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

Marahua, on the edge of Abel Tasman National Park, and the most tropical place imaginable outside of the Caribbean itself. In Summer it looks and feels that way at least, and in Winter well, it's still pretty close! Nothing is open. The one bar and cafe combined, the stone-baked pizza grill and all but one sea kayak rental establishment, shut for Winter. Marahau is one beach front road that takes you straight to the edge of the NP; apart from three campsites, two horseback centres and the aforementioned, that's it. The peace and tranquillity, plus the lack of people this time of year, made it the most perfect place to take a couple of nights out. Choosing a paid spot, Marahau Beach Campsite, could not have been better in any respect. Spotlessly clean, having all facilities ... read more

Another unique vacation day in New Zealand. I spent the day at Abel Tasman National Park. This is a unique park in that the main access to the coastal points of the park are via the water. You basically take a water taxi to one of several drop-off points, then select a point from which to return from scheduled routes. I followed The Falls River outing where I was dropped off at Torrent Bay, hiked to Bark Bay, and picked up for my return trip. I used Abel Tasman AquaTaxi which I found to be excellent. They even provide a pick-up service at your local isite. Once dropped off you are on your own until the pick-up. I hiked 7.7 km to Bark Bay. The initial taxi ride to the drop off was interesting as they ... read more

Petkovo sončno vreme sva izkoristila za ogled narodnega parka Abel Tasman, ki leži na severu južnega otoka in je znan po kilometrih peščenih plaž v skrivnih zalivih, ki jih z ene strani obdaja modrozeleno morje, z druge pa deževni pragozd. Pot skozi park (Abel Tasman Coast Track) pohodnika vodi od enega do drugega, številni si za pohod vzamejo več dni časa in kampirajo kar v parku. Iz pristaniškega Pictona sva zjutraj krenila proti zahodu. Izbrala sva pot skozi vinogradniško dolino med mestoma Spring Creek in Renwick. Opazila sva številne vinske kleti, ki so imele sumljivo evropska imena: Johanneshof, Georges Michel... (Včeraj nama je na trajektu neki upokojeni kmet s severnega otoka povedal, da so Novozelandce vinogradništva naučili Dalmatinci, ki so zelo kmalu prišli na Novo Zelandijo. Poleg te nama je zaupal tudi številne druge, ta trenutek ... read more

Arrivés sous des trombes d'eau, nous avons décidés de laisser passer l'orage et d'attendre le lendemain. Nous avons dormis dans un charmant pavillon surplombant la mer, le réveil était magnifique avec un beau soleil. La randonnée de plusieurs jours s'effectue du côté montagneux à l'est de ma map ci-dessous. N'ayant pas beaucoup de temps, nous avons sélectionné "le meilleur" passage d'après nos critères: arrivée en voiture, marche avec une belle vue et surtout pas trop physique car nous attaquons dans quelques jours un glacier. La randonnée sur la plage suivie d'une petite marche à travers la forêt pour retrouver une nouvelle plage nous paraissait le plus judicieux. Nous avons compris la raison du surnom de cette côte "Golden Bay", un jaune / or, une impression de marcher sur du blé, des diamants nous a impressionné. Nous ... read more

Geo: -41.006, 173.01We arrived at the last motel just before the park entrance at lunch time - a great location, and good views from the terrace of the garden and fields. We walked into the park in the afternoon for several hours and found a great beach where I had a wonderful invigorating swim on a hot afternoon and saved up our expensive water taxi ride for the next full day on the abel tasman trail. This was a great day - sunny and windy again and off on another adventure. At 9.00am we booked in to the water taxi office just next door and climbed onto the speed boats while still in the car park for the 10 min ride down to the beach. The tide was out a long way so tractors towed the ... read more