Sea Kayaking with Penguins – Abel Tasman Coast, New Zealand 🇳🇿 2024

In 2024, I travelled to the South Island of New Zealand with my brother Russ for a five-day sea kayaking trip along the Abel Tasman coastline. This stretch of coast is one of New Zealand’s Great Journeys, despite being the smallest national park in the country it has a lot to offer, golden beaches, forested headlands, rocky islands, and abundant wildlife.

We rented a tandem kayak and set out from Marahau Bay with the plan of paddling to Shag Harbour and back again. The trip could easily have been done in less time, but we wanted to stretch it out. The goal wasn’t to race the coastline, but to spend longer on the sea, exploring every island, landing on empty beaches, and watching as much wildlife as we could. Just because you can do something quickly doesn’t mean that you should.

The first day began with calm, flat seas and sunshine. Paddling the tandem was easy, we had 2 engines in the boat and could get it slipping across the flat calm surface with ease. We knew the weather would shift late in the afternoon and the wind would increase but we were optimistic we could get to camp in plenty of time so we explored the islands and watched the seals from a respectful distance. By the time we reached our Department of Conservation (DOC) campsite, the conditions had started to change. The wind funneled straight into our little cove, and although the campsite was beautiful, there was nowhere to escape it. Cooking that night meant rigging up a tarp between two trees and holding one side down with our own bodyweight just to stop it flapping away in the gusts. 

The DOC campsites are very basic, some have a small shelter for cooking under but this one didn’t, we just had a few flat spots for tents and a drop toilet. The sites aren't built for luxury, they exist as part of the conservation effort, limited numbers protect the park from overcrowding and the basic toilet is there to stop waste being everywhere.  

The next morning the wind had dropped, and we paddled under blue skies again. Abel Tasman Park was named after the Dutch explorer who first saw New Zealand in 1642. The park isn't just the coast line, there are lots of trails that start from the beaches and head into the bush. We mixed it up between sea and land exploration. Wildlife was constant, especially New Zealand fur seals. During the trip we saw hundreds of them basking on rocks, splashing in the shallows, and swimming around our kayak. Some of the younger seals were curious and came close to give us a good look. The fur seal looks a lot like a sea lion but are smaller with a slightly different shaped face. 

By the end of Day 2, we reached a campsite that would serve as our base for the following night as well. The evenings were cold, and each night we slept wrapped in every layer we had. This trip was in October, it was very early in the season to be doing this trip. I live for expeditions and despite the cold, the rhythm of exped life was already kicking in, paddling, camping, cooking and sleeping, repeat!

On Day 3 we packed light, leaving our gear at camp and heading north to Shag Harbour. As the name suggests, the rocks and cliffs were alive with shags and cormorants. 

This was also Russ’s birthday. I had hidden in the bottom of our food pack a boil in the bag chocolate cake as a surprise for him. He blew out the citronella candle I squished on top and we each had a mug of cake. We quickly lit the lantern again to ward off the bugs, despite it being cold and early season the famous NZ sand flies were already out in force.   

Day 4 brought heavy rain, but we had planned for it. I rigged a tarp over our tent so we could sit outside without getting soaked. It was a lazy start to the day, we were in no hurry. Late morning we broke camp and started the return paddle, retracing our route south. Even though we were covering the same ground, the coastline looked different from the opposite direction, and new views kept opening up. 

The highlight of the trip came when we spotted a little blue penguin perched on a rock. It stood wobbling for a moment before diving into the water and swimming right alongside us. It dove and resurfaced a few times near us before getting bored of our company and swam away.  We had had a few random splashes during the trip and a quick sighting but this penguin came close to us and stayed for a few minutes.  

On the last night we had left the protected zone and were able to collect some green lipped mussels, unfortunately we had planned for dehydrated or boil in the bag meals. so we didn't have a cooking pot but we did have the kettle.

On the fifth morning we were up early. And after washing the kettle for the hundredth time to remove the fishy taste we had our morning brew! As much as we wanted to stay, we had a ferry to catch back to the North Island. We were against the tide and the wind for the return trip, for parts we felt like we were on a treadmill but with perseverance we pushed through. After paddling back to base, all that was left was to see if my old 33-year-old van (velma)  would start — and with relief, she did!

Five days on the Abel Tasman coast gave us everything we’d hoped for stunning scenery, close encounters with wildlife, and the freedom of travelling at paddle speed. For me, the sight of that little penguin will always define the trip.