The
Abel Tasman is the third
Great Walk that Keith and I have done together-Keith did four as I was more than happy to let him do one without me! We both thought this one would be a piece of cake. Literally, just a walk on the beach-especially compared to the Kepler and Routeburn.
We stated our adventure Tuesday morning armed with bellies full of a hot full breakfast that Keith whipped up and a two hour shuttle ride a head of us. We were picked up by Peter who runs
Nelson Lakes Shuttles and we were happily the only people in the van. We had a great ride to the beginning of the trail as Peter was full of information about tramping in the area and he was just as excited as I was to stop and take pictures of rainbows-don't get that on many shuttles!
Most people walk the Abel Tasman in the summer and by most people I mean about 30,000 people swarming in this remote, beautiful place. By doing it in winter it meant that the weather was a little more tricky, but we didn't have to share it with as many people. We also learned that most people don't actually walk the whole 54 kilometers-they take water taxis, hike for a day, then hop back on a water taxi; or they kayak for a little bit...everyone we talked to was not walking the whole trail-but we were doing the whole thing and in less time than most.
We stared on a slightly rainy but great day at Wainui: the very beginning. It seems most people skip pretty much our whole first day, which is a shame. It was full of great views and lots of seals. At one point I was running backwards on the beach trying to take pictures of seals that were swimming away from us-this was not a very coordinated effort with a big backpack on in the sand.
We made a quick side trip to Separation Point, where we saw more seals. While I was resting my feet, Keith explored the point a little more and got up close and personal with a couple of pretty big-yet adorable seals.
The first day ended up being a little harder than expected-we hiked for 8 hours and the last half hour had to be the worst....we had to cross a large estuary and while it was low tide it still meant hiking through freezing cold water with sharp shells getting in your sandals. And while there was whimpering involved, I am happy to say I didn't actually cry. There was only one other person at the Awaroa Hut-an Israeli kid who couldn't tell us which direction he came from on the track-whatever, I was exhausted.
The second day was only about 7 hours...exhausting again! If I were to recommend this hike I would tell people to do it in 5 days and just take your time hiking up the mountains, time your tide crossings perfectly, and enjoy the beach: we did none of those. On the second day we had not one, not two, but three water crossings....freezing cold water crossings with sandflies attacking (I still have a giant bite on my forehead).
This meant lots of stopping and changing in and out of sandals and boots. It also gave Keith a chance to rock the classic boots, wool socks, shorts look-lovely!
When we finally got to the Anchorage Hut, we found it slightly more crowded-but I really don't know how many people were actually there. There we 7 of us hanging out in the heated common room and a gaggle of Asians in the cold bunk room we were in-I don't think they ever left the bunk room and were up and out by 5 am-it was very weird.
What a beautiful day for our last day of tramping in New Zealand!
That day is now a contender for Best Day in New Zealand! Our hike out only took 3 hours instead of 4, so we were in the car by 11:30 and off to the next place! We made it to
Maruia Hot Springs at exactly 3-when we could check in to our room! Maruia Springs is a Japanese style hot pools. After quick showers to wash off three day hiking, we jumped into the private hot pool for a little bit-I had to get to my massage and facial at 5...why I didn't always get a massage after doing long hikes is really beyond me! And this was the best massage ever! After being massaged, stretched and generally pampered for about an hour and half it was time for a delicious Japanese dinner-this place was heaven!
Oh, and did I mention we got to wear kimonos the whole time!
I'm typing this in the Jailhouse Backpackers in Chirstchurch on our very last day in New Zealand. Our room is tiny and full of clothes and other junk we've accumulated and we need to get it all together and check out in about an hour...hope this works! And we sold the car!
New Zealand, it's been great, but we've got to move on to Tonga for some real relaxing!
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