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Marlburough Sound
kyacking Able Tasman *** make sure you check out the videos at the top left of this page- just click on the little thing that looks like a film strip***
So we got up early Thursday morning to hit the road for our very long 10 hour drive up to the northern coast of the south island. Lola (our car) made the drive no sweat (thank goodness) and we arrived late in Picton, which is a very small port town where the ferry between the South and North islands leaves from. We stayed in this really cute backpackers called the Villa (aka a hostel- but they are really nice in NZ). It was a very low key night since there is pretty much no night life in Picton- we made dinner and did a puzzle and got free home made apple crisp at the backpackers! yummm. The next morning we got up and did a small day hike, called the "Snout Trail" which took us out along Marlborough Sound. It ended with the most beautiful views of the sounds and I went down to the rocky beach were there were so many cool shells and I found a orange star fish and tons
of sea glass. After the hike back, we drove about 30 minutes to the heart of NZ wine country where we rented bikes and did a wine tour. We just road around to all the different wineries in the area and all of them did free wine tasting. Riding along the vineyards was so pretty though because all the leaves were changing and the setting, with the mountains in the back was so pretty. At one of the wineries we got a glass of wine and sat outside and had some wine and cheese that we had brought along for the ride. In total we probably went to about 6 or 7 different places and they were all so nice and friendly- i really liked the white wines- of which sauvignon blanc is what the region is most famous for. Later that night we drove to Nelson, which is the third biggest city on the South Island and stayed there for the night. In the morning we went to this cute market where there were lots of crafts, jewelry, fresh produce and lots of yummy free samples! The weather the entire trip was perfect and that afternoon, the sky was
so clear so we decided to sky dive!!! We drove out to the airport and after a short briefing, they got us all suited up and we hopped into the plane. There were only four allowed in the plane so we had to split up. Anne and I went in the second group and Tomas was my main man who went with me as a tandem. The views from the plane were sooo pretty, lots of coast and farmland and mountains in the distance, some with snow. I thought we were so high up and then Thomas told me we were only half way up. Once we finally reached 13,000 feet he pretty much just sat me on the edge for a quick picture and my legs were off the edge of the plane flying in the wind and looking down I started to get a little nervous. Then he just pushed us off and I screamed the entire minute of the free fall- but it was soooo sweet!!!! Hard to explain but after a couple seconds I just felt like I was falling without my stomach in my throat and then he pulled the parachute. The rest of the
way we just floated down and I was able to take pictures which was cool and I just got to enjoy the views. He did do some crazy spins for a little bit which made me nauseous but they were fun. Then we landed by sliding on our butts on a giant field. Such an awesome experience that I would do again any day!!! And the fun didn't stop there! The next day we rented kyacks and after a short briefing we were let loose to explore the coast of Able Tasman National Park. O"Briend and I took one of the double kayaks and I was in charge of steering in the back, but I wasn't very good at using the peddles and rowing at the same time and after 4 hours I was definitely a little tired and soar. But we went up along the coast and stopped at a couple of beaches and explored, didn't go in the water tho because eventhough it was such a nice day the water was so cold. That night we slept at a DOC hut and in the morning we hiked out along a ridge over looking the coast where we had
just kyacked along the day before. After a 3.5 hour hike we hit the road and drove the long hull all the way back to Dunedin. Such a great trip!!!!
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