Dreamy Kayaking, sort of...

We have left the Queen Charlotte Sound behind us and we're in Kaikora - a small peninsula on the northeast coast. We're making our way slowly back to Christchurch to make our flight on Thursday. On the drive over here this afternoon, we ended up following the coastline for a fair bit of time. We saw tons of NZ fur seals lazing on the rocks along the way. Very cool. Kaikora is a cute little town and there are mountains to the inland - some with a bit of snow left - and the coast. We walked into the town square after parking the car and they were having some kind of Christmas Bazaar. It was quite bizarre! It was full of families with kids dressed up like it was Halloween. Strange.

We had a blast on our kayak trip. The winds died down a bit from our first day in Picton, and the wind was mostly at our backs on the trip out to explore the inlets. Sally, a Brit of about 50 yrs of age who splits her time between NZ and Turkey! - was our guide. It was just the three of us all day. Sally showed us around and gave us lots of tips about tandem sea kayaking. She shared all that she knew about the forest and birds we saw along the way. She was great. We paddled for about two hours and stopped for tea. Then, more paddling and a lunch stop at a dock blocked from the wind. After lunch, Sally departed for Picton Port and Peter and I were on our own. It was such a cool way to see the scenery. The water was a gorgeous greenish blue. The sun came in and out all day. Mostly it was in, and I was surprised to find that we both had a bit of sunburn despite the conditions and the sunscreen.

We paddled to the next inlet - Lochmara Bay - where we found our abode for the evening aptly named Lochmara Lodge! It was this paradise built on a hillside beside the water. There were sheep, gardens, sculptures, docks, rope swings, jellyfish, a cafe, glowworms and bird rehab areas. Not to mention a hot tub and our cushy room that had a dreamy view of the water and the hills on the other shore. It was really cool. I was really glad to stop paddling. Really glad. Extremely relieved, truthfully. My left arm was a bit sore and I found that my right hand wasn't working up to it's true potential. So, we put the kayak securely on shore and rested in our cool room. We walked around the property to check out all of the aforementioned amenities. Then, we had our best meal in NZ in the cafe. The cook was from West Virginia! Go figure.

We slept well and were out paddling again by 8:30 this morning. My arms were touch and go, but, Peter was a rock solid paddler throughout our trek. In one inlet, we spotted some action in the water and paddled over to find about 40 dusky dolphins swimming around our kayak. It was amazing! We checked out a few more inlets and then suffered a bit through a huge, HUGE, long, windy crossing back to the port. We were glad for the experience - it was special - but we were equally as glad to be standing successfully on shore.

We're (I'm) extremely tired and old righty is stiff and left arm is sore. A word to the wise, if you're going to paddle for two days in a kayak, practice a bit first to break yourself in. Ouch.

Hope all is well with all of you!
Miss you!

love,
K & P