The beautiful and tranquil Marlborough sounds

There are so many things to like about the Marlborough sounds, and not just that you can get a fantastic Hoki and chips for £2.50!
Whilst the Abel Tasman is the famous place for kayaking and camping we decided to head to the Marlborough sounds, Queen Charlotte sound to be precise, in the hope it would be a little quieter.
On arrival in town we realised that our itinerary hadn't accounted for February having less than the average monthly number of days (it's a struggle to know what day it is, let alone what month) so what was 3 days kayaking and 2 days biking turned into 3 days kayaking and 1 day biking, but that worked out well given the weather forecast...
So, early morning we turned up to pick up our kayak and drop off our bikes at Anikiwa. The chap we were hiring from gave us some suggestions for lunch spots and camp sites and took our bikes so they would be delivered to a spot where we could drop the boat and pick them up in three days time.
We set off in glorious sunshine:

Found a fantastic 10 metre stretch of beach in a secluded cove for lunch:

And spent the afternoon enjoying the tranquility and calm waters. There are very few people out in the sounds so it felt like we had them all to ourselves.
By late afternoon we were heading in to our campsite. When we arrived we found a delightful patch of beach that was only accessible by boat and was completely deserted...perfect.

The chap we hired the kayak from was texting us weather forecasts and when the next days update came in at dinner time it stated 'DO NOT GET ON THE WATER'...ominous. Turns out there were 40 knot winds forecast.
On waking up the next morning at our private campsite all looked pretty calm. We negotiated by text with the hire company that we could set off and only paddle the morning which we did, and the weather was fine. When we arrived at our destination at lunch time, having not dawdled (given the impending weather) we found another fantastic private camp site.

This time the weather started to close in and we endured a couple of hours of wind and light drizzle sat under a tree before it brightened up again and we enjoyed beach games and a sprint session on the sand followed by a quick swim (avoiding the jelly fish!). The weather closed in overnight, but we were tucked up in our tent by then and it was fine by the next day, but for some remaining wind.

We spent the third day in the boat (I forgot to mention she was named Pamela the Packhorse) exploring the bay of coves before overshooting our destination bay and having to turn and paddle into some quite strong winds to get back (resulting in about 7 hrs on the water!). This was the part where we had to leave the kayak next to a road and walk over a saddle point to a campsite on the other side of the hill. Unlike the previous two nights, this camp site was heaving as it was right on the Queen Charlotte track (one of NZ's great walks).
The next morning we had to walk back over the other side and move the kayak onto the jetty and pick up our bikes which had been delivered by water taxi. We then set off on the Queen Charlotte track back to Anikiwa where we started the kayak. Only ~20km, this bike was graded intermediate and advanced and we soon found ourselves pushing up the most ridiculously steep hill. It was worth it though, as the 2.5hr bike down the other side was some of the best mountain biking Sam has ever done. Bumpy and technical, Alistair was flying as always and Sam was astounded to be keeping up and remaining upright. The view from the top wasn't bad either....

NZ Great 'Walk' #1 complete!