Abel Tasman April 6 - 7

After a lazy morning in Nelson we took the short but scenic drive up to the Abel Tasman National Park. This road was surrounded by apple and cherry trees, many of which were being harvested and sometimes being sold in small huts on the side of the road. We stopped enroute in Motueka to have lunch and walk around but there wasn't much to excite us in the area so we headed up to Marahau, a very small township at the gateway to the National Park. Taking advice from fellow travellers we went for a short walk along some pitch black roads and found the famous 'Fat Tui' burger van. We'd been told they were just as good, if not better, than Fergburgers and when they were cooked they looked enormous. They were tasty, but I still have to say that I prefer Ferg!

The next day we drove along another very windy coastal road to Kaiteriteri where we boarded a sea shuttle for a tour of the Abel Tasman coastline. Having seen the brochure we expected to board a decent size vessel with a small cafe and toilets on board, the look on Sean's face was priceless when we climbed onto a large tin can with a tiny toilet and a fridge! Abel Tasman NP is the smallest NP in New Zealand but is supposed to be the most beautiful and hence the most popular, offering many activities including hiking, camping, boating, fishing, kayaking etc. It was a really nice day when we set off and the sea spray in your face helped cool you down, we went in and out of the tiny private bays - some of which are only accessible by water, yet some have a couple of houses on them. Literally their own private beach. As we headed further north the heavens decided to open and the waves decided to get larger. Being in a small boat this made for a crazy ride, which initially was fun, but I wasn't laughing when my breakfast felt like it was going to come back up. Luckily it didn't but I was getting greener by the minute! The coastline was pretty spectacular, dramatic cliffs, stunning beaches, crazy rock formations, fur seals and their cubs, many fish and also getting to go into estuaries that due to the tide, are only accessible a couple of times a year! They have also managed to get rid of all rodents from the NP so that endangered wildlife native to New Zealand can continue to strive in the area.

About three hours into the trip we were dropped at a bay and started a short walk of 6km. Some people spend days in this park to complete the 52km walk along the pathway. 6km was plenty enough for us. Luckily the rain had stopped at this point and the 2hr 15 min walk only took us about 1hr 30. Towards the end we found the perfect little bench at the edge of a cliff, with views over a large bay to stop and eat our lunch.

The boat returned to pick us up but at this point the tide was rather low so we had to roll up our trousers, take off our shoes and wade out to get on the boat. In some ways in reminded us of Thailand, except that the water was much colder and we didn't have our huge backpacks with us. The skipper told us it would probably come up to our knees, but of course for me this meant that it almost came up to my hips!

That evening we headed back to Nelson for a free nights stay at the Family Park.