Abel Tasman National Park

After the long, exhausting day from hell, we finally arrived in Abel Tasman National Park, which turned out to be my favourite place I've been in NZ so far. The full day I spent there, I went sea kayaking, for a short walk, and for an afternoon sail. It was nice to be back in a kayak after so long (I hadn't been since I went in Laos 3 years ago) even though our guide wasn't the greatest. It was my friend Anika and I, two couples, and the guide with our friend Curtis. We got left behind a lot because we wanted to take pictures and the steering pedals on our kayak were a little bit wonky (at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it-I'd never used steering pedals before). But the view of the park from our kayak, and the ocean itself, was absolutely incredible. The water is the most unbelievable colour.

One of the most incredible things (but not THE thing) that happened was that we saw a whole bunch of seals (and little baby seals) lounging on some rocks on a little island out in the ocean. I almost died! They were basking in the glorious sunshine, belly up, feet in the air. They reminded me of Spike, who I often compare to large sea animals. Seeing them walk on their flippers too was amazing. They can move so quickly! And splashing around in the waves swimming. Oh my god, I could have stayed and watched them all day!

 

After kayaking, we went for a short walk over to Anchorage Beach which was where we were going to meet our sail boat to go sailing for the afternoon. We climbed up to the top of a peak, and the view of Abel Tasman park and the ocean was incredible. 

After just a few short moments on the sail boat, the most incredible moment of my trip happened. We were surrounded by a pod of about 25 dolphins. And they follwed our boat for a good half an hour, swimming behind, in front, on the side, and leaping out of the air, sometimes 2 or 3 at a time, almost competing with each other. They were so beautiful and graceful, and playful. You could tell they were having loads of fun, showing off and doing little tricks. At one point, some of them were so close to the boat, I could have touched them. This was a real defining moment for me. It was overwhelming and emotional, and recalling it now, actually brings tears to my eyes. It was the first time in a really long time that I felt completely at peace with what I'm doing. I looked out at these beautiful creatures in their natural environment and felt so good about starting my journey as an environmental lawyer, being able to fight and defend the places and creatures I really love. I know this might sound cheesy, but it really was a special moment for me. 

The rest of the night was grand. Me and Anika split a nice bottle of red wine, and made a tasty dinner. I was really sad to leave Abel Tasman, I could have stayed for much longer. It is definately my favourite place I've so far.