Abel Tasman National Park

We settled in Motueka for 2 days (the longest in one place for New Zealand) to explore the beautiful beaches and seals around Abel Tasman National Park. While shopping at the food market for the upcoming days, we bumped into some Kiwis we had met in India and we’re invited to dinner the next night.

With hit and miss weather we got lucky in the morning and rented sea kayaks to take in the scenery. Only having been flat water kayaking it took us a bit to get our bearing with the choppy waves and wind but we finally figured out how to use the rudder and life was so much easier. During our three hour adventure we picnicked on the white sandy beaches and had some seal visitors while paddling around some of the islands. After finishing the “Mad Mile” we made it Anchorage Bay to drop of our gear and start our 12 km hike back to our car through the tropical forest along the shoreline. Later, we enjoyed good company and a delicious home cooked meal.

For a more up close and personal experience we signed up for a seal swim the next day further up the national park. We swam with a couple seals but most seemed pretty content just sleeping on the rocks. That sounded pretty good to us too, so after slipping out of our seal suits we basked in the sun on a beach.