly - some AMAZING friends

Now, typical to my phobia of change, I am again feeling anxious and nervous about what is to come. We have great travel plans coming up so that helps, but as for what happens when we land back on Canadian soil, who knows?! We plan to look for jobs when we get back and see what happens. We will spend some time in Edmonton and Manitoba, but as for staying in either of those locations permanently....we are not so sure. We do not want to be landlocked! The ocean is too lovely to be so far away from. Don't you think? Yep, I know you do. So maybe we will move to BC and you can come visit.

Oh, and p.s. Skipping winter is NOT a bad idea :)

Surf Save My Life

I think I have mentioned before that I do not really know how to swim. I dog paddle and can float in salt water. That's about it. Therefore, I quite appreciate the surf lifesaving folks who volunteer to rescue me if I ever was brave (or stupid) enough to go too far out in the waves. I would also appreciate it if they would save Mark if he ever had a surf session go wrong. That being said, usually the lifeguards on the beach appear to be about 12 years old.

However, the fact that even the 12 year olds could save me (and swim around me in circles) was confirmed this past week when we were lucky enough to host the Festival of Surf Sport at Mount Maunganui. There were a variety of events - I can't remember all the names so I'll just post photos. There was swimming, boardpaddling, boat paddling, relays, sand races, etc. Maybe if I could swim I would know what the events are called. Anyways, the under 16's had their comp and were incredibly impressive. The first day saw HUGE waves! I unfortunately did not have my camera that day, but those poor people. I wouldn't have made it past the first wave.

Below is an example of how NOT to enter the beach. Oooops.

Hahahaha! I do not know the point of giving yourself a "thong" before jumping in the boat, but they all did it! It must serve some purpose other than making me laugh hysterically.

My two home countries! I have to admit the Canadian guy looks a bit nerdy. And unfortunately, Canada did not do too well in the overall competition. BUT it is the off season in the Northern Hemisphere. One of the Kiwi commentators even mentioned that the Canadians were likely "doing more ice skating on the ocean than swimming right now". No one had the heart to tell him the ocean doesn't freeze over.