D46 -- Beautiful, beautiful

Elva and I each have a country on our itinerary that we have always wanted to visit. For Elva, that country is Italy. For me, it is New Zealand. One of the first girls I ever had a crush on was from New Zealand (I was only 10), and the country has always had a special place in my heart since. (Whatever you do, don’t tell Elva!) I had pretty high expectations when we landed, and I was worried that no country could meet such lofty expectations. But luckily I was wrong. Almost every day I am in this country, I think that the scenery can’t get any more stunning. But then a new day arrives and I am awed by what I see. Today was no different.

We spent the day sea kayaking through Abel Tasman National Park, which sits at the northwestern tip of the South Island. We were blessed with excellent weather – warm sunshine with almost no clouds and, best of all, no wind. We were in a two-person kayak with Elva in the front and me in the back. We began our day by kayaking across the bay to Tonga Island, a small island that is home to a fur seal colony.

While kayaking around the island we got to see a number of seals (maybe 15-20), including some babies. They were hanging out on the rocks by the shore and a few were frolicking in the water. We also lucked out and saw a small blue penguin. We weren’t sure it was a penguin at first because it looked like a duck as it floated in the water. But then it dove under water and took off at lighting speed, a really impressive sight. After visiting the seal island we kayaked to a beautiful lunch spot. The setting was spectacular because the water was all kinds of shades of blue and the landscape was pristine. Lunch was beef kabobs, chocolate croissants, pita bread, shredded salad, and cookies. We also tried a green mussel (unique to NZ) – very fishy and chewy!

We really enjoyed kayaking but were glad to finally get to Torrent Bay and the lodge where we’d be staying the night. Torrent Bay is not accessible by road, and as a result it feels wonderfully isolated. The beach was next to an estuary that filled and emptied with the tides. We got to swim in the channel that led into the estuary as the tide went out, which was like swimming in a strong current and lots of fun. After the swim we showered and then had drinks while sitting on the deck overlooking the bay. During dinner we got to meet some of the other people staying at the lodge, including two Kiwis (an older gentleman and his middle aged daughter) and an older English couple. After dinner we were taught “speed Scrabble”, which turned out to be great fun and cured the normal boredom I often associate with Scrabble. All in all, it was another great day in New Zealand, maybe our best yet.

-Thomas