Kayaking and Dolphin Spotting at Abel Tasman

Last Updated: September 25, 2020

I booked a half day kayak rental and half day sailing trip last night. I wanted to do both kayak and sail, but I didn’t want to spend several days here at Abel Tasman (granted it is beautiful!). The kayak place picked me up at 8:30, and I ended up being paired with this tiny girl from Taiwan (who didn’t paddle). So we paddled – I mean, I paddled – for about two hours before stopping for a break at a beach up the coast.

We kept paddling up the coast and then out to a little rock island, to look at seal pups. We didn’t see any penguins, but the pups are so cute. They’re so playful and funny. We paddled back across to the coastline to finish.

With my kayaking adventure complete, I hiked the twenty minutes across hill trails to Anchorage Bay to meet the sailboat. I ate my sack lunch on the beach and then sunned until it was time to leave. We sailed out to a few little islands and then back south. We spotted dolphins along the way and took a detour. I had never seen a dolphin in real life. And this was like a pack of dolphins. They were everywhere, jumping around the boat and frolicking in the water. It was amazing! And then I saw one of the baby penguins zoom by in the water, and I squealed. Ha! I was not prepared for how adorable they were!

Here’s a video of my dolphins. ;)

Our boat arrived back in “town” around five. When we got back to the “farm”, I made meusli, Kettle Chips and beer for dinner. So I didn’t actually make anything, ha! Then we sat around the campfire. Have I said “I love New Zealand” enough yet?