Day 23: Thursday, March 13, Motueka

The weather was great for a day of kayaking, so I went sea kayaking for the first time. I enjoyed it, though I never felt really comfortable. A canoeing stroke seems more natural. I did learn about the “oh crap strap,” which is the cord you pull to release the seal on the skirt that seals the water out of the kayak. Max is a vegetarian who double-checks to be sure his eggs are free-range, his food is GMO-free, and his crops were grown in sustainable ways. He has been a rock climbing instructor in Canada, a white-water kayaking instructor here in NZ, and now a sea kayaking instructor. He lives out of his camperized minivan, he believes that tourism in NZ is unsustainable because the world is going to run out of oil very soon and thus no tourists will be able to travel here, and he scorns many butchered Kiwi pronunciations of Maori names. In short, he is a model for one Kiwi stereotype: young, in touch with nature, eco-conscious, and sensitive to native (Maori) culture.

We kayaked in the waters off Abel Tasman National Park. Abel Tasman is a very popular vacation spot for Kiwis, and I can see why. It has the infrastructure for an influx of visitors and it has miles and miles (perhaps I should say kilometers and kilometers) of sandy beaches, blue/green waters, and national parks open to hiking and camping. If I were a Kiwi and I were used to the landscapes common to NZ, I would probably come here for a vacation as well.

We made another playground discovery today. Our holiday park (more on that in a minute) had an “air trampoline” that is just a dome of tough plastic filled with air. Air pressure substitutes for springs. It is at least three times the size of a normal trampoline, and while you don’t get as much bounce the sloping sides make for some interesting ricochets.

There is at least one holiday park in any respectable NZ town. A holiday park is a mix of cabins, RV hookups, and camp sites – basically it can host you no matter how you are traveling. Most have some degree of playground equipment for kids and many have bikes you can borrow or rent. The holiday park we stayed in at Motueka had pedal-powered go carts; John got one and we drove around the holiday park. John came back and reported that an older lady had asked him, “Is that fun?” John’s tone as he related this implied that it was a stupid question. Of course it was fun! Very soon there were three or four other people also pedaling around the park on other push carts including the older lady, a punk/boarder guy in his 20’s, and a middle-aged man.