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Published: December 21st 2005
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A typical Abel Tasman view
Sun, sea, sand, and sublimeness I broke a new personal record last night, sleeping in a 28 bed dorm. Packing us in like sheep, I felt used and degraded, ah but it was cheap, so who cares?! I challenge anyone to find a larger dorm. It was in Picton, the gateway to the South Island, surrounded by the picturesque Marlborough Sounds. I got the ferry over a few days ago, meant to be one of the most scenic in the world, and I wouldn't doubt it, drifting past the numerous sheltered bays and inlets of the wooded Sounds. It's a big transport route, and whole trains even chug onboard the ferries to make the crossing.
But I was only passing through, heading to the Abel Tasman Coastal Track, another of NZ's 9 Great Walks, but the most sandy one. It's possible to sea-kayak round, or tramp through, and I chose the latter, regretting the decision somewhat, as clever me decided to not empty my rucksack of the more pointless articles I was carrying, like a pillow case and Vaseline. With added dried rations for 3 days, my bag weighed a bloody ton, and was a nightmare to carry. On the second day, my alarm clock
then also decided to have a bit of a laugh and stop working, so I was joyous when I discovered I missed the low tide and had to make a detour, resulting in an 8 hour slow tramp, looking with envious eyes at the kayaks skimming past. Suddenly, that slog of a walk back in the Jaguar Reserve in Belize was finally paying off.
Still, the beaches by far made up for this. Beautiful, Thailand-esque goldan sands lapped by blue-green gleaming sea, and perfect for swimming in, surrounded by pleasant native bush. On the first night, I even got a little beach all to myself, Mr. Tent and a thousand lovely sandflies, and on the second night I bumped into a friend from Rotorua. So althought by the end my back was creaking like a refined old Gentleman's, it was a few days well spent.
I then flipped back round to the East Coast to a small coastal town called Kaikoura, surrounded by the beautifully ambient Kaikouras Mountains. There was just one main reason for stopping here - it's one of only 5 places in the world that has an underwater canyon (>1500m) so close to the shore,
Kaikoura
A hauntingly beautiful image of two fishermen against a backdrop of the daunting Kaikoura mountains which in the summer brings nutrients to the surface, providing plentiful food for the entire food chain...which means lots of flippers, which in turn means lots of humans making fools of themselves in the water to attract the flippers. Being fully booked, I was hanging on by a waiting list, but fortunately being one of the few to have the patience to check for cancellations, ended up being one of these humans.
What an experience! As I write this, I'm still on a high from swimming with them. The weather was perfect, the sea calm, and coming to near-shore was a 200-strong pod of Dusky Dolphins. Found only in the Southern Hemisphere, the Dusky Dolphin is of the toothed variety of cetacean known as Odontocetes (keep up at the back), which includes the sperm whale and are known as the aerobatic leaders of their species. No one really knows for sure why (sexual attraction, shedding skin, disturbing fish, an itch, for fun etc) but boy did they love doing jumps and backflips. It was a sight to behold just watching them from the boat.
Then, donning our very sexy wetsuits, we dove in and swam into the thick
of the pod. It must've been a funny sight from the boat, not only in watching us spin round in circles in the water, but for the squeeking noises we were all making to attract the dolphins to us. It was probably a practical joke the crew say to us naive tourists, but it seemed to work, and at times I would have up to 5 dolphins swimming round me in circles, curious and playful, as I try and keep up and dive down with them. It was truly mesmerising, seeing these most graceful of mammels up close, and left me speechless, which as most of you will know, doesn't happen very often.
The rest of the 2 days in Kaikoura somewhat pailed in comparison, but were still active, walking round the Peninsula catching close glimpses of albatrosses and seals. Lots of photos again, sorry, but in a place like this, it would be a crime not to. As this is my last blog before Christmas, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and hope you all stuff yourself full of chocolate and mince pies. I'll personally be in Mount Cook National Park, so will probably be feeling a
little lonely out here (*little violin plays*), but before that I have a driving experience with a difference to attend to in Christchurch.....
Best Wishes, Simon x
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Elaine
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Wow you've been having an amazing time I see! I hope you enjoy your 'Christmas' and carry on taking lots of beautiful photos :-) my desktop has never looked so tropical! El xxx