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Published: March 6th 2007
Split Apple Rock
Our guide tried to mess with us telling us that it was a prop from Lord of the Rings. It's not by the way.Abel Tasman was the first European recorded to have discovered New Zealand in 1642 though he had a bad start with the local Maori where they ended up eating some of his crew and he sailed off. Anyway he gave New Zealand its name and he has a National Park named after him which is near where we stayed. We stayed at a campsite called Old Macdonald's farm, honestly that's its name. It's a pretty neat place and has lots of ducks, peacocks, peahens, chickens and other wildlife living on it. They surround you when you start throwing bread about which I did most mornings as well as playing with the local dog. While near Abel Tasman we decided (even after our bad experience at Kaikoura) to get back in a boat. THis time we went for a full day sailing trip in a catamaran. The morning weather wasn't great but it really brightened up and we stopped for lunch on a really soft sandy beach. We saw a few stingrays and seals in the afternoon and neither of us were seasick, yeah! We had a few lazy days at the farm too and did a small walk into the Abel
Mike feeds the duck
I liked this guy because he had a strange hair style. He visited most mornings. It may well be a female??? Tasman park (the full coastal walk takes 3-5 days but we saw most of this on our sailing trip).
Onto Barrytown which we couldn't find in the Lonely Planet so we didn't know what to expect. It's a really small place with a population of 43. We stayed in a sort of pub/hostel and they did a kiwi roast (which is pretty much the same as an English roast) so we had a night off cooking. That night happy hour was extended provided you dressed up using their box of old clothes. Our driver Fitzy was changed (whether he liked it or not) by some of the girls from the bus to be in drag. Not wanting to be outdone I put on a dress but Fitzy looked better as he was wearing heels! Debbie dressed up in some granny clothes. We had a few drinks but we were still back in our rooms for 11ish, unlike some of the locals who were up till at least 4am as it was the barman's 30th birthday. The next morning we could've gone to do some bonecarving but we decided to be lazy and watch TV instead before getting onto the
Mike and Deb on a boat again
It's raining but we don't care as we're not seasick. bus. Once travelling on the bus we had a pretty neat stop at a place called pancake rocks before getting to Frans Josef.
Bye for now
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Katrina
non-member comment
Happy Birthday!!!!!!!
Happy birthday Debbie!!!!! looks like you're having a great time, sure you'll have a fab birthday.The photos look really good, i'm very jealous. Seeing a new side to Mike though, dressing up in drag for instance!! It's exciting seeing and hearing about your trip as it happening, keep up the blogs and having a wicked time. take care Katrina