Blogs from Marahau, Abel Tasman National Park, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania

We drove along the northern coast of the south island to get to Abel Tasman National Park. We had some time to kill when we got there, so we decided to go...SKYDIVING! Well, it wasn't a totally spur-of-the-moment decision, we had planned on doing it somewhere in New Zealand. This seemed like the perfect place, with mountains, Carribean-blue coasts, and a overal great views of both the south and even the north islands. It was an awesome experience. The views from the plane were great, and we went up to 16,500 feet. Briana jumped out first- "ladies first", Brian said. The guides were great at making you look at all the cool things and Briana's even let her "steer" the parachute for part of the way. We have photos and a DVD we'll share when we ... read more

Kayaking Abel Tasman Park today.....started out in Marahau with Abel Tasman Marahau Sea Kayak Company........my instructor, Hanna, was brilliant.......a pretty thorough briefing on safety, etc., turned out to be essential! The seas where from the south which meant they are not calm! Every picture you see on a brochure or magaizine is bullshit! lol......anyway, went from Marahau to Observation Beach....didn't seem far...........again, bullshit..... came ashore on a beautiful beach called Stillwell Bay......success and great sandy beach........launched, again success.........came ashore for the second time on Observation Beach........holy shit......huge waves and rolled it......quickly took me under and swamped the kayak......dragged it to shore and started "sea water removal".......giggle time........what a hoot........after that experience wondering how the hell to get off this isla... read more

After leaving Taupo we drove to the Tongariro Alpine crossing where others got kitted up for the 6-7 hour walk. Luckily the weather was with us & we got there in time so we set off & had glorious views from the top of the mountains & the emerald lakes. It was scenery from Lord of the Rings, stunning. After that long hike there was a well deserved soak in the hot tube before dinner. The next day, after a lie in, we went to the Blue duck lodge, which is in the middle of nowhere but very beautiful. I went for a walk to see the old depot used in that area & saw the blue ducks. When we tried to get out of there the next morning, our path was blocked by a fallen ... read more

The track was really extraordinary. It was quite chilly for most of the time and threatened rain, but through some brilliant maneuvering we made it through dry. The first night we stayed in the Anchorage hut and checked out some nice watering holes called Cleopatra pools, where we also happened upon a rather naked couple. Whoops. The Bark Bay hut was next and was the nicest with hardwood floors and spacious rooms, but was super crowded with people. We slept in our room with mostly Germans. The next day was our first high tide crossing, which we made easily. On to the Awaroa hut where there was hardly anyone! Hurray! Our final day we made the final easy trek to Totorauni where we caught a water taxi back. It was marvelous. We saw seals and penguins ... read more

Heute morgen lautete die Devise Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund. Da das Wetter gut war, wollten wir uns den Sonnenaufgang über dem Meer ansehen. Deshalb wurden wir von Bernd um 7 Uhr morgens sanft geweckt. Es war arsch kalt. Die gefühlte Temperatur war minus 10 Grad, Gefroren hat's auf jeden Fall, was wir an der gefrorenen Wäsche feststellen konnten. Der Sonnenaufgang war wunderschön und entschädigte für das frühe aufstehen bei Minusgraden. Nach einem ausgiebigen Frühstück machten wir uns für den Track startklar. Per Wassertaxi ging's vorbei am bekannten Half Apple Felsen und an einer Robbenkolonie. Nach ca. 1 stündiger Fahrt ließen wir uns an der Barky Bay absetzen. Nun hieß es „Schwing die HUUUFTE“ und ab in den Dschungel!!!! Die Wanderung führte uns an einsamen, romantischen Buchten vorbei, wo Bernd (genannt Babbele) sentimental wurde :-). Auch ... read more

Despite some more rain last night, the worst of it seemed to be behind us so we decided to drive to Marahua. This is basically the end of the road before you get to the Abel Tasman National Park. We decided that we would hike for about an hour. The weather held out and we had a nice hike. We checked out Porter's Bay and Tinline Bay before arriving at Coquille Bay. We stayed at Coquille Bay for a while. It was a nice sandy beach. Eventually, the kids had their shoes off and were wading in the frigid sea. Theo kept pushing the bounds of sound reason (imagine!). In order to keep some of his clothes dry for the hike back (we were a bit more than an hour into the park), he started peeling ... read more