25.11.2016
The day of our first great walk! We woke up super excited, but then... had a look outside and found the weather was pretty miserable... Oh well! We had our breakfast, finished packing and drove to the start of the walk. Once we got there, it was absolutely pouring with rain and on the way, I had the worst allergic reaction ever to the... allergy eye drops! Made me hate my life and put me off from doing any walking at all that day! What a start! :( But we decided to embrace the challenge, put our waterproofs on and off we went - a couple of hilarious looking dwarves in their black jackets and pointy hoods on their heads. It was indeed a disappointing start - we were passing those fantastic beaches recalling what they looked like lit by the sun in the YouTube videos we had seen back at home...We were really hoping the weather wouldn't stay like that for the whole of our hike! After splashing about in the mud for more than an hour and mainly hearing the rustling of our coats, we saw the first rays of sunshine burning the clouds. Yay! It was such a relief being able to take all the layers off and actually enjoy the surroundings. The views were breathtaking - from the hills we were on, we could see turquoise water and golden beaches, and we walked through beauitful rainforest, listening to birds sing. We got to the Anchorage Bay after around 4 hour hike, where we could rest our legs in the hut we were staying that night. It was actually our favourite one, with a spacious communal kitchen, a big window overlooking the beach and comfy bank beds in a couple of dorms we could choose from. The beach was unbelievable - it made me think of children's drawings in which sand has a perfect, golden colour and sea - a deep blue shade. After we chose our beds, the first thing we did was change into our swimwear and jump into the sea! It wasn't the warmest paddle we've ever had, but it felt great to cool ourselves down after the trek! We decided that the waves we saw at the Anchorage Bay were the most picturesque and perfectly shaped waves we have ever seen! Chris kept attacking them with a camera, running straight into the swells. It was a good entertainment watching him getting tossed about, but he actually managed to take some pretty good shots ! The evening atmosphere in the hut was great; everybody was chatting in the dining area, eating their ready made camping meals and playing cards. That night we found out how good the sleeping bags we inherited with our van were! It happened I randomly chose the thinner one and couldn't get warm and sleep for ages. - Quite frustrating, hearing the whole room of people happily snoring away!

26.11.2016
Second day of our hike! We didn't have to rush too much, as we had to wait for a low tide to cross onto our trail. Chris had a quick go at fishing and both of us relaxed for a bit. Once we hit the road, we very quickly reached the crossing. It was beautiful, but surprisingly, challenging. Too wet to keep walking boots on, too muddy to do it in flip flops. - Not very pleasant strolling around bare feet, as the beach was completely covered in sharp shells. But it was all worth it for the views and experience itself! The rest of the trail followed the paths in rainforests, gradually climbing up and down the hills, overlooking the sea and descending onto the beaches. Despite the beauty of it, I felt energyless that day and didn't find walking that easy. Bark Bay - our second night stop - was gorgous. We spent some time on the beach again and afterwards, I madly decided to take a freezing cold shower (or rather a quick splash!) outside our hut, under the palm trees. Chris spent a while standing in a cold sea fishing, so the cold shower really made him shiver! As we were both pretty tired, we warmed ourselves up with hot drinks and food, and went to bed! A communal, massive "bed" where everybody slept pretty much next to each other, was actually really cosy! Night night!

27.11.2016
I felt way much better after a good night sleep! Unfortunately for Chris, day number three was his crisis day. I kept feeding him high energy snacks every so often, as it definitely wasn't a walk in the park! If there was any consolation, it was the fact that we only had 3 hours to go. (Instead of doing the night tidal crossing, which was the original plan, as we managed to change our water taxis!) The trail ran across the beach and then kept hiding in the forests. 30 minutes before the Awarora Hut, we were forced to stop for lunch, having to wait for a tide to go out. That was pretty nice, as we sat down on the rocks and watched the busy lives of little crabs and shrimps in the stream. Crossing the water didn't help my blisters at all, and having soaked my plasters, I decided to peel them off in a hut, which was a pretty stupid decision. Ended up with a hole in my toe, which wasn't foreseeing a good walk the next day. Anyway, having found out there is a café nearby (the only one on the trail), our need for a real cuppa that we haven't had for a few days was stronger than the pain my blisters gave me. ("But first - coffee." Haha). We slowly strolled through the beautiful Awarora bay, taking in the views and thinking of the indulgence awaiting us. We expected a tiny little place, but it was a pretty impresive restaurant/ café in a lovely, wooden building with funky design. We ordered our coffees and cakes! (such a treat on a hike!) and joined Natasha and Andre, the couple we met in the previous huts. We had a nice chat and made our way back before the tide strangled us on the wrong side of the river. Our walk back was pretty funny - to avoid getting our feet and legs wet, as it was pretty chilly, boys were piggybacking us. We spent the evening chatting and fantasizing about the food with people from the hut. The view outside the window was beautiful, our bay nearly turned into an island, as the sea completely surrounded us. Amazing to look at during the sunset!

28.11.2016
The last day of Abel Tasman! Pretty sad and relieving at the same time. The night before, the ranger told us we would be fine to cross the tide either around 7 or 10 o'clock. Obviously we chose a longer sleep and had a lazy breakfast enjoying the views outside. However, the ranger seemed to have changed his mind, so at 8 o'clock we frantically started packing up. We had a water taxi to catch at the end of the walk and were worrying we won't make it if we wait for a later low tide. By the time we made up our minds, we noticed that the water has already gone up quite a lot and it's better to stick to our original plan. N and A decided to do the same thing, and around 10.30 we were on the trek. We were pretty impatient and when it came to cross, the water was waist high at places! Worrying about doing the walk in time for a taxi, Chris banned me from getting my plasters wet. That could only mean one thing - he had to carry me across! In spite of me feeling completely useless, it was actually really hilarious. N amd Andre helped us with our backpacks and stuff, but at occassions Chris was a bit of a hero carrying not only myself, but all our baggage! We made it without drowning though and the rest of the hike, despite few hills and puffs, went quite smoothly. It was so nice to walk with a company and being distracted by a chat. In the early evening, we were back at Kaiteriteri, where we were lucky to catch a low tide and found a bucket full of cockles! Yummy dinners ahead! We stayed in a lovely campsite just round the corner - it was such a blessing to have a shower after 4 days of hiking!

29.11.2016
We decided to give each other a day to relax and stay at the same campsite. The weather was beautiful and we loved Kaiteriteri, so had planned to get a coffee at the seafront. It turned out a guy from Haka was in the area so he joined us for a chat. Apart from doing boring jobs like washing, we went to the Split Apple Rock in hope of seeing penguins. Even though it was dusk time, we got there at the high tide which was pretty unfortunate. We didn't see penguins, but loved the views and the sunset. Worth a trip!

30.12.2016
Mainly a job day, after doing Abel Tasman! We did boring chores like laundry and food shopping. Stopped at the DOC campsite near a river and an old swing bridge!