Abel Tasman and Nelson

So after Mom and Dad left NZ for home I stuck around in Christchurch for the weekend, hit up a rugby match, and then decided it was time for me to be off again and continue taking advantage of my 3 week easter break! So, early on Sunday 15 April, I headed out on a bus to Nelson - about 7 hours from Christchurch - but 5 hours were along the coast and it was amazing scenery and the rest of the time I had my book, so time FLEW by :) I arrived in Nelson in the evening and checked into my hostel (which I may or may not have picked based on free chocolate pudding and ice cream every night). At this point I didn't get to see Nelson at all because I was just staying there for the night - the next morning I got picked up bright and early at 7am and taken to Abel Tasman National Park where I began my 2-day hiking / kayaking tour, INCLUDING an overnight stay in a houseboat. Score. Apparently I'd been the only one who had booked my exact type of tour I was on, so the first I did my 13-km hike along the Abel Tasman Track by myself, and then met up with the 2-day kayaking trip at the end of the day to go the houseboat. The next day I just continued along with the kayaking for day 2! The hike was AWESOME - the Abel Tasman in one of the popular 'Great Walks' in NZ - I think it can be as long as 4-5 days (can't remember how many km's) but you can choose to do it completely self-sustained OR you can choose to have your packs transferred to your next campsite for you every night. What?! Hah so I just did a portion of it for my hiking day - I hiked from the SE entrance to the park to Anchorage Bay, where the houseboat was parked. It was SO nice out. Beautiful turquoise water, gold sand, endless amounts of bees/wasps... my favourite. Haha. But no really it was so warm, t-shirt and shorts all the way it felt like summer again! Mom and Dad missed out on the warm weather! On my hike I walked through serious rainforest area and then nearing the bay I had to go over this headland and it was like DESERT. Sandy, dry, hot, it was so bizarre! From rainforest to that. Descending onto the beach was awesome - the bay was super protected from the open ocean and the sand was so gold it was awesome. The water was very chilly though. I had the chance to eat a late lunch and lounge before the kayaking group arrived and we headed out to the houseboat for the night. The houseboat was essentially a.. boat with cabins underneath. Not your standard Shuswap houseboat haha like it was capable of being on the ocean. My bunk was so cozy and right beside a porthole... neat-o. We enjoyed the sunset and homemade dinner / bbq from the crew - it was delicious! Afterward we played some scrabble then early to bed. I had a good sleep, surprisingly, once I got bundled in the down duvet. The next morning we woke up to a breakfast spread to fuel up before our day of kayaking. At around 9 we headed back to the beach to get our kayaks ready and head out. Super sunny again, cloudless skies which was awesome! We kayaked along the shore and out to an island called Adele Island where the seals like to hang out. Along the way we saw some blue penguins, lots of birds, plenty of seals and we tried to hunt down some stingrays but they weren't having it. For lunch we just pulled up on a beach and our guide pulled out all the ingredients for a great picnic - complete with a plaid blanket. We had some warm beverages and made some sandwiches for lunch, and were just about to head back out when this seagull came and STOLE OUR LOAF OF BREAD. I just looked over as he was taking off and thought 'he won't be able to carry that whole bag...' and he took off. The bag was open and he was dropping pieces all the way down the beach as we ran after him - it was hilarious. He finally dropped the bag and took off when there was about half the loaf left. So funny. After we had collected the bread off the beach, we headed off again. We continued kayaking along the shore / beaches and saw some more wildlife - so many seals! One followed us for about half an hour, popping in and out every so often to say hello. As we were coming in on the home stretch, we tried out a little 'Kayak-sailing': Loee and Lauren did this I remember! It was sweet - just propped up the sail with our paddles and sailed along! A nice break from paddling and it sped us along. We got back to the beach where we had to unload our kayaks and had to walk about 1km from the water to the road - because the tide was out. Serious tides here, so much that they have to launch the aquataxis with tractors that fully drive into the water. Its necessary, so the boats get deep enough underwater they can get them off the trailer! After a bus ride back to Nelson, I walked to the store to get some dinner and went to bed early - I was pooped and planned to catch the bus the next morning to Kaikoura. NOPE that plan failed. There is literally one bus that leaves Nelson. All day. To anywhere. And it was sold out. The bus driver let me wait right till they left to see if there were any no shows - but no such luck. So, I stuck around in Nelson for an extra day and checked out a few hikes, some churches, the downtown, and the 'Centre of NZ' hike. WHERE I of course forgot to take a photo of the monument. You'll just have to believe me hah :) It is not the geographical centre, but simply where the different regions of the country are based on.. if that makes sense. So, After a relaxing day in sunny Nelson (sunniest part of the country!) I went to bed early AGAIN because I had to get up AGAIN to catch the bus. This time I made it! And because I'd had an extra day in Nelson just came straight back to Christchurch. Maybe Kaikoura another weekend?? We'll see, my weekends are becoming NUMBERED!!!!! Photos soon!! P.S. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the moms out there :) Especially my mama!! Love you!!