Blogs from Marahau, Abel Tasman National Park, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 3

In der Früh hat uns der erste Weg gleich nach dem Aufwachen zur i-site, dem Info-Zentrum hier geführt. Da das direkt daneben ein Park liegt, haben wir dort in der Sonne – war schon fast zu heiß – gefrühstückt und uns dann über das Wetter und mögliche Wanderrouten im Abel Tasman Nationalpark erkundigt. Der gilt übrigens als der schönste in ganz Neuseeland. Leider war die Wettervorhersage für morgen regnerisch – wir hatten eine zweitägige Wanderung geplant. So haben wir kurzfristig ein Aquataxi gebucht und sind 25 Minuten nördlich nach Marahau, dem südlichen Ende des Nationalparks gefahren. Dort haben wir unser Auto geparkt und sind 10 Minuten später schon im Aquataxi, einem kleinen Motorboot gesessen. Allerdings auf dem Anhänger eines Traktors, weil hier der Tidenhub (heißt das so?) der höchste in ganz Neuseeland ist. Das heißt, dass ... read more

It was going to be a long drive up to Farewell spit so we started out fairly early. It was a bit overcast so we were hoping it would clear up so we could have a nice walk on the spit. The drive towards farwell spit went over the Takaka hills. When we got to the top of the first ‘hill’ we went up there were great views back down to Motueka and across to Nelson. There was some fabulous views out across to the oceans as well - again the photos just don’t do it justice!! Part of the drive heads along the coast of Golden Bay. This is actually a number of beaches and bays that make up the area of coastline. All the beaches are sandy and quite shallow so the tide goes ... read more

Thanks everyone for the compliments on the fotos- especailly from you Colleen cos I know your fotos are stunning, and its great the way people who havent met are talking to each other via the comments... I havent seen any cannabis here, Jocelyne - is it that you are the expert !!!! Bob and Prill are bravely cycling around the South Island - I think they are on the Otago trail rght now - They will only have a few days in the North - doing Tongaririo Xing...will send you their UK mobile number that they have with them. Suzanne H- new car indeed - wot kind??- good luck to Kate for Melbourne. Wilma - miss all you girls and you watch out for the kookaburras down there at the beach. So this was written yesterday ... read more

Wed 2nd 6am came pretty early this morning. We jumped on the ferry from Wellington to Picton on the south island. The fairy ride took about 3 hours but it went by fast. The fairy actually had a bar, live music, TVs, cafes, and movie theater. Once we arrived in Picton a small fishing village we got lunch fresh seafood and headed to Nelson. On our 4 hour drive through the mountains to Nelson we stopped at this glacier stream for a swim. There were cliffs to jump off and the water was so refreshing. Of course there had to be a 75ft bridge over the stream that was plastered with do not jump signs, stating people have died and injured themselves from jumping. So…..I climbed the fence over and braced for impact. I shouted for ... read more

We started off by nearly missing the start of the trip due to a road accident on the road into Motueka, but luckily we made it, and caught the bus with the rest of the group to Marahau, and then the WaterTaxi to Onetahuti beach where we got kayaks, paddles, spraydecks, and cags for the wimpy people, and set off. I was in the front of our kayak, Andrew was steering in the back. We started off to Tonga Island at a very leisurely pace as the people there for just a half day were quite slow. Once there we paddled round the island, watching the seals and cormorants (shags), and stopping off on the far side for lolly cake - rocky road cake but made with sweets rather than raisins. Then we headed back to ... read more