So, the plan for Monday was to get up early, drive to Kaiteriteri and catch a water taxi to one of the small bays along the Abel Tasman national park, and do some 'tramping' (NZ style hiking). You can imagine the shock we had when we found we had overslept and it was already 08.30! All the seasoned campers, who bed down before 9pm, and are singing in the showers at 7am, would be well on the way by now. We had a very hasty breakfast, packed up, and set off at high speed (well, a trundle), and made such good time that we caught up with one of the 'earlies' and then got stuck behind them going up a mountain road at 20 mph. When we got to Kaiteriteri, the sky was blue, the sea was sparkling in the sunshine and the water taxi was ready to depart. Tony's face visibly blanched when he saw that it was packed with 'tourists', all eager to sail out past 'split apple rock' (see photo), see seals basking on the rocks and get to the Abel Tasman to go tramping. So rather than breaking our necks trying to rush and join them, we let the boat go, and went for a swim in the Tasman Sea instead (about as cold as Galway Bay!) - we wondered why nobody else was swimming! We contemplated waiting for the next water taxi in 2 hours time, but by now the sun had gone in and the sky threatened rain, so we set off for Westport on the west coast.
Naturally, this meant winding our way through more mountains, so we had a few stops en route. First was a picnic lunch in a lovely meadow by a stream somewhere off state highway 6, next was a scenic 'lookout' at a place called Hope Saddle, with stunning views over the landscape in all directions, and snowy peaks in the distance. Later we made a short detour to see Lake Rotoroa, (not to be confused with Rotorua), which was breathtaking. Unfortunately we had to make a hasty retreat as we got plagued by swarms of midges and sand flies (who laughed at our pathetic 50./. Deet insect repellant) but managed to take some lovely photos before we left. Our final stop was at NZ longest 'swing bridge' - Indiana Jones style, suspended above the Buller Gorge and raging river far below. I thought I might just go and have a look at it, but as you had to pay to go in, decided to cross it - the alternative was to be eaten alive by sand flies whilst watching Tony striding bravely across it. I had a wobbly moment half way across, where I thought the whole bridge might flip over and tip me into the swirling river, but managed to reach the other side unscathed. There must be something in the air in New Zealand that makes you want to do daring (RISKY) things, either that, or it's the constant hype on the radio about Bungy jumps, Sky dives, etc etc! For some strange reason, not content with the wobbly walk across the bridge, she who's afraid of heights, and who doesn't even like open tread stairs, decided to come back accross the gorge on a zip line! The best thing about it was that it was over really quickly, and the next best thing was that the sand flies can't bite fast moving objects, other than that, I think I've been cured of any urges to partake in risky activities. Tony found the whole thing very amusing and has a video (see Facebook!) We arrived at Carter's Bay, near Westport, which has a beautiful, completely deserted, grey sand beach with a backdrop of mountains in the distance, and a very nice campsite. After supper, Tony keeled over with 'Touring fatigue', so we decided to stay here for 2 nights and just relax and recharge our batteries before heading down to Glacier country........