a second post today! Our kayaking trip.....

For Labour Day weekend, Manuel and I took the ferry down to the south island to do a 3-day kayak trip through Marlborough Sounds. We had 3 days of VERY different weather conditions, which is pretty much typical of new zealand, but it was gorgeous nevertheless. We didn't end up spotting any dolphins or whales (which are abundant in the sounds apparently), but i did see lots and lots of jellyfish. I was so surprised at how much those kayaks can hold! we each brought big packs with a tent and sleeping bags, camp stove and accessories, and clothes for all weather, and food and water for 3 days. and it all fit right inside! and we didn't sink!This was Saturday afternoon, after we first headed out on our journey. It was bright and sunny when we were packing the kayak, and we shed our fleeces and warm clothes....headed out of the harbour where it promptly started pouring down rain. we paddled for 3 hours..in the cold rain...to our campsite. I would have slayed a dragon to have a nice hot shower that night, but alas, no. we pitched our tent, brushed our teeth, and went to bed really early. that night my "self inflating" sleeping pad did not inflate. and i sort of hated camping....but only for that night :)
Day 2 the weather seemed much better. at least it wasn't raining! and we had a very nosy duck visitor who tried to take my granola bar and bit my toes. this picture is of me asking if he wanted to fight....he did not.
packed up the kayak again.....
took a few pictures..... this is us with our neoprene kayak skirts on.


and headed out of the bay to the main sound again, hoping to make it quite a ways out to sea this day....well it turns out there was a really strong southerly wind coming up from Antarctica. yes. it's strange to think that there are no land masses between the south pole and new zealand...so quite often we get really strong arctic winds. well, the water was really really choppy because of the wind....which made it really really hard to paddle. not to mention i was a little nervous about capsizing....(and when i say a little nervous i mean i was almost in tears..) My irrational fear of the ocean was not entirely my fault though, you see. During our kayaking debriefing they showed us a safety video about self rescue and how to get back in the kayak if it flips over...fine...all things we should know. well they also showed a clip of a giant orca whale breaching in the middle of a group of kayakers and landing on one! ....so clearly the whole trip it was hard for me to enjoy the beautiful scenery because i was scanning the water constantly for killer whales and sharks.....

here is the video



This is the little beach we stopped at to have some lunch and a bit of rest on the second day.

further in the bay there was a gorgeous little lodge and restaurant for boaters....with a nature walk on the premises... so we explored. this was a cool Maori carving on the stone.



The wind eventually died down and we were able to make it to the next bay and find a camping spot for the night.
we cooked dinner on our new cooking stove that we got as a wedding gift (thanks tara and mrs. winters!) instant noodles sure do taste better when you've been kayaking all day!

Day 3 the water was PERFECT. the water was so still and the sun was warm :) we didn't even need our jackets that day!

we went back to the Picton harbour to return our kayaks at about 2 in the afternoon and then lazed around the town until our return ferry to wellington (at 10pm)....putting us home at about 2 in the morning and then i had to be at work at 7 the next morning.

Totally worth it!