We've been walking - 'tramping' as the New Zealanders call it - and believe it or not, we feel a lot better for the exercise! Because of various injuries, last year was terrible for our level of fitness (and fatness) and we have certainly noticed that since we've been here. But we've gradually been improving and have had a couple of good sessions in the past few days.

After leaving Murchison, we spent a night in Nelson (we're going back there soon so we will write about it then) before moving on to Marahau, on the edge of the Abel Tasman national park. The camp was a bit run-down, but was very close to the beach so after we arrived we had a wander out and played Frisbee in the sunshine.

Oh, and I had a good laugh when Katy kept screaming because she had seen a crab or a starfish on the sand or in the pools left behind after the tide had gone out. (And this is the girl who wants to go snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia!)

The next day, we boarded a water taxi and were taken north along the coast to Tonga Bay, from where we would start our walk back. While on the boat we saw Split Apple Rock - a circular rock which was neatly divided into two halves.

Our driver (skipper?) was called Glen and he also took us close to Tonga Island, where there were some Fur Seals lazing around, including some pups. He explained that the reason seals always appear to be doing nothing is that they are nocturnal, so do all their fishing at night.

As well as telling us all about the seals, Glen also told us about going hunting for wild pigs in the area. There is apparently a bounty on their heads (as potential TB carriers) so not only does Glen get NZ$25 for killing one, he also gets to eat all the meat. And there is a LOT of meat. He told us his two sons had killed one but had to phone him for help as they couldn't even lift it - not surprising given that it weighed 125kgs!

Our planned tramping route was to start at Tonga Bay, then head back southwards along the coast through Barks Bay and then to Torrent Bay and the neighbouring Anchorage Bay, where the water taxi would pick us up again. The official time for the walk was four hours - which was confirmed by the guy in the office when we booked the trip - though we were pretty sure we would do it in less because most of the walks we have been on have had inflated time estimates.

The walk was quite steep at times and we were glad we weren't carrying full backpacks, including tents etc - unlike at least 20 people we saw staggering along the trail, red-faced and sweating in the sun. Most of them were in their twenties, though there were quite a few families - with kids of about six or seven carrying their own packs, usually with a teddy sticking out the top. Katy, on the other hand, was walking in a pair of shorts and a bikini top, which proved how nice the weather was!

Katy would like to say that if anyone plans to camp along that part of the coast, then the site at Barks Bay (where we ate our packed lunch) is very nice. Not only is there a rudimentary kitchen area, but there are clean, flushing toilets!

The only slight downside of the walk was that the vegetation was so dense around us that we didn't often get much in the way of a view as we tramped along. When we did get a break, however, the views were beautiful. And it certainly got our blood flowing - we were pleased to complete the 'tramp' in just over three hours.

That evening, I was washing up in the communal kitchen and overheard a man and his daughter who were talking about the walk they had been doing. The little girl, who was about eight or nine, was saying how it had been the highlight of the whole holiday. My interest piqued, I asked what route they had taken. The Dad replied that they had just completed the five-day Abel Tasman walk, staying at huts overnight along the route. My legs, which had been aching quite honourably up to that point, felt quite ashamed after that!

After Maharau, we headed north in the van for Takaka (just a nice small town) and then on to Poharu, where we found a campsite right on the beach. (This was our first 'Top 10' park, having bought the loyalty card mainly to get a reduced price on the Cook Straits ferry and because it also gives discounts at one of the biggest campsite chains in Australia.)

Again, we spent the first day on the beach - playing Frisbee (we're gradually getting better at it) and also doing a couple of hours of sunbathing as the weather continued in the best spell it has had since we've been in New Zealand. It felt like we were actually on holiday! (I know, it's been sooooo long since we had a proper break…)

And again, the second day was spent exercising our legs on a route march across the Abel Tasman Park. This time, we drove to Totaranui. There's nothing much there except a rather nice, long sandy beach and a DOC campsite which is so popular that you have to book in July if you want to stay over the Xmas/New Year peak.

The last part of the drive was along a god-awful gravel road which was so rough that Blanche took particular exception if we went above 5mph. As we crawled along, however, we saw two birds shepherding their young across the road and stopped for them. The noteworthy thing was that the babies were absolutely minute! They can't have been more than an inch tall, yet they scurried along like nobody's business. We both thought they should have been tucked up safely in their nest, given their size (or age) but clearly they were quite capable of getting around. We have no idea at the moment what type of bird they were, but the adults had a distinctive sort of comb on top of their head, so we will look it up and see if we can identify them.*

Our walk took us south along the coastal track with our ultimate destination being Awaroa Bay. This walk was more pleasant than the previous one. As well as having fewer steep sections, it was prettier and with better views as the forest was not so dense. There was also greater variety as sometimes the route was along one of the many gorgeous, near-deserted beaches in the area, sometimes along cliff paths and at others through the forest. Katy has decided that this part of New Zealand is her favourite in terms of scenery, which is saying something given the level of competition.

We tried to time our arrival at Awaroa for low tide, so we could walk across to the other side of the bay. The official advice said it was safe to cross up to two hours before or after low tide - which was at 4.35pm. We arrived at 2.30 and started to walk across the still rather sodden sand.

It wasn't long before I heard cries of "There's a crab!" and "There's another crab! There's lots of crabs!" from behind me. It was indeed true, there were several tiny (and I do mean tiny) crabs scuttling desperately from side to side in an attempt to avoid Katy's feet. Simultaneously, Katy was scuttling from side to side in an equally desperate attempt to avoid being bitten, or even touched, by the miniscule crustaceans!

As I said, the sand was very wet and sticky, and very hard to walk over. As we neared the central part of the bay, we saw that although people were crossing they were having to wade through quite deep water to do so. Some of the children were pretty much up to their waists so we decided to wait a while until the water level fell. It only took about half an hour to do so and we managed to get across with nothing worse than damp knees.

After all that effort, we had a quick wander around and a snack before setting out on the return journey - we wanted to make sure that the tide hadn't started to come back in again before making the crossing!

On the way back, we gave the walk some serious attention, pushing hard all the way. We were surprised that it took us an hour and a quarter given that the official estimate is an hour and a half. Anyone carrying a proper rucksack would find it almost impossible to do in that time which could cause problems given that there is only a four-hour window to cross the bay and reach the walkers' hut at Awaroa.

On the way back in the car, we kept a look out for the very tiny birds but didn't see any. On the other hand, we did see a dog poking its head out the rear window of a car that went past in the opposite direction. Nothing unusual about that, you might think. But this dog actually tried to take a bite out of our van as we passed alongside! Seriously, it leaned out and snapped its jaws at us. We decided that it wouldn't last long if it kept up that behaviour as it would eventually get its head taken off by a truck or something similar.

Richard

* Thank you to Barbara for telling us that they were Quails.