Just got back from our kayaking adventure through Abel Tasman National Park, which was a blast. It was a three-day trip that started on one end of the park and ended with a pick-up half way through it. We got worked by big swells and sand flies, but we also had some perfect weather, glassy seas and a super hot 122-degree solar shower.

The first day was an early start. Sunny, smooth, just about perfect. We paddled around Separation Point and encountered a few sea lion colonies, stopped for breakfast at a place called Mutton Cove, and continued along the coast stopped at tiny little beaches and exploring little coves along the way. Hikers can walk along a multi-day trail that goes along the beach now and again, so we encountered a lot of folks out there. The first night we spent at a tiny little jungle campsite and were eaten by swarms of sand flies. Absolutely heinous.

The next day we awoke to a little drizzle, a little wind, and a little chop, so we decided to wait and see if the weather improved. We were headed to a place called Mosquito Bay, which was on the other side of a huge point. The weather got worse and worse until about 5 pm, at which point things started to clear and we decided to make a go for it.

As soon as we got to the point, we encountered 4-foot swells that were smacking us in the face. SKETCHY! Turning around was a little freaky, and it was even worse trying to paddle back. On the way out at least we could see the waves approaching, but on the way back they were hitting me from behind. Each wave would drench me and push the rear of the boat out of the water, which means I couldn’t steer for a second or two — and that put us at risk of being broadsided by a wave and capsizing! The plan was to get to Mosquito Bay that night and then come back up the coast, past our first campsite, to our pickup place. Instead, we just spent two nights at our first campsite, and our third day was a liesure day exploring tiny private beaches and snorkeling. Excellent!

When we returned, we heard about an Australian adventurer who was trying to kayak from Australia to New Zealand in a boat about the same size as ours. He encountered 30-foot waves along the course of his 1,600 km journey, only to capsize about 80 km from shore on the day before he was supposed to arrive. Right now he’s missing at sea. Pretty tragic story — you can read about it here. We had a pretty intense 20 minutes, and I can’t believe what it must have been like to deal with this stuff for 30 days, day and night. Today is the last day of the search and rescue mission, so everyone over here is hoping they find him. Fingers crossed.