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Published: November 9th 2006
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Leaving Picton we jumped back on the
Stray Bus, just a couple of hours along the coast to
Nelson. This was a strategic stop for the start of the WC. The weather wasn't too good, so amused ourselves with a wine tour.
NZ vino is pretty good our favourite, Tres Hermanos from Te Mania. We then got lucky,
friends of George's lived close by and offered us the use of a car! We met them at the Wearable Art Exhibition, the car turned out to be a
2 seater jeep! with a spot of improvisation we made a third towel seat. Mark at the wheel,
George riding shotgun and me snoozing on the backpacks.
Our next destination,
Abel Tasman National Park and stayed at Old MacDonalds farm. Quickly upgrading from the Bunkhouse to the deluxe cabin. Mark & George like a good standard of accommodation and won't get any arguments from me. Up early the next morning to
Kayak in the Abel Tasman sea. None of us had done it before,
10mins safety and we're in the sea just after 9am! NZ is great. Paddled round Sandy Bay getting used to steering with a rudder then headed out on our
Nelson
Wine Tasting own, into the sea following the coastline.
For me the kayaking trip had
four stages.
1st stage, once we got away from the coast you could really appreciate the scenic views of the National Park. Thick forest ending on sandy beaches, very picturesque. The
2nd stage, the steady realisation of how
fecking hard kayaking is, especially in the sea! I often looked over enviously at Mark & George's tandem thinking how much it easier it looked. But chatting afterwards it wasn't, the kayak was bigger and took more effort to move - this was especially true if one party wasn't putting in the effort. There where several discussions between Mark & Geroge
as to how was doing most of the work. The
3rd stage, the Heads. The Abel Tasman coastline is
jagged and we had to kayak round several of these heads. The waves really gain strength which meant paddling even harder. Given how knackered we where this wasn't good. The
4th stage was Anchorage Bay and finishing the katak. Away from the sea we relaxed slowed down and could enjoy the view once again. Started to feel the blisters and couldn't be bothered to paddle the final bit
to shore. We made it to the beach around
midday. Lunch then spent the avo trekking back to the farm. Great to be walking in the sunshine along the coastline, through the Abel Tasman forest. Looking at the sea and
moaning how calm it now looked!
Continued our tour of the Abel Tasman National Park in the 4x4, stopping at
Poopoo Freshwater Springs watching 14,000L/s flowing through the spring. Before getting back to Motueka and dropping the wheels at
Jan & Tim's. Next morning we all rocked up to Motueka airport, to watch
Mark throw himself out of a plane. The Skydive, a very respectable
13,000ft. The closer it came to the Skydive the
quieter Mark got, to the point where once he was suited he wouldn't talk to anyone! Adventure sports are great, in NZ, Skydiving is a perfect example. Turn up to the airfield, safety talk last as long as it takes to put on the suite and then your in the plane and back down in 20mins!
The 3 sets of jumpers crammed into the small light aircraft. Took about 10mins circling to reach 13,000ft. We then
watched dots slowly getting bigger and bigger. Finally
picking out Mark's chute and watching him land on his
backside! and he loved it!!
Back on the Stray Bus at Motueka heading down the west coast through Westport stopping at Barrytown (or Baz Vegas). Easily the
worst journey in NZ so far, windy twisting roads, George and myself didn't enjoy this one. Barrytown was quite literally a one pub town, the
All Nations and we stayed in it. Late night followed in the bar keeping warm by sitting near the coal fire and drinking plenty. The landlady eventually left Mark and myself to it, bar to ourselves!
10am, The venue
Steve's & Robyn's house, just down the road from the All Nations pub, still in the middle of nowhere, at the bottom of their garden a great view of the coast. Myself and two American girls put on overalls, selected a
steel bar and got to work! We started in the courtyard heating the bars in a
coal burner until they glowed red then
hammering them into shape. Whatever shape you want really, after alot of work I decided on a small'ish knife only 6 inches. After hammering it flat got the grinder involved and the knife
started to take shape. Cut and shaped the wooden handles then pinned them in place. After lunch more
grinding and sharpening of the edge. By mid avo I've got a
brand new knife! hard to believe in jusr a few hours I turned a lump of steel in a rather nice knife. We then finish the day listening to Steve's outrageous but very funny stories and drinking loads
champagne! well actually bubbly cheap white wine - he put the bottle of wine in a sodastream to add bubbles and it tasted like the real stuff! Excellent day!
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Markus
non-member comment
Photos
Have you got permission to display so many photos of me and George? We clearly add a lot of value to your blog and want some royalties!!!