South Island New Zealand

‘It’s a blue penguin!’ a man shout to us from the beach. A penguin? Where? We stop paddling, look around and see a little bird passing just by the front of our kayak. At first it would be easy to confuse it with an everyday duck, but giving it a second look, it is very noticeable that its head, beak and body shape are different. It doesn’t seem to be scared or annoyed by our presence, but to the contrary keeps swimming around us. It is so cute I want to take it back home – not very practical of course, and also strictly forbidden. We are in the Tonga Island Marine Reserve, in Abel Tasman National Park, in the South Island of New Zealand. Abel Taman is the smallest national park in New Zealand with only 225 sq kilometres of protected coastline.

This is my third trip to New Zealand, but the first time I am visiting the north west part of the south island. New Zealand is not a large country, but the landscape, vegetation and climate vary so much from one place to another: there are beaches, volcanoes, glaciers, and luxuriant forests. Add excellent food and wine into the mix, and you can understand why the friendly inhabitants believe their country is paradise on earth. However, there is one less enjoyable aspect of New Zealand: the weather is quite unpredictable and it can sometimes rain – a lot. That’s why this time, my partner James and I decided to go during their summer (January in the UK) and to spend most of our time in one of the warmest part of the country.

The trip doesn’t start too well as we take the ferry from Wellington on an extremely windy and rainy ‘summer’ morning. Nevertheless, standing on the deck with my waterproof jacket on, holding the bar so I don’t get blown away, I decide to keep my spirits up, as it can only be better on the other side of the Cook straight. And it is: three hours later we arrive in Picton where the sun is shining. After picking up our rental car, we head west to the Abel Tasman National Park.

Continued...