stacie and i drove up to nelson from christchurch on friday via the inland route, which i had never driven before. on saturday we had fabulous weather for our kayak tour of abel tasman national park. the scenery and the company were lovely. we saw baby seals, heard choruses of bell birds, and withstood an attack of a cheeky north island robin.
it was low tide when we launched the kayaks so we were helped across the long expanse of intertidal estuary by the kayak tractor - crazy!
our lunch spot
post lunch swim
geared up for our beach launch
beware the cheeky robin at this spot!
heading back to the beach
stacie and i made it back to nelson in time to pick up robyn (and some fresh crayfish, aka lobster) from the airport. crayfish = delicious! we went for a mountain bike ride on some of the trails above nelson on sunday. stacie and robyn are much better technical riders than i am so i was so happy to make it back down the hill in one piece!
tui (the dog), robyn, and stacie getting ready to head down
robyn, stacie, and i at the bottom!
since i last posted, i also took a trip down to wellington for the second workshop we hosted (the main reason i am in NZ). we were busy most of the time, but i did manage to get in a sight seeing run one morning that included the botanic gardens (yes, i love botanic gardens) and the beehive (NZ's parliament building).
overlooking wellington at sunrise from the observatory
rose garden & conservatory
the beehive
six weeks has evaporated at an alarming rate. i have two more talks to give this week (already gave one on monday) and then start the long journey home on sunday. for all of you interested in the space-time continuum, try this on for thought. i leave auckland at 19:30 sunday, 24 february and arrive in san francisco at 10:30 sunday, 24 february. pretty cool, eh?
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