We had a bit of an "incident" in the morning, but tried to quickly put it behind us because we were going sea kayaking! We had 2 person kayaks, so I quickly paired up with Marian. Jen and Josh are really athletic and adventurous, so it made sense for them to be in the same kayak. I was kayaking, like all of my other New Zealand activities, for the experience and I wanted to enjoy the day. Marian and I always have a great time together, so I knew it would ensure a good day. We went through a short tutorial and headed out to the water. We had the kayaks for 5 hours and had complete freedom in where we went. It was the absolute perfect weather and we were all so excited!
Crystal clear water and sunshine
Marian and I struggled to get a rowing rhythm at first, but eventually became pros. As we were out on the water, we realized how much fun we have together and made plans to go on a booze cruise together when we are middle-aged. I have it written in my planner :) We meandered a little more than Josh and Jen, so we made plans to stop at the first island for lunch. When we arrived a few minutes after they did, they wanted to go to next island so we did not go on shore. Marian and I were paddling and we saw another boat 100 meters away. We were shocked that Jen and Josh had gotten off the island and were already even with us. Their athleticism frustrated us, so we started booking it so they would not beat us again. We were not worthless kayakers! When we had pushed hard for 30 minutes or so, we got close enough to the other kayak to realize it was an Asian couple who trained with us, but not Josh and Jen. They were significantly far behind us. Marian and I felt silly for stressing about their athleticism and trying to race an unsuspecting kayak. Josh and Jen met us at Fisherman's Island for lunch and had to hide in the bushes because it was too windy and cold out in the open. The beach was also covered in hard shells, so also not conducive for sitting. At one point, one of our ores "received its freedom", so I ran down to get it, but my uncooperative rolled up pants and the painful shells made me run like a crazy person. When I looked back at the others, they were taking pictures of me and laughing. Typical.
Tough kayak partners
Just Kidding! Booze cruise buddies!
Hiding in the bushes from the cold and wind
Jen and Josh are champs
The guide had told us about a seal colony around the island, so we anxiously headed for it. We rowed up and there were baby seals all over the rocks yelping away. The momma seals were in the water twirling and flipping for us. We got within 6 feet of them! So cool!! As we were kayaking away, one of the seals was following us and we became best friends. Marian and I started to leisurely head back to base while Jen and Josh did some hard core exploring. I enjoyed basking in the sun and laughing with Marian while giving my forearms a rest (hence the booze cruise plans). We did get caught in a sand bar a few times, but it was always met with lots of laughter and we always got out.
Our seal friend
When we got back to the hostel, we were ready for a relaxing night in. We made dinner and watched the next LOTR (meaning I fell asleep and did not make it through the first hour). Our precious friend, Richard, was there again and kept offering everyone Bacardi and Coke (even though Josh does not remember this at all). Josh later told us that after we had left, Richard told him "Well aren't you careless for galavanting around with three hot chicks". Oh dear Richard. Of course Josh's response was something about how awesome it was. Typical.Day 12
This was "my day". We each got to pick activities that were a must do on our break. Jen chose bungy jumping (check), Josh chose kayaking (check), and now we were doing my activity: a wine tour! (I obviously have a bright future). This was the opposite of yesterday. We slept in late, put effort into the way we looked for the first time of the whole trip, and then hit the road. We did not have too much of a set plan, but we knew there were a lot of vineyards around. Jen, being Mormon, was a built-in designated driver, the sun was shining, so it was all adding up to be a great day. We got to just show up to vineyards and they would tell us about the different wines and we would do tasting. I feel a lot more knowledgeable now and I learned a lot. We went to 3 vineyards, stopped at the Richmond mall for a late lunch, and then went to 2 more vineyards. We also went to a cute ocean town that had supposedly good ice cream. There was no atm in the entire town, though, so Marian and I went on adventure and walked for about 30 minutes to get coffee. Worth it. My favorite moment was in one of the tasting rooms while the sun was shining in and we could overlook the beautiful vineyard, and Norah Jones was playing while I tasted wines. It was a good day!
vineyards
sunshine and friends. What could be better?
We stopped in Nelson for the night and went exploring. We found a beautiful church and explored the grounds and inside. It was interesting to learn about the missionaries influence in New Zealand. We decided to go to Indian food for dinner. Before we ordered, there was a man standing holding his one-year ish old son, who was looking over his dad's shoulder at us. The baby had food and a blank expression all over his face. We smiled at him and, without changing his face, he pointed at us as if he were holding a gun. I wish I could convey the ridiculousness of that moment. We were laughing for about 10 minutes and still reenact it today.
Weird tree in church grounds
Nelson cathedral
We went back to our hostel and decided to watch the third LOTR (meaning I made it maybe 45 minutes this time). The others finished the film and Josh left because he was staying at a campground outside of the city. We found out that he had come back to late, so the campgrounds were closed, so he had to drive back and crash on our floor. This all happened around 3 am. Poor kiddo.
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