Abel Tasman

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So after a quick pit stop in Auckland we were back on the road heading for the Picton ferry. The day couldn’t have gone any better. We left Auckland at 10am and arrived at the ferry terminal in Wellington at 6pm - 640 odd kilometers in 8 hours and no traffic jams, sweet as.

Next stop was to the northwest tip of the South Island to visit Abel Tasman, New Zealand’s smallest National Park. The big attraction is the Costal Track, which runs 51 kilometers through native bush to sandy beaches and cliff fronts with blue green sea. The walk is generally done in 3 days but unfortunately we didn’t have that long so we decided to do a combo trip, which included kayaking, a water taxi and a short walk so we could see the highlights of the National Park in a day.

The trip was great fun and we really enjoyed the variety. We kayaked from the town to Watering Cove, which took around 3 hours. Liv and I shared a two man kayak. I really like kayaking, it’s so relaxing cruising along the water, taking in peaceful surroundings. We saw a colony of seals with pups and a blue penguin along the way. When we arrived at Watering Cove, we had the beach to ourselves. We chilled out there for half hour or so and had lunch. They put on an impressive spread - We had mouth watering rolls filled with all kinds of goodies, lots of cookies, fresh muffins and hot drinks. Liv was enjoying all the sweets and helping herself to my portion as well.

After lunch we were picked up by the water taxi and taken to Torrent Bay so we could walk to Bark Bay. I wasn’t expecting much from the water taxi but really enjoyed the ride - the boat was a nippy little thing with a tight turning circle and we cruised in and out of all the little bays en route to Torrent Bay. The skipper told us that they used to do doughnuts but had to stop as a few people got injured. He said that he would do a few sharp turns to give us an idea, it wasn’t long until he was doing doughnut after doughnut. The ride was awesome and it reminded me of our jet boat trip in Rotorua.

I must say I wasn’t overly impressed with the walk, I enjoyed it but I’ve done better. Most of the walk was in the bush and I was expecting to be walking along the cliff front with mainly sea views. The views when we got them were lovely but it didn’t happen often enough for me. All in all the day was fantastic and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a nice break from 3 days of driving and great to get a bit of exercise in.

Our accommodation for the trip was a place called the Barn and came recommended by our Stray bus driver so Liv booked us a cabin room. After our time at The Park in Tongariro National Park I was really looking forward to some more luxury accommodation. When we rocked up at the Barn, reality hit. Our cabin was a B&Q shed with a sliding door, double bed and no heating. The first night was pretty chilly but we enjoyed the novelty, the second night was the coldest I’ve ever been! I slept in shorts and a hoody, with my pillow and head under the duvet. Also the toilet block was a short walk from our shed. Unfortunately I have a habit of needing the toilet in the early hours of the morning and at 5am I awoke needed a pee. I decided that I couldn’t be arsed to walk to the toilets and was going to go around the back of our shed. Unfortunately my plan crumbled as just when I opened the door a keen as camper who had come prepared with their head torch was walking up the path. I didn’t really want to shit on my door steep so to speak in view of the neighbors so made the dash to the toilets! The trip was f*%*ing freezing but the worst bit was, so was the bed when I got back!

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