My New Zealand Jobs

Kayaking in Abel Tasman

Having never been on a kayak, I ventured with a group of 11 onto the South Island for the first time for a 4-day kayaking trip in Abel Tasman National Park. Abel Tasman is on the northwest coast of the South Island, and is famous for clear waters and golden beaches. The forcast was rain, all Easter weekend. The coastal road we went down was full of debris and angry waves, but we managed to get across before they closed it. The wind caused some choppy water on days 1 and 4, but we didn’t get a drop of rain, which was awesome. Abel Tasman is as beautiful as they say, with the mountains in the distance adding an extra dimension. We all traveled on sea kayaks, with everyone except our leader on double kayaks. One unique feature of sea kayaks is they have a rudder controlled by foot pedals. I spent 3 days in the front and the last day as the steersman. Considering the strength of my upper body and my experience level with paddling, my boat was almost always behind the others. Sometimes it bothered me, but then you remember where you are and what you’re doing. It was rough going for me, and I questioned whether my arms had any paddling left in them many times, but I pushed through and felt pretty good on the last day, except for the wind and waves flying at me. Met some cool people as well. Overall, memorable weekend doing something I never really considered doing. Would never have known what I missed, and having nothing to compare it to, I really don’t know what I experienced, but it affects me, and I’m very glad I took the opportunity.