Marahau/Abel Tasman NP

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Marahau/Abel Tasman NP
December 3, 2008


It’s an efficient operation they’ve got going here. We pulled into the Marahau Beach Camp near Abel Tasman NP late yesterday afternoon and within ten minutes we had a place to park the van, water taxis scheduled to drop us off and pick us up, and a lunch ordered for the hike today.

One of the “must dos” for us on this trip was to hike part of the Abel Tasman Coast Track. It’s another one of those “Great Walks” and we’d read and heard a lot about it before we got here. At nine this morning we climbed into a boat (the water taxi) that was on a trailer being pulled by a tractor. I’m not sure that would be legal anywhere in the U.S. Tractors are needed to pull the boats here because of the fluctuating tides that can vary by 15 feet. (The last time I’d been on something pulled by a tractor was on a fraternity hayride in college.) The tractor backed the trailer into the water and we were off. The water taxi took us to Tonga Bay in Abel Tasman NP and we walked seventeen kilometers of the Coast Track back to Torrent Bay where the taxi picked us up five hours later. We chose this section of the track because it’s one of the most scenic. It was a good hike with some uphill grunts, but it was a lot of fun for both of us. The views from the forested cliffs were spectacular and the beaches were nice, too. Joe got a new bird today…a bar-tailed godwit. The entire track is 51 kilometers so we hiked about a third of it. For about an hour we hiked with a young couple from Holland, they seemed content to go at our pace. We had some light rain, but it came during a time we were sheltered in the trees. No worries. As we were waiting for the water taxi to pick us up at Torrent Bay, two very uninhibited women stripped naked to change from their swimsuits. I thought they could have at least stepped behind a tree. Joe wasn’t bothered by it.

When we got back to Marahau, Joe took a stop-action video of the tide going out and it turned out well. Amazing how fast it happens. If it didn’t take so darn long to upload videos I’d put it on this blog.

There are a couple of cafes in the area, but we felt like “eating in” and made salad and spaghetti. Only two more days on the South Island, then it’s off to the North Island.

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Photos

Abel Tasman Coast Track
Joe taking a break on the track.

Marahau Beach Camp
Seems to be a lot of people with dreadlocks and guitars here. But, as usual, everybody is friendly and fun.

Water Taxi
This was the boat that we rode in while it was being towed and that took us to and from our hike.

Water Taxi
Tractor taking us into the water at fairly low tide.

Abel Tasman Coast Track
View from the track.

Abel Tasman Coast Track
There were killer views from the trail.

Abel Tasman Coast Track
More pretty water.

Torrent Bay
Waiting for the water taxi to come pick us up.

Comments

[Mark of Sydney]

No Worries
Judy, I noticed that you have picked up some Australian lingo with term "no worries". Did you know there is even a suburb in Sydney called No Worries (actually it is called Sans Souci but that translates from French to no worries). My wife and I are following your travels through NZ with interest as we are doing the same thing next year. You have made it so easy for us to plan our trip. Keep up the good work. I still think you are a professional writer.

[J J]

No Worries
Mark, I even said, "No Worries," to a lady that ran accidentally ran into me with her grocery cart (I mean trolley) in the supermarket the other day. Thanks for the info about the suburb. My advice for NZ...give it a lot more time than you think you will need. It's all interesting.