[singlepic=387,150,,,right]Michael and I traveled to New Zealand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.

It’s the beginning of summer in New Zealand, but the weather has been more spring-like. For every clear day we’ve had a day of cloudy skies. But I think it is still the best time to travel here, as it’s not quite the busy season. So you feel like you almost have places to yourself, including the Abel Tasman, which can be quite the highway, but we had quiet trails.

In the summer months, when all of New Zealand is on break, you need to book accommodation and tours well in advance. That would not have worked well for the way we’ve been traveling – playing it by ear and never booking anything in advance.

This was one of those perfectly sunny days and we decided to take it a bit easy after the Abel Tasman. We returned to Marahau (where we launched our kayaks) for breakfast and a morning hike. Then down to Kaiteri for some rest on the beach – a perfect spot to relax and read. We even caught some boat races. Then onto Nelson, to wander the art galleries and craft shops. And we ended the day with dinner at a waterside restaurant. A nice way to spend a summer day.

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