KAYAKING WITH KIDS – ABEL TASMAN NATIONAL PARK

The Abel Tasman was the last trip we had planned for our North Island Adventure. It was also number 1 on our sons Tarns bucket list. Tarn has a slightly over committed personality type and when he gets something in his head, you just need to do it, as he will literally lie in bed thinking about it until its done. He is without a doubt a child with an ingrained spirit of adventure and its things like this that make him tick. As you can imagine after 4 weeks on the road, and many other adventures under our belt, Braden and I were both at the end of it, and to be honest we were quite happy to buzz home. But this one was not about us. And of course the trip that comes last that you are least excited about, always ends up being the best one!

We woke up on Anzac day, completely disorganised but excited about the 3 stunning days in the weather forecast. I have always had a special place in my heart for the Tasman area, and so many good memories both within Golden Bay and the Abel Tasman, so I was excited. However we were getting complacent with adventure by this stage and that meant that we had really thought about the planning part of the journey. We did have a lot of gear though, it was only food that was  presenting a problem.

Being Anzac day all the grocery stores were closed. We scouted both Nelson and Motueka on the way, but we were not having much luck. The grocery store at Kaiteriteri was open however, although it had been pillaged by all the other adventurers who had forgot about Anzac Day. Food is normally what keeps me excited and motivated on multi day trips, but it wasn’t to be on this trip. This trip was about going back to basics. I think Braden was excited though, as it meant there was an absolute need to catch some seafood as we were seriously low on the protein front. He was excited that his hobby was finally going to be treated with the respect it deserved.

So off we went. It felt like we had enough gear with us to last us a couple of weeks, but isn’t that the beauty of kayaking trips. We had booked in with Abel Tasman Sea Shuttle to transport us to camp spot one at Onetahuti Bay, not realising that the shuttle could only land in certain spots. Instead of Onetahutiwe ended up being dropped at Tonga Quarry. As we hadn’t packed our gear for carrying it, we decided that the 2km walk to Onetahuti Bay was going to be more of a mission then it was worth. So I rang DOC and asked if I could change our campsite. Luckily it was April and the track was quite. After talking to my old mate from DOC I then decided that we should just stay here both nights instead of moving on to Bark Bay as we had planned. Everyone (except Braden) thought this was a great idea, as no one was that excited about packing up camp the next day and trying to get everything over the hill to another campsite. Why we didn’t consider this during the planning process I really don’t know. But we got there in the end.

I forgot to mention that we also had my parents with us on this trip, as well as another family (the Sides). The sides were avid adventurers and very relaxed about anything (i.e the perfect family to do a trip with) and we also had my parents along as the Abel Tasman had been on her bucket list for many years.

At age 65+, they were effectively new to the concept of multi-day camping experiences. I did take a moment to wonder how I ended up with a love for this type of thing, having never really been exposed to it growing up. But I guess adventure doesn’t always take the form you would imagine it to. I felt like I had enjoyed a very adventurous childhood, moving around, playing sport, going on holidays and genuinely spending my childhood doing outdoor stuff. It goes to show that it doesn’t really matter what adventure means to you, as long as you can enjoy freedom of mind and spirit in everything you do, you will still develop the confidence and courage to find what you love in life.

So…we ended up basing at Tonga Quarry for 3 days. Day 2 we got out in the kayaks and paddled north to Tonga Island and Shag Harbour. Two locations that my old DOC mate told me that we had to go. And what amazing advise it was. At Tonga island we had a seal jump on our kayak. Braden looked more freaked out then I have every seen him, and swiftly turned around and gave it a wee helping hand off his boat. That was very entertaining and absolutely the highlight of Bella’s trip.

Next up we started paddling along the coastline towards Awaroa Head. It was a pretty exposed piece of Coastline but it was stunning weather and it didn’t look like the wind would get up. We made it Shag harbour and paddled into the Estuary. From the outside it didn’t look like anything, but it ended up being a seal play school. I think the muma seals dropped off the baby seals in here on the high tide, while they went out hunting, as there were hundreds of them and they were the most playful little cubs I’ve ever experienced. They swam alongside us as we paddled deeper into the Estuary. The water was only about two metres deep and the water was crystal clear. It was one of the most magical places I had every been on the Abel Tasman and I would of missed it completely had the DOC guy not told us about it.

It made me feel tremendously lucky and also taught me that its not always about the a to b, that I am so used to doing. Having a base for once and therefore more time to explore was a revelation. How did we not get onto this earlier?

When we got home to Tonga Quarry we still had time to enjoy lunch, go for a run, play on the beach and read a book. Isn’t that what holidays are about. Braden and the Sides boys took a trip down to Bark Bay, which was out of the marine park, and went fishing and diving. Coming home with a big snapper that we were able to cook up for dinner! What a day.

The next day we went for a run in the morning and then it was time to pack up. It all went so quick and it would of been so easy to spend another few days out there. The only thing missing was a fire. And I didn’t realise that there are camp areas on the Abel Tasman that have fires. As it was April and day light saving had ended it was getting very dark by 5.30pm and quite cold at night. We had plenty of warm clothes but theres nothing quite like sitting around the campfire. If we went back I would base at a location with a campfire, but I would still choose to go back in April. This is when the seal pups are at an age where they love to play, which is such a highlight for the kids. Its also so quite and the weather tends to be really settled with no wind and bluebird skies. This was truly one of the most magical trips I had done with the kids to date, and I know that we could go back every year and still love it just as much. There is so much to explore and having kayaks and time, opened up the world of what we could do each day.