All things come to an end and it was time to start heading off the southern Island, but we managed to book a half-day of kayaking in Abel Tasman before that so off we drove after checking out. Abel Tasman is a rather large area where one easily could spend weeks trekking or kayaking but time was limited so we went for the main event, seeing split apple rock, combined with a bit of kayaking.

We had lunch at a café called Shoreline, and obviously had to play the song (went for Anna Ternheim’s cover) while waiting for the food. After finishing food it was time to wait for Kayaking tour (Kaiteriteri Kayaks) to get sorted out which took some time unfortunately – which always seems to be the case whenever there a group activities and at least it wasn’t our fault this time.

Howdy Partner!

After a quick and efficient safety walkthrough we were off in the water – mental note is to go for the dry-jackets rather than use the pro-shell next time. Or at least ensure the cuffs are tight since it wasn’t long before I got a nice splash of water on the inside and got soaked. It wasn’t really cold while moving but let’s just say I’d rather not take a swim just yet.

The Split Apple Rock of course had it’s local story of how it came about, something about a sea-monster egg and gods of land and sea competing and accidentally hitting it so it cracked – geologist claim there was a streak of softer rock and sometime during the previous ice age it cracked due to ice pushing the other halves apart. Nevertheless, a impressing piece of rock.

After tea and slacking at the beach we paddled back, still as a married couple, despite only one of us had blisters afterwards and sore while both claiming to worked hard and synchronized.

It was a good half-day and after meeting up with parents and Juni we packed the car and I switched to dry clothes and headed off towards Picton. We went for the older, more scenic, route and stopped to look at the view a few times as dusk sat in. Finally we reached Picton and checked in at what our neighbor called “The Penthouse” – a really nice flat that we would use over the night but at least dad could get some hours of sports from the TV.

We had a nice sleep-in and then headed off to Nelson Saturday Market in the centre for browsing and having breakfast.

You call that a knife?

Don’t worry little fella, we got a home for you!

There was quite a lot of regular junk but some nicer things as well, we had a fresh breakfast from a food stall. I really liked one artist who made various animals or items from recycled machine parts and Mona convinced me that we should get a really cool piece of art so I picked out one old school robot which Mona then bought me.  Of course she was right and I would have regretted it if we didn’t get something from that store.

After strolling around enough and buying some licorice and a headband for Juni we headed back to the motel for unloading and recharging. We left the car and took a stroll along the beach with some fika. It was quite windy which on the other hand the kitesurfers didn’t mind but we looped back after enjoying our fika in a wind-protected clearing.

Sipping refreshments outside our studio apartment…

Next up was dinner, so we went to “Smugglers Pub and Café” down the street but couldn’t get a table on the inside but were put on the waiting list. It quickly became clear that since All Blacks, the national pride, were playing the Australian Wallabies that no real Kiwi would leave their table until the game finished. Not sure I got the hang of rules (I gave up understanding the scoring system after a team lost five points for some reason) but it was clearly a important match for the locals and “we” won to everybody’s delight making the All Blacks setting just another record of a winning streak.

When the game was finished we quickly got a table and orders had been made in advance so finally we could start eating – there was plenty to go around and in general a cosy place.

Just another beach

After the standard morning routine of packing and checking out we vowed to not stay one night per place in the future, at least not all the time.

By chance it turns out that Kathmandu had an outlet store only a few minutes by car from where we were so why not stop by there just to see if they have anything on sale? I got myself a hoodie and merino base layer shirt while Mona got a top and a hoodie as well. Parents got pants and a belt – it’s hard to walk out without buying something, but at least we tried!

We opted for breakfast at the now familiar Christchurch airport where I got Wanton-soup and others had bacon and egg or hamburgers – one to each own I guess. Time was suddenly running short and of course there was some hassle as we tried to get out of the parking (do not use short parking if you are intending to stay less than 2 hours – express is cheaper and actually works with foreign debit cards). A panic fueling later and we switched cars at Jucy. They were relaxed about us being a tad late and we were soon on our way up North along the east-coast.

Not far from Kaikoura we thought we spotted some seals and indeed there was a hangout for baby seal pups and their families at Ohau Waterfall Walk. Photos were taken and I restrained myself from telling the other tourists off who were a few meters from one seal and didn’t realize they should move further away. Well well, we drove on to Blenheim for lighter dinner.

In Blenheim we relied on TripAdvisor for a highly ranked Raupo Café, which had raving reviews of their cappuccinos and breakfasts so we went there. Well there it became clear there that we were now in dinner time however so we split up so parents had dinner nearby where fewer people ate fish while we had a nice dinner with excellent red wine for yours truly.

After dinner we decided Blenheim wasn’t really that great so we took our chances and drove towards Nelson and started to look for a place to stay on the road. Driving in valleys and realizing we would be there between 21:30-22 cut down on nice alternatives but in we gave Abelia Motor Lodge a call. Some old school haggling later we had two studios for two nights for a total of 450 NZD. Not bad given the reception gave up and it took three calls.

We arrived safely despite driving in the the dark the last hour (the concept of lamps in central roads at least seems unknown to the local population), checked in and called it a (long) day…