well i’m on my way…

The skies were beautiful and the sea was calm when we geared up and got in our kayaks.  The tour was small, only four people including the guide.  The other person was a woman from Colorado, but grew up in Chicago. 

We paddled out to some unexplainable perfectly split rock and an island where there were seals lying about.  One guy slipped off the rocks and came slithering through the water towards our kayaks.  She looked so graceful slinking through the water and I wanted to join her…but we paddled on instead to another island and parked on the beach for tea.  I was standing on the beach looking out at the perfect blue water with the mountains in the mist behind it, thinking I was in paradise when I felt a sting on my back.  I figured it was a sand fly, but when the pain didn’t dissipate, I looked behind me and saw a massive bee trying to detacht itself from my skin!  I pulled him out and made the tour guide check for the stinger that wasn’t there.  So he didn’t get me too bad, but still.  Damn bee. 

We paddled some more and stopped on another beach for lunch.  For dessert we had the most amazing carrot cake I’ve had in my life.  The longer we sat on the beach the waves were getting a bit more violent and the sky was becoming gray, so we headed out rather quickly. 

We stayed near the coast and had to paddle furiously because the wind was in our face.  We were all paired up in double kayaks and Matheiu was behind me, steering, or at least he was supposed to.  I looked back at one point and he was taking photos!  I had been paddling like crazy trying to get around the corner and felt like I was going backwards-no wonder!  We got around the corner and the waves were a bit bigger; we would fall a few feet down at the end of each wave, getting soaked with every paddle.  For a second I thought to myself “This is crazy” but then realized that there is no thinking and that I just had to do.  My mind became so clear at that moment and all I focused on was paddling, the waves, and how freakin awesome it was that we were out at sea with nothing but either fiberglass or plastic between us and the ocean.  It was somehow calming and I was thrilled to be out there.  I started wondering if kayaking could be a feasible means of transport…

We got around the ‘rapids’ and into the bay we were staying in for the night.  We were booked onto a houseboat!  How cool is that?  We got to the beach and had to wait for the guy to pick us up in his raft to take us to the boat.  We got on the boat and were shown to our “room”-the bunks below deck!  The beds were lined up along the wall-the top bunk only 2 feet above the bottom.  It was too cool.  I could definately feel the rocking of the boat and was a bit concerned.  After a while I learned to love it, and was looking forward to being rocked to sleep.  Dinner was cooked for us-a treat-and there was plenty to go around.  I had coleslaw, Indian rice, and vegetarian pie-kind of like lasagna-and everyone else had some kind of beef. 

Mathieu and I were looking at a map again and I expresed to him that I cannot travel like he does.  It’s not how I am, and I can’t expect him to travel like me.  We have different styles and that I don’t think it will work.  He was a bit alarmed about the car situation and I do feel bad.  I’m sure I’ve broken all travel etiquette rules by saying I will rent a car and backing out at the last minute, but I know I would be miserable moving that fast.  And when I’m miserable, everyone around me is.  Plus, I miss Laura time.  I likes me own company! 

The crowd was very mixed-quite a few locals just hanging out for the weekend, of course backpackers, and some older couples on holiday from the UK.  It was a semi quiet night and we chatted until pretty late.  I hung out w/ some girls and talked about religion, politics, philosophy, and girl stuff-which is something I haven’t done in a long time.  It was nice.

We were hiking the next day one small section of the Abel Tasman track and we got a late start, as the tide was already coming in and we had a river to cross.  I took off my boots and waded across-the water was nearly to my waist!  Crazyness!  Mathieu wanted to find some path leading to a pool, so after I crossed, realized I had to get back in the water and head upstream to meet him at the path.  I hesitated a bit, debating on wading on the rocks or swimming up the middle.  I opted for the rocky way, which wasn’t good, since I the rocks were slippery and I did a lot of pausing checking out my next move.  The tide was rising quickly and I ended up swimming upstream.  It was crazy and cool-I definately enjoyed myself, but for some strange reason while I was heading upstream I was actually picturing myself walking on pavement in a city surrounded by skyscrapers.  

I met up with Mathieu and we walked through palms and pines, which to me seems like a strange combination, but it’s everywere I’ve been in New Zealand so far.  The walk was nice but the path was quite uneven so I was looking down a lot.  Ani Difranco lyrics popped in my head:  “When I look down I miss all the good stuff; When I look up I just trip over things”.  We were quiet during the walk, taking in the scenery, but I also did a lot of thinking about my life and travel and how it all fits together.  And that I’m not traveling to see as many things as I can, but to see as much as I can, whether I have to spend weeks in a place or not.  I knew this before but it seemed so much more clear to me now, in the middle of a national park looking at the forest, beaches, and seemingly endless ocean.

After our 5 hour trek, a water taxi picked us up.  We saw more seals and a stingray and drove in cirlces in every bay we passed.  It was awesome, even hitting all the wakes from the bigger boats.  I’m definately becoming a water girl and I’m not sure if Chicago will satisfy my new love for the sea…         

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 14th, 2009 at 10:19 pm and is filed under New Zealand. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.