An entry in the TFS Travel Journal
Milton’s day: I awoke before dawn to get ready for the Ocean River pickup for the day of kayaking. The small bus came, and drove me - along with two Israeli girls who were already on board - for about 80 minutes or so to Abel Tasman Nat’l Park. The ride passed quickly, as I quite appreciated being a passenger despite suffering a bit of cultural dissonance while reading some recent Time Out New Yorks.
The girls, Tali and Maytal - who were each 21 and taking their seemingly requisite months of post-army-service travel - the guide Eric, and I packed up our two 2-person kayaks and set off on the water taxi. We did a quick bit of sightseeing - the famous Nelson split-apple rock (a large, round rock out in the water that’s cleaved in half and has become the symbol of the Nelson region), some small islands laden with history (in fact, Abel Tasman - the Dutch explorer from the 1600s for whom the park is named - never set foot here), and a large bull seal sunbathing on some rocks - then were dropped off to begin our adventure.
Tali and I set off paddling, though she didn’t seem to be straining too hard, but that was just as well as I was eager for some exercise. The park runs for miles and miles along a winding coastline that’s dotted with small beaches, coves and rocks, above which rise very thickly forested mountains. (in fact, the forests were so thick with pines, due to the ideal growing conditions here, that they’ve had to log and burn many areas in the park) The water was clear near the shore, but was an opaque light emerald color further out, from the minerals in the rocky seabed. Although we saw very few other people out today (despite beautiful, cool weather), evidently in the peak of summer there can be something like 400 kayaks and many sailboats up and down these waters. After a few hours of paddling, we steered into a secluded beach and had lunch.
We dined on some green salad and vegetable salad, along with marinated lamb that Eric sauteed over the gas grill. It was all good, and the lamb was especially tasty and flavorful. We’d gotten a bit chilled sitting at lunch (it was quite cool when the sun wasn’t out) so Eric drew a large rectangle in the sand and we played a few minutes of ultimate frisbee which really warmed us up. We shoved off and paddled for a few minutes until we were out in the open, then we unfurled little sails, which were attached to masts that we planted in the front of the front person’s seating area. With Tali holding onto the sail, and a strong tailwind, we zipped back along the shoreline with barely a stroke, just some periodic ruddering with my foot pedals. Fortunately, the sun had come back out and we, the sea, the shoreline and the mountains all basked in its warmth and brightness.
We cruised back into the harbor where we unloaded and stowed everything. Then a quick water taxi ride back to their base to purchase a tee-shirt and a cap, and it was back on the bus to Nelson. Once back, I took a looooong, hot shower and we headed over to the Boat Shed Cafe.
Wendy’s Day: Sunday brunch with a Wellington couple here for the weekend to celebrate his birthday, along with the innkeepers Neil, Shelly and their 9-year-old daughter, Grace. The rest of the morning was spent wandering the quaint streets, soaking in the bountiful flowers still blooming all about town, reading, and playing with Tilly - their 10-month-old black labrador.
It was then time for the effusive John Jay (of J & J’s tours) to pick me up for the afternoon, where I was joined by his son-in-law (to whom he’s teaching the business), and a Taiwanese businessman with not so good english, but a very active camera! Over the next four hours, we visited studios and workshops specializing in fresh and dried floral arrangements, pottery, glass (including a fascinating, artistic performance of glass blowing by a Japanese guy as the Gypsy Kings boomed in the background at a Scandanavian couple’s outlet), weaving, marble carving, as well as wine tasting at a few different vineyards.
In addition, John (who’s in his early 70s and had spent his pre-guiding days in the building business for 45 years) was an endlessly entertaining font of local tales, history and gossip. (the man who fathered the first of his four children at 71; who owns which business these days (but which are still managed by Kiwis!)) In contrast to a lot of SEAsia, many of the crafts today were truly art. The time passed quickly, as there was so much interesting and lovely work to see and admire, and soon it was 5:30 and I was back home. Spent the next hour or so chatting with Shelly, learning everything about life in Nelson, raising children here, and running a guest house.
Dinner really hit the spot: seafood chowder and beef teriyaki to start, then main courses of the local giant green-lipped mussels in a light Thai-style broth, and a big lobster. It was all absolute fresh perfection, and we also enjoyed a few glasses of the local wine offerings. (this is evidently a perfect area for grape growing, as the soil is good and the region receives more sunlight than anywhere else in the country) Dessert was a Mississippi Mud Cake that was a bit disappointing (what do they know of Mississippi here, anyway?). Then, back to the sitting room for a spell, followed by some well-appreciated sleep.