Abel Tasman Track

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From Nelson we travelled up the North coast to the Abel Tasman national park. We were lucky to get sunny skies so that we could see just how blue the water is against the gold colored sand. We did the hike in four days, staying in the huts for 3 nights. It was a beautiful 4 days of 4 hour hikes with 3 days worth of food on our backs (oops). Fortunately we found a 5 star gourmet restaurant on the 3rd day. No joke. The rich and famous fly into this place for the luxury of spending $400 a night to be pampered with giant latte bowls and croissants. In typical Rebekah and Dave style we felt right at home, and after a nice warm bathroom shower we had lattes and sun dried tomato and basil muffins, much to the chagrin of the other campers with their freeze dryed 14 year old lamb stew.

Other than our 2-4 hours in luxury we spent the remainder of our time hiking between beautiful bays. The water was clear and the sand was yellow. Unfortunately the pictures don't quite convey how cold the water was. On one day Dave only made it up to his knees. There were some sandflies, but nothing terrible. For those of you who don't know what sandflies are, they are the devil. Unable to bite, the females scratch you and, yes, lick up the blood. They march in platoons of a thousand at a time and are fond of DEET, they relentlessly scratch you until you give up and run inside. We thought that people were being cheesy when they told us that yankees are eaten to the bone by these tiny flies, but our ankles prove them right.

The first day of the track from Marahua to Anchorage Hut was full of grand vistas of the coastline, the second day to Bark Bay was a lower hike that had more access to the beaches, and the third day to Awaroa Hut was more of the same. The final day was only a 1.5 hour hike (or so we were told), but we had to wait until a certain time to cross at low tide. The last water taxi of the day was leaving at 3:15, giving us exactly an hour after low tide to make the the hike. After we crossed at low tide (up to our waists) we started walking very quickly thinking that we were okay. About 45 minutes into the hike we saw a sign that said 1 hour to our destination. Hmmm. We looked at each other and Dave started running. With visions of returning to the swanky lodge if we missed our boat I took it a bit slower. Dave ran at full speed with a full pack for about a half an hour. Arriving at the beach at 3:20, waving his hands like a castaway survivor he was able to hail down the departing boat. I was a little saddened, but put on a good face for Dave's efforts. We had a pleasant ride back to our minivan-home-away-from-home and indulged in a large Indian dinner.

Now a little bit about our minivan. First of all, the steering wheel is on the wrong side. This is something that I can't quite get used to, but the fact that we are also encouraged to drive on the wrong side of the road is even more disconcerting. When you want to turn you must first turn on the windsheild wipers. When it's raining, the turn signal is required. For some unknown reason these two things have been switched, possibly to earmark foreigners. I have this one nailed, but Dave still thinks that the turn signal helps clean the the windshield when it's raining.

Travelling with a gourmet chef (Dave) has its pros. We don't have a bagel with cheese, we have a bagel pizza. No more tuna sandwiches, we have satay tuna sandwiches. I make PB&Js while Dave is in charge of anything more complex. We've also been doing some drinking. At the beginning of the trip we started with one bottle of wine. Two drunken nights later we have 1/3 of the same bottle left.

Those are the highlights from the past week. We're now in the Southern part of the South Island headed towards Milford Sound, and will write more about this leg of the trip later.

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Photos

fern?
I forget what these are called, but they seem to be important.

Comments

[sari Levy]

i like the commentary. sounds like you're having a great time. enjoy... sari

[Sergio]

You are alive!!
Hi Becky, I hate you a little bit because I've always wanted to go to Fidji and New Zealand... In Fidji you may find someone you can beat playing tennis, hehehe. You know I'm kidding. I'm glad you're alive and happy. Best wishes!

[htz]

wow
wow - looks amazing!

[Mark Allender]

Wow
Hey Dave - looks like a great time -- those are some incredible pix! Take care, arkmay

[Jenn]

Hi guys!
I love your entries bek! They are so entertaining and so well written compared to my high school kids that I'm not even jealous when I read them:) If that sounds like a backwards comment, it's not meant to be. It sounds like you are having such a great time. I miss you.