Living in our van.... down by the river!

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Hello All!
Well, what can I say? Life has been great since we got to the South Island. It is soooooo "Absolutely, Positively" nice to be out of Wellington and back on the road again. For those of you who have asked, the dance workshop was ok.... It was definately nice to have rented a flat for three weeks with a real bed, kitchen, and washing machine. And if nothing else, it was great to dance for three weeks! (though the rest of the workshop could have been a little....um.... let's say organized differently would have been nice... but oh well.)
Let's see... what have we been up to?...
Well, we got to the south, spent too much cash in Nelson, and headed out toward Abel Tasman. After exploring, getting lost, and discovering quite a few beautiful rivers, we made our way toward Marahau. It's great to have a few day to get someplace, because it really allows you time to explore as you go along. We found this great little place to camp out, Polorus Brigde, and it was along the most spectacular river filled with giant boulders and crystal clear water. There was a short hike near by with a swing bridge... it was cool. I woke up early in the morning and enjoyed watching the fog raise up off the river as the birds fished for breakfast.... so peaceful!! We then headed out toward Marahau, the southern point of Abel Tasman, taking another day and a half to get out there. Abel Tasman National Park is one of New Zealand's "Great Walks" and is considered a must see point of interest.
We decided that since there are about 1500 people walking the track everyday, we would rent Kayaks and cruise the coast for a few days. What a beautiful time!!!
Our two Santa Cruzian friends, Stacey and Jesse, met us the night before and we rented two two-person Kayaks for our journey. We had an amazing time Kayaking up the coast.
The scenery way absolutley spectacular. We saw seal colonies, crazy rock formations,and beautiful crystal clear water.
The Kayaks were huge, and we managed to bring two bottles of wine with us... how nice to journey into the wilderness and not have to carry everything on our backs!!
After the second day, the Kayaks were picked up by the rental company and we headed out on foot. We had a short hike, set up our camp, and just hung out enjoying the sunshine and each others' company.
The next day Stacey and Jesse headed out of the park, and though we were soooo sad to see them go, we headed out for one more night in the "bush".
We slept at a very mosquito and sand fly populated campground that night, but it was ideal for our next day's journey. We woke up and packed out early while the tide was out. We crossed a huge river bed and barely got our feet wet. We then headed out toward a beach a few miles away and hung out until the water taxi came to pick us up and drop us off at our van.
The water taxi ride was great fun... we rode on a speed boat down the coast. Since it was now high tide, the driver took a detour through the "dry river bed" we had crossed that morning. It was crazy! The water was 10 feet deep!!! Apparently Abel Tasman has some of the greatest tidal fluctuations in the world. Cool stuff :-)
Last night we headed out toward Golden Bay and found a nice litle park to sleep in.. in our van... down by the river :-)
We are having a blast and enjoying our time freely exploring the north-western portion of the South Island. Its beautiful here.
We hope this blog finds you all well and smiling!
All our Love-
Abby and Benji

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