Friday, March 1 - Kayaking at Abel Kayak NP, Day 1

     For our kayaking expedition we settled on a small outfit that gave us a fifth day free of kayak rental  freem if we paid for four.  So we headed out to Marahau, a small village on the coast, got our equipment, stuffed the kayaks full of food and gear, and headed out.

The water conditions were very smooth at the beginning of the journey,
a good thing because we were getting our sea-arms used to the boats

Picnic lunch on this small beach

After lunch we tackled the Mad Mile.  I didn't get any photos during the
hour long slog around the point and into the strong winds and big waves
of the open Tasman Bay, but suffice it to say, it was pretty exciting and
a bit stressful.  At times we couldn't see Kristy's boat if she or we were
in the trough between two big waves.  Fortunately, they were coming
mostly straight at us, so we didn't get too much water breaking
over the sides.  

     We camped for the night in a big DOC campground on Anchorage Bay.  It serves both kayakers and trampers walking the coastal trail, has room for 100 campers, and was quite full of young people, mostly European.  But considering everyone had either hiked or kayaked to get there, it got quiet by sundown, and we got a pretty good sleep.