From Fox Glacier, we headed to the Okarito Lagoon where we camped by the beach. Nice campfire on the beach, an early night, and then a 5.30am walk the next morning. Haven't been up that early in a while. The hope was to see the elusive kiwi bird - we didn't but the sunrise over the lagoon was worth it anyway. When I can drag myself out of bed, I really do love the early mornings.
We then headed towards Punakaiki further up the coast. On the way we stopped off at the Bushman's Museum which was really interesting. I now know a whole lot more about NZ's deer farming industry. In short, wild deer started to decimate the landscape so they started a massive cull. They then realised that there was great demand abroad for venison and that they would be better off capturing the remaining deer and farming it. Capturing the deer is described as "NZ's last great adventure" and methods included men throwing themselves out of helicopters to wrestle a deer to the ground!? Eventually, they came up with slightly more sophisticated methods such as using net guns fired from helicopters rather than just humans!
A beautiful sunny afternoon in Punakaiki which was great for those of us who went horse riding. Had a great ride along and across the river and then on to the beach. Myself and one of the guides went off separately to the rest of the group so that we could go faster. Had a brilliant gallop along the beach. The horses went flat out racing each other - the wind and the speed making my eyes water - so much fun! Another camp fire that night on the beach.
Next day, a long winding coastal drive up to the northwest and Abel Tasman National Park. The coastline has such a rugged and raw natural beauty - all very untouched. Arrived in Abel Tasman just after lunch and headed straight to the sky dive centre. Sky diving has to be one of the most amazing things I've ever done. Pretty terrifying on the way up in the tiny plane looking down at the world below. As we were doing the highest jump of 16,500 feet, they gave us oxygen masks to breath through before we jumped. Then the plane door opens and all I could really see were clouds. Before you know it, you have been flung out of the plane attached to your jump master. I guess I probably closed my eyes at that point but after a couple of seconds, I felt my jump master tap me on the shoulders which means you can uncross your arms and start enjoying it. Freefall is such a fantastic sensation. Had over a minutes worth of freefall before the parachute opened and I can honestly say that I didn't want it to end. You don't really feel like you are falling, you feel like you are flying because the air pressure is so strong. All over far too quickly and I would love to do it again.
Spent the next day walking in Abel Tasman NP along a coastal path - finally the weather seems to have turned in our favour. Today we are in Nelson and now I must sign off as the bus is about to leave... Bit of a rushed blog post but yesterday's plan to blog was ruined by a bee sting on the way back from our walk. Very painful and today my face is swollen and my eye half closed - very attractive!
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