We left for Abel Tasman with high expectations for a relaxing couple days on the Tasman Sea. We had decided to kayak about 2.5 hours to a campsite for the night, then kayak through the serene and calm waters of Abel Tasman a bit further north to witness orcas and seals in the marine sanctuary, just like all the brochures and websites promised. We were super hyped, convinced this was going to be the highlight of out New Zealand trip.
The Day Before Departure
Unfortunately, there was a small cyclone – you may of heard about on the news – which was working its way from the Australian floods to our neck of the woods – just our luck! Prior to booking the kayak we talked to the rental people asking about the weather conditions. They said although it may be slightly windy today, it looks good for tomorrow, with winds calming in the late morning. Perfect we thought – sounds like it should be great. They told us if things get worse there is always the option of the water taxi back for a nominal fee of $40 a person.
Ready for departure...
The Day of Departure
We showed up at the beach for our safety briefing where our guide repetitively discussed the numerous capsizing scenarios and what to do. We thought this was normal, prepping us for the worst case scenario. At this point in the day, it was a bit windy but sunny and plus 25!! Around 10:30 we were off to the Tasman Sea on our own with no guide and no previous kayak experience, let alone ocean kayak experience. I repeat, no previous kayak experience.
Things started well, a little rocky with some spats about paddling and steering but over all not bad – we stopped at a quiet beach, ate some lunch, and were off again. We were quickly approaching what was explained to us as the “mad mile” that takes a bit of work to get around. Well as we approached it we noticed a few waves breaking and some rocks we had to weave between, things were a little hairy to say the least but we managed and were at the campsite! woohoo! As the night went on, the waters calmed to near glass and the idealization of Abel Tasman was approaching. Excited we had passed the rough waters that day with minimal issues and the water appearing to calm, we were excited to go to bed and wake up to the calm, serene views of Abel Tasman.
Enjoying the Stunning Beaches
Relaxing after a hard kayak in..
The Paddle Back…
We woke to the sound of waves crashing against the beach, knowing that high tide was coming in we figured things would calm down in a couple hours. Lets pack up the tent, eat some breakfast, pack the kayak and we should be set! Well – nearly 3 hours had passed and things were really not looking any better, in fact it looked like things were getting a little worse. Regardless of this, we decide to time our exit through the crashing waving perfectly and head back to the beach we launched at, we had to have the kayak back in 3 hours and it was at least 2.5 hours of straight kayak back with good winds, not going into the wind as we soon found out we were faced with. We were approaching the “mad mile” once again. Oh geez! Uh oh! the waves are MUCH bigger then the day before, nearly 6 foot swells. This would have been a great point to turn around and call the taxi – we considered it for about 2 minutes but decided we are adventure travelling, on a budget, so lets power through!
At this point, stress was a bit high and spats were more frequent – Jarr was continuously steering us into the sea or rocks – neither situation is optimal and I was continuously yelling back at him to pay attention to his direction which was pretty much decided by the waves. We finally passed the “mad mile” entering a cove which was slightly calmer and stress was reduced – temporarily. We took a quick “paddle break” as our arms were about to fall off, and managed to calm down.
Finally we were entering the final cove to the launching bay, having no idea of the time that had passed but could see the final point in the distance so decided to take the most direct “angle” route to the beach. This was not a good idea for the following reasons:
1. This brought us to the biggest waves seen yet
2. Waves were breaking all around us, or on top of us
3. We needed to use the capsizing advice from our guide to lean into the waves and
4. Tensions immediately skyrocketed
At this point, we were pretty much convinced we did not like ocean kayaking and that we were going to fall into the Tasman Sea with unknown outcomes. Once again we managed to paddle our way through and FINALLY reached shore! At this point in the day we were about 3 hours away from low tide….interesting where we had decided to angle cut across the bay was a massive sand bar which caused the large breaking waves – would have been nice to know that a little earlier!
Thats it, we are done…in our car safe and sound, now just back to kayak place to pick up our backpacks. When we reached to kayak rental place one of the managers came up to us to discuss our trip and quoted the following:
“wow we looked at the schedule for today a little late and realized we had people kayaking in”
“we cancelled our trips to the north today”
“good thing you guys have obviously kayaked before”
Oh geez – good thing we didn’t call that water taxi haha. Needless to say, we left the place feeling proud of ourselves and liking ocean kayaking a little more then earlier that day. Although it was not the idealized Abel Tasman experience, it was our own experience and it was still pretty awesome. For any of you who are thinking of ocean kayaking in Abel Tasman in the future, apparently it is usually very calm and serene this was just a rare occurrence.
Regardless of the hard work, the views in Abel Tasman National Park are amazing – Click Here for more Photos from our kayak excursion.
I have a picture in my head of the two of you arguing in the large waves- to funny- I’m glad you’re both safe:)
We are glad to hear that even though the Abel Tasman wasn’t it’s usual self for you, you managed to still enjoy your trip and take in the beauty of the park.
Just for your peace of mind we did have the watertaxis looking out for you throughout the day and reporting back to us to let us know where you were and how you were going.
The Sea Kayak Company.
“Whew, what a trip”! That’s all I can say in my worried Mom voice with a furrowed brow! Like Kelsi, I can well imagine the ‘conversations’ taking place during the adventure. I bet you wish you would have practiced more in the pink kayak on the wild rapids of Hanmore Lake! The pics are amazing; camping under that moonlight would be breathtaking. Keep having fun and stay safe!
By the way…a HUGE shout out to the Sea kayaking company, they were an awesome provider of services and we would definitely recommend them for your kayaking adventures! Out of all the places we looked into they had the most friendly and knowledgeable staff.
Good to know we had a pack of taxis looking out for us, much appreciated!
check their site if you are planning to kayak it up in AT – http://www.seakayaknz.co.nz/
Hey Jarrett,
Hello from the office…
I just can’t imagine how many “Dude!! That is a %$#&ing big wave!!!” comments were coming out of your mouth!!!
Next time, NO KAYAKING IN THE CYCLONES!
Souunds like you guys are having a blast!
Take care!
The cyclone was an adventure to say the least – with zero experience on the ocean it was a little bit of a challenge. As for what was coming out of my mouth – i dont think the internet would approve of my choice of vocabulary!
Just read this story and am I ever glad that Jarrett’s is \ athletic skills helped you guys out of this jam! Especially the part where he was steering the kayak into rocks. Thanks Jackie for keeping my brother alive haha
My athletic prowess is second to Michael Phelps and without my amazing and dazzling display of talent on the Tasman Sea, we woulda been goners…
who am I kidding- without J i’d be stranded on a rocky island like tom hanks in castaway
omg, sounds like fun, and you made it out alive. going to go check out the pictures now.
I just had to add that the title almost sounds like the closing line of Covergirl commercials: “Extreme! Serene? Covergirl
” lollll =P