Beautiful beaches

Friday 6th - Tuesday 10th November, 2009

Our final week in the south island felt pretty manic as we wanted to fit as much in before we moved to the north island. En route to the Abel Tasman National Park we decided that there was time for a quick yomp, so we stopped overnight in Nelson Lakes and the next day enjoyed a hot, yet very windy walk on the Mount Robert circuit, and part way along the ridgeway. Even before we hit the ridgeway the wind started to get up, so we sheltered from the wind in a wooden hut to eat our lunch - although there were 3 or 4 other walkers on the track, the hut felt so remote and almost as though we were trapped somewhere like the swiss alps back in the 1900's - apart from the 1990's graffiti all over the walls from people telling us "they woz here"! When we ventured back outside and along the ridgeway the wind was so strong on the more exposed parts. The views were different from anything we'd seen so far in NZ - the land was not particularly green, but it was still pretty with a covering of snow and views of a disused ski park.

Safely back down and little windswept we made our way to Motueka, a small, quite strange, town which is the main place to arrange trips into Abel Tasman National Park. We found ourselves free camping in a carpark just out of town by the mudflats with a couple of other tourists, and a couple of permanent looking residents; one large lady in a station waggon and one geezer in an old bus! In the morning we watched some local Maori's collect cockles from the mudflats and got talking to one of them, a really interesting older guy who was collecting food for a big marae (a Maori gathering) later that night, for a 21st birthday party. Throughout our time in NZ we were very keen to see the real Maori lifestyle, but not via a tour as they felt like they would be too staged, so we were kind of hoping for an invite, but unfortunately it never came!

With only a few days to explore Abel Tasman National Park we chose a day of walking and 2 days back on the water kayaking. We'd heard that Totaranui, a campsite by the beach in the northern end of the park, was in a beautiful setting, so we made the long drive up there with the last 50km or so along a very windy, unsealed road, and weren't disappointed. We were able to walk part of the Abel Tasman walking track, which I imagine would make a great tramp over a week if we had the time. The beaches are beautiful and sandy set against the deep blue sea, and the walking track is a really pleasant walk which follows the coastline, meandering on and off the beaches and up into the green forests bush. The track had sustained some damage from a small landslide from the cliffs a few weeks previously, so along the way we encountered a guy repairing the track, and later on that day we witnessed a helicopter air-lifting the equipment they needed from the beach to the track - quite a strange sight to see in such a beautiful place!

On the move again, we had to make our way back to the southern end of the park to pick up our kayak, and en route back stopped at a few sights, the most memorable being a place called The Grove. It's a small forest like place where you feel like you're stepping into another world, almost a Grimm fairy tale - there are huge Rata trees twisting and turning and growing in and around incredible limestone rock formations. I'm not sure you get the impression from the pictures, but they are quite amusing as I'm in a few of them so you get an idea of the size and shapes of the trees and rocks! Another strange encounter that day was purchasing salami from a vending machine in a shack in the middle of nowhere - we'd heard it was good salami and it was the only way we could purchase it!

Our final adventure in Abel Tasman was definitely the high;ight, "freedom kayaking" for 2 days (i.e. taking the kayaks out on our own). I wasn't too concerned that we were going to be without guide, until we met the other couple taking out a kayak on their own, who were both white water rafting guides in Colorado! However, the guy who was giving us our safety briefing seemed happy enough with us when we went out for a test run on the water, so we were allowed out on our own! We were dropped off at Onetahuti Beach, about half way up Abel Tasman National Park and off we went. The first afternoon was pretty calm and we found a gorgeous little inlet which we could explore right up to the tree line thanks to the high tide. We then made our way to Bark Bay, one of the many beaches along the route, where we were staying in the hut for the night. I was a little apprehensive as I knew it was a dormitory style hut and I knew how little sleep I had got when we stayed in them on the Hump Ridge Track. However, the first challenge was actually finding the hut, for some reason our land orienteering skills seemed to be turned off after a few hours on the water, so we spent 10 minutes wandering around in circles trying to find it, with all of our gear on our backs! Having eventually found the hut, I managed to bags a couple of beds in a small dorm round the back of the hut and much to my delight when we turned in later that night no one else had found the small dorm room, the other 20 odd people staying at the hut were crammed into the two other dorms - phew!

Back on the water the next morning proved to be a little more choppy than the previous afternoon, so we made our way to one of the beaches for a little stretch and a wander around before we hit what is known to the locals as the "manic mile", named because it can get a bit choppy out on this stretch of water for kayakers. We had a couple of small hiccups both getting into and out of our rest stop, Anchorage Bay, though... On the way in we managed to wedge ourselves between a narrow, shallow area of rocks, which involved a bit of shouting at each other to get us back on track to the beach. Then before we even had a chance to get to the "manic mile" we had problems getting the kayak back onto the water! From the edge of the water you need to set the kayak straight and into the on-coming waves, which hadn't been a problem until then, but the tide was now coming in fast and furiously. Every time we thought we were straight and I had my oar wedged into the sand to keep us straight so that Frank could get in the back of the kayak, the kayak would turn and end up parallel to the beach - you can imagine the scene and the obscenities that occurred! After that the "manic mile" was a breeze!

As we ventured further out into the sea in the afternoon, around a couple of the islands close to the coastline, the sea became a little cold and choppy. Stopping for lunch on Adele Island was freezing cold, so danced around as I ate my soggy sarnies! The sun came out eventually, just before we came into land, which was a good way to dry off from our adventure...

... although it didn't stop there, oh no! As we returned to Steely ready to set off for our next stop, we found he'd been busy whilst we'd been away and drained his battery down (who left the lights on?!) Good job the manageress at the kayak place was kitted out and quick to get us on our way again ready for our next adventure!

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