Abel Tasman National Park is one of NZ's newest and is its smallest NP. Sitting on the north west corner of the South Island, it is blessed with more sunshine than any other place in NZ. The surrounding area has long been a haven for hippies and artists, plus the odd dope grower, with rolling hills of lush forest and valleys filled with apple orchards and hops, it's an easy place to kick off your ridding boots and take a few days off.
My travel buddy Julie was in a past life, a sea kayak guide in the marine park, so we head off for a three day watery adventure along the verdant coast line. I'm the first to admit that water is not my
natural environment and frankly I feel uncomfortable on anything other than mill pond conditions. However our heavily laden tandem kayak makes good progress through the slightly choppy early morning sea.
We stop for lunch on a beach of yellow sand flanked by lush native bush. I say native as the NZ government is putting a great deal of effort in to eradicating introduced species of trees and bushes, that have been introduced over the years. We paddle along the coast entering still lagoons and spot the odd seal lounging on rocks warming up after a long day feeding in the deep chilly waters.
Our camp for the night is in a delightful little bay, know incorrectly as Mosquito Bay, no mozzies, just sand flys! We make camp, then head for a swim in the inviting blue waters, which after a long sweaty days paddle is a delight. With a bottle of red wine opened, we get to cooking up one of my favourite foods, green lipped mussels. And they don't get freshers than these, before entering the marine park, we simply paddled up to a rock in the ocean and plucked off a few. Cooked in just some sea water, they are absolutely scrummy 😉🍷
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