#kayaking Abel Tasman: week 28

Well, at the time of departure, we didn't know exactly where the trip was going. Somewhere in the north of the South Island. To be honest, we were a bit inspired by the two Czech girls, Hana and Petra. After surviving "Debbie" unharmed, it was time for something new. It was time to move on. We calmly packed our things, prepared our car for a new adventure, and said goodbye to our flatmates with a smile, but of course also with a tear in our eye. We just drove off towards Abel Tasman.

We were overjoyed that we had made it so far. We parked our kayak, grabbed our stuff, and walked through the forest, where there was supposed to be a campground. Pretty strange.

We found a spot and set up our tent in the dark. We could hardly see anything. Luckily, Bibi had a headlamp with her. I hadn't been able to find mine for months. Just as we were changing, we suddenly noticed strange noises coming from the bushes. And there it was. At first, I thought it was the first wild kiwi I had ever seen. Unfortunately not. It was a kea, a chicken-like creature that couldn't fly. Funny. The coming night was terrible. I could hardly close my eyes. I didn't know how to lie down. There were roots and rocks everywhere, poking into my back. I decided to sit cross-legged and lean over my legs. It was by far the most comfortable pose I could find. And then there were the park animals making strange noises. One of the worst nights I had in New Zealand. Fortunately, we somehow made it through the night. After a quick breakfast, we set off and explored the bays on the way back. The sun shone in our faces. It was a warm autumn day. One bay was more beautiful than the other. We decided to take a small part of the Abel Tasman Great Walk to have a view of the bay from above. Wow, what a beautiful day. We were happy.

We also stopped on a small island where we saw many seals and relaxed on a rock heated by the sun. The sun shone in our faces.

It was magical. Back at our starting point, a young guy picked us up with his truck and drove us back to our car. We treated ourselves to a quick shower and a quick quiche at the nearby restaurant with a fantastic view of the sea.

Then we set off for Christchurch. We still had 6 hours of driving ahead of us and wanted to at least cover half of it that day. We stayed overnight at a free campground, which we reached very late. The next day, we set off again at 6 a.m. The sunrise was breathtaking as we cruised through the valleys. On the mountain peaks, we already saw the first snow.

We first went to a laundromat. Then we went to the workshop to inquire about our car registration. The guy at the workshop told us that the registration was actually due. Well, okay. We also told him that we had to leave the country the next day because of our visa... "Did you steal the car or why do you have to leave New Zealand?", he joked while we wanted to extend our registration in the office. The joke turned serious. And now here's the kicker... The lady in the office told us flat out that the car was not registered in our name. This had to be a joke. We were speechless. We couldn't believe what was happening. It felt like someone had hit us over the head with a huge hammer or like we had been run over by a truck. That was a bombshell. The insurance coverage was worthless. Of course, the lady then asked for our passports. Just in case the previous owner reported the car as stolen...

After the shock, we decided to grab a bite to eat. Then we drove to our couch host, who promised to take care of our car while we were abroad. We drove to the address he gave us. And then came the next bombshell. We met about 10 people in his garden who told us that "Andy" didn't live here. This couldn't be true. Suddenly, "Andy" stumbled out of the house. Completely smoked out and as if he hadn't showered in days. He hugged us and told us that he had a lot of problems. What the hell... that sounded scary. We definitely didn't want to leave our car parked there for a week. We were desperate. It was 5 p.m. and our flight was less than 12 hours away. We were at the point where we went from house to house and knocked on doors. Fortunately, nobody opened. And then came the relieving message from a couch host. He even offered us a room for the night. There you go. We ended the evening at Burgerfuel and then made our way to our host. It was really cozy at his place and he even arranged a taxi to the airport for us. Our alarm went off at 4:30 a.m. A new adventure began. Where to? I'll reveal that in my next blog.