South Island gorgeousness

On the bus for the Abel Tasman National Park, the weather deteriorated somewhat, and by the time we reached our home for the next few nights, the very outdoorsy and pretty basic Old MacDonald's Farm in Marahau, things were pretty grey and drizzly. Thankfully by the morning, things were a bit brighter. Myself and Lucie, a Liverpudlian from the Stray bus, took a water taxi up the coast, passing the amazingly golden sands of the bays that make Abel Tasman special, and then hopped off at Bark Bay to walk the track back down to our farm. I have to admit to having become a bit blase about beaches, lucky as I have been to see so many in the last 5 months. But the combination of lush forest and golden sand was very striking.
That evening there was a band playing in the bar/cafe down the road in Marahau - the only bar/cafe for many miles. I went along with pretty low expectations, but it turned out to be very good. Marahau has quite a strong artistic hippy vibe, and the talented drummer/singer who was leading proceedings had worked with Carlos Santana. The band included a fantastic didgeredoo player.
After an evening dancing with the hippies, a few of us signed up for a tour of the park - having had a taster I was keen to see more. We met George the dolphin as well as several stingray, seal and a very lively little bird called the fantail.

Not all Stray buses are alike and I was glad I'd stayed the extra day in Abel Tasman, as the new bus I joined had a fun bunch of people and a great driver (not so much the case on my bus from Nelson). It was a good crowd with which to experience the next few days, as Stray stops for what it calls "cultural" experiences - the first of which involved a fancy dress party in Barrytown (what happens in Barrytown stays in Barrytown) - population 40. It was here I introduced the cereal box game (for you who know it) with great success.

A couple of nights in Franz Josef followed - I was now following a path already trodden when I came to New Zealand 3 years ago. So whilst everyone else was experiencing the famous glacier in various ways, I took the time to catch up on things, doing a couple of local walks.

Then our second "cultural" experience - karaoke in Makarora - as remote and small as Barrytown, but surrounded by mountains and rather more beautiful.

The next day's drive to Wanaka was full of breathtaking scenery, as you drive by Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea. The bus was going on to Queenstown for the overnight stop but alot of us hopped off to spend some time in Wanaka. Its a beautiful little town on the lake, and the Purple Cow hostel was perfectly situated to enjoy this. I had planned to do some walking and exploring of the area, but had managed to catch a bug that was going round and so had to take it easy - and there are worse places to do that! Wanaka also boasts a deservedly famous cinema, the Paradiso, a smallish venue run by a Scotsman, with old sofas and even a converted morris minor for seats. Every film has an intermission at which you can enjoy freshly made cookies or homemade icecream.

Now in Queenstown - a resorty kind of town which is probably the party capital of New Zealand. It is the basis for every kind of adrenalin-fueled activity you can think of, and obviously a ski resort in the winter, so the place is full of bars and restaurants. Apart from a night out on day one, I've mainly been spending the last couple of days organising things for walking the Routeburn track, which I start tomorrow. Its a 3 day trek through the Mount Aspiring National Park, stopping in huts along the way, which means proper tramping, carrying everything I need as I go. Thankfully the huts are fairly well maintained with beds, running water (only cold!), stoves and so on, so its not proper camping. The forecast is good and I'm really looking forward to it.

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