It seemed a shame to neglect our upper bodies after yesterdays intensive lower body workout, so we decided that a few hours of sea kayaking was in order.

Ross’s friend Charlotte decided to join us today. She had gone one better than our hike up Mount Taranaki, and had done the same walk but overnight. They reached the summit around midnight before descending in the dark. Charlotte apparently lives by the philosophy that sleep is for wimps!!

We hired two double kayaks and paddled out to sea. The weather report suggested that the swell would be around 20 cm, which was more than a conservative estimate.

We paddled around lots of little islands, some of which housed seal colonies. Seals are nice to observe from a distance, but up close they have odor issues and also a penchant for climbing onto the front of kayaks! Luckily they weren’t too interested in our boats and we enjoyed watching them for a while.

It was quite a hard paddle, and we were out for a few hours. I felt quite sea sick, which I naively hadn’t realised was a possibility. It was bad enough for me to turn down the chocolate being handed out.

Once we had circled the islands we battled our way back to shore, in the now quite significant waves. Charlotte was planning an afternoon with friends, followed by a party and then a night shift. We were planning a quiet afternoon and a nice meal.

Three days in New Zealand: black water rafting, climbing a mountain a sea kayaking. A pretty good start!