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Thursday, August 10, 2006

Kayaking in Akaroa

I am almost about to write about Singapore. I had no idea it would take me so long to post about New Zealand, but there was so much that we did. Seriously, everyday was full of adventure. In fact, we even kept ourselves busy on the last day. Someone suggested to us the option of kayaking in Akaroa. It is a small coastal town just outside of Christchurch, which was perfect, since we were flying out of Christchurch the next afternoon.

After taking a short drive to get there, we parked our campervan and got something to eat. In fact, we slept right on the side of the street, close to the public restrooms. The next morning we were up early to rent kayaks for the day. For four hours we could rent the kayaks for $30 NZ each. That would keep us pretty occupied. So we walked out to the bay, put on our life jackets and made our way to the island to take a small hike to the top and eat lunch. Of course, Torey and I had trouble with directions the whole time we were traveling and it was no different when we were kayaking. We thought we made it to the island only to discover that we had kayaked all the way across the bay. My arms were too tired to go any farther, so we pulled the kayaks up the beach and started climbing to the top of a short hill filled with sheep.

We stopped in the middle of the sheep and sat on a rock to finish the rest of our pizza which we bought the night before. As we were hiking back down I noticed a bright yellow kayak in the water. I said to Torey, "Is that our kayak or someone else?" We thought we had pulled the kayaks up enough, but apparently the tide was higher then we expected. All of a sudden Torey and I were bolting back down the hill. It was really muddy so we were splashing dirt all up and down our pant legs. We were just hoping and praying that the other kayak was not in the water as well. In though I was really nervous about losing our rented kayaks I was also laughing at the whole situation. It was kind of fun to be running down hill and making a mess of myself.

Torey was faster then me so he jumped into the second kayak which was about to drift away and starting paddling towards our loose kayak. I stood on the beaching, laughing and taking pictures. Thank goodness we didn't lose the kayak, because I don't think we would have known what to do! I jumped into the kayak and this time we paddled to the island, only to discover that it was farther then we had expected and our four hours were almost up. So we headed back to Akaroa.

This bay is known for having Hector Dolphins, which are the most endangered dolphins in the world. I was hoping that we would get to see them. The man who owned the kayaks told us to sing, because they liked the vibrations in the water. So I sang! I sang the whole time we were in the water. I sang lots of Dixie Chicks songs and I sang stuff that I made up. I even made up a song about beating Torey to shore, because I wanted my kayak to get there first. I sang the whole time we were in the water, but we did not see any dolphins...so I'm guessing that I didn't sing all that well. Oh well, that is whole it goes with wildlife.

That night, Torey and I checked the campervan into a site so we could get a good shower in and dry our wet clothes. We ate the rest of our food and went to bed. The next morning as we drove back to Christchurch we saw more wildlife. Sheep! They were walking along the road to a new home. I was driving and trying to take pictures, because seriously, when else do you get to see sheep trotting along the road.

8 comments:

Lady Apple said...

Your pictures are great! It looks like a ton of fun!!!

Travelin' Tracy said...

Thanks Jessica and thanks for visiting my blog! I will check your out too!

Mridula said...

I got some time after a long time and what a lot I have missed! You seem to be having a lot of fun.

Travelin' Tracy said...

mridula- Well thank you for reading everything! I have been traveling so much this summer that I have a limited time on the internet...when I get home I will start reading other blogs too!

Couch Potato said...

Brilliant. I wish I could go kayaking and sing to see dolphins. I do sympathise with you for being disappointed over not seeing them. If you're visiting Boston, try whale watching. You might end up seeing a couple of North Atlantic dolphin. This is the season.

christine said...

You have such a way of writing about your experiences that make me feel as if I were right there with you. Now I really want to visit New Zealand someday!

travel plaza said...

Sounds like you had a really fun time. I've been visiting your blog often but hadn't enough time to read everything. Finally I got caught up. Sounds like a wonderful vacation and the pictures are just super!

Travelin' Tracy said...

CP- I have seen dolphins before, but never from a kayak...so I thought that would be a cool experience. Maybe another time. I do want to whale watch again. That is something I will think about if I get to Boston again!

Christine- Thank you for the compliment. Sometimes I don't know how people will take what I have been writing. Especially because I have not be rereading. I don't have time, because of limited internet time. So thanks for the encouragement that you can imagine what is happening!

TP-I had a great time and the best part is that i still haven't written about Singapore. Just wait until I get to that, because that is where the real fun happened!