Bumpy travel to a different world

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It's Monday 11th January, and day 14 of my trip. Yesterday's stormy weather has died down, which is just as well beacuse I am flying to Nelson this morning. I fear it may still be a bumpy ride though.

I’ve seen a lot of great things in New Zealand, and think that today might go down as one of the highlights.

I checked out of the hotel early this morning and made my way to the Airbus stop in light rain and little more than a gentle breeze. After an extended wait for an Airbus that didn’t seem to be materialising, another traveller asked if I wanted to share a taxi. In we jumped, and the first good fortune we had was that the driver forgot to switch on the meter, and when he realised his mistake, he proposed a very reasonable fixed price.

Wellington airport is on a small rectangle of land that sticks out into the bay. It’s a short runway that can just about take Boeing 737’s, but nothing bigger. Inside though, the operation is so slick, it sets the standard for all others. The check in is very quick and easy. I had booked via internet, and on my e-mail, there was a barcode which I had to scan at one of the many self check-in booths. After pressing 2 buttons to confirm I had packed my bags and didn’t have any dangerous items, my boarding pass and baggage label were printed. I stuck the baggage label on my suitcase and simply put it onto the conveyor belt. A camera was watching me, but I didn’t have to face the usual Spanish Inquisition, and I estimate the whole check-in process took no more than 5 minutes. Imagine a world were all airports did this.

With over an hour to spare, I then went on the hunt for an internet corner. I needn’t have bothered, as the whole airport is one big WiFi zone, and anyone can access the internet anywhere in the terminals for free. So, I managed to upload another blog entry with photos. Great stuff.

When the time seemed about right, I started to prepare for the heavy security that I knew was inevitable at all airports now (post the Amsterdam-Detroit fiasco). All loose items went into coat pockets, belt and watch were removed, laptop kept separate, double check to ensure I didn’t even have a used paper hanky in a pocket, shoes prepared for removal, then I headed off for gate 14 and the latest x-ray technology. Imagine my surprise when the boarding procedure involved simply scanning my boarding card. And nothing else! It seems that for the little rubber band powered planes that don’t get above 10,000 feet, and are only in the air for minutes, the need to wind up the passenger does not exist. Again, great. So onto the Bombardier Q300 twin prop plane I jumped, and took my seat. The safety briefing lasted all of 30 seconds with the single hostess telling us (a) to read the safety instructions, (b) to switch off all electronic gadgets, and (c) to obey her every instruction. No dance, no asking people who’s heads were buried in the morning papers to stop reading. Just simple concise and efficient essentials.

The flight from Wellington on the north island to Nelson on the south island takes 25 minutes. There’s just time for a small cup of water, and as you don’t get very high, the view of the Cook Straits and the Abel Tasman National Park are excellent.

Once in Nelson, I went to the car hire desk where I was given a special welcome as the manager there (a Kiwi) had lived in Langton Green (just outside Tunbridge Wells) for 10 years in his younger day. I now have a good sized automatic Toyota Camry with all the trimmings for 2 days.

I’m staying in the village of Kaiteriteri on the edge of the national park, which is an easy hour’s drive, and was able to check in to my room straight away. This meant I could shoot out for the afternoon and explore a bit of the national park. There was an Aqua-Taxi leaving at 13:30 to Te Pukatea Bay, then another one coming back from Anchorage Bay at 16:15. Aqua taxis are speed boats with capacity for 16 passengers that wiz up and down the coast of the park. There is no road access at all inside, and the walk from north to south lasts 5 days (with overnight huts well spread out en-route). Therefore, the Aqua-taxis provide a vital link for those who have less than 5 days there. My trip on the water would take about 45 minutes instead of 6 hours on foot, and this should also allow me to see the coastline from a better vantage point. The walk between Te Pukatea Bay and Anchorage Bay is about 90 minutes allowing for photo stops, so this fits nicely into the Aqua-taxi schedule.

In reality, the bad weather from yesterday had not completely moved on, so the sea was quite choppy. Out speed boat captain didn’t seem to notice this, and seemed to be in a hurry, which did make for quite an uncomfortable trip going out as we were heading into the waves, so regularly took off, and each time came down with a thud. My fear of a bumpy flight had not materialised, but this was making up for it.

The Abel Tasman National park is beautiful for two reasons. First of all, the countless often deserted beaches have a rich golden hue to their sand. This I am told is linked to the high levels of quartz and iron pyrites in the sand. The second special feature is the feeling of being at one with nature inside the park. There are no roads, and bikes are banned, so the few people you meet are either kayaking or walking their way around the vast forested area. There’s a lot of Silver Fern in the forest, which adds that Spring like light green touch to the bush.

Having shot along past some of the beaches, and walked through some of the forest, I get the feeling I’ll be back. This is a very different and special place.

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Photos

Te Pukatea Bay
The sand has a warm golden hue, and there's hardly a soul here to share the sight with me

Walking to Anchorage Bay
Well maintained paths through the national park often pass under silver fern bushes - the perfect New Zealand outdoors

National Park lifeline
With or without bumps, these water taxi are the only way in to the the less accessible parts of the Park

Storm clouds on the horizon
Although the sea looks calm, the weather system approching brought it's fair share of bumps and shakes for our water taxi