Back on the North Island....

Our bug free campground in Motueka treated us well and we ended up staying three nights.  The one day we drove around the Abel Tasman area to Golden Bay and got some great views and beach time.  The next day was gloriously sunny and we headed to the Abel Tasman park to rent kayaks.  My heart sank a bit when we found out that they only rented out two-seater kayaks.  Colin and I are both stubborn and like to be in control, I didn't know if trying to coordinate a kayak together was a good idea picturing a disastrous day of us paddling in circles trying to agree on where to go.  My worries disappeared quickly though and we managed just fine.  We spent 5 hours out on the clear turquoise water and visited the parks many beaches and islands where schools of silver fish swam beneath us. We had great weather and loved every minute of it, arriving back a shore sun kissed and completely exhausted.

After our sunny kayak trip the weather became a little less favorable with lots of wind and rain. We made a stop in Nelson to treat our selves to some warm pub food before heading to Picton where we escaped the rain in a 'cabin' (small room with bunk beds and a table).  Checking the forecast and seeing the weather would not improve we decided to head back to the North Island.  In Wellington we took advantage of some larger city amenities before heading to Cape Palliser on the South East tip of the island.  the Cape was a lot of fun as there were few tourists and we saw large seal colonies up close with pups that rough housed in the tidal waters and a lighthouse that offered a really nice view of the road we had just driven.  We stayed in an almost empty campground and managed to stay dry through the night before heading north to a small town where we visited the Tui Brewery for a beer before setting up camp under the biggest tree we could find to keep us dry.

R