WALKING THE ABEL TASMAN

---

On the Tuesday morning we get up early. Packs are all ready. We have time to have breakfast with Phil and Erika, that as usual have been incredibly good to us and spoiled us for the last couple of days. As if it wasn’t enough we are also borrowing their car, so we load the backpacks and get on the move before they’ll head to work. Shame on me straight away, as we don’t even leave the car park that I realise I left all my documents there. I deserved the open laugh from Phil still standing on the door.
First stop is Picton, to meet our travel mates that got there early morning, very early morning, with the ferry. We rescued them from a local cafè. Chris and Kath are coming with us, and Klaus, Sarai and Miriam have another car.
The next stop is in Nelson, for some patrol, toilet and a bite; then straight to Kaiteriteri where me and Mike have to catch up with Kirstie, Jonathan and the girls that are camping there, to exchange Xmas greetings and presents. We can’t delay, so back to the car we finally drive up to Marahau. The walk is quite far from the overnight car park, we stop to buy the tickets for the water taxi that is going to take us back here at the end of our trip, which causes already enough trouble, and we wait. When everything is sorted Mike and Klaus drive us to the start point of the walk and go back to park the cars.
It’s not too late when we finally manage to put the backpacks on our shoulders and start to walk. We’re heading to Apple Tree, where we’re camping for the first night. The low tide shows an immense extent of sand that meets the thick and lush bush on a line that marks our path. We’re starting well, there’s few people on the track but it seems like most of them are here for a day trip. We’re all pretty happy to be finally here, and sandflies are pretty happy we’re here too.
The walk unwinds through the bush opening to some gorgeous views at some points. In about three hours we have reached the beach of Apple Tree. There’s no actual campsite, only a toilet and a couple of taps with untreated water. It’s amazing. We pitch our tents with view on the sea, and in ten minutes we’re all floating in the crystalline blue. Wonderful. It’s also the first time in New Zealand I find the water temperature bearable enough for some proper soaking! We actively start working on our tan but as the sun goes down it gets quite chilly and it’s time to try our cooking skills on camp food!
Everyone is tired, and the day has been very long, so soon we’re all in our tents. Me and Mike watch the Sounds in the distance getting pink under the last rays of light and it’s time to sleep.

30/12/09
Our night has been almost sleepless. The wind has been blowing with fierce on our tent pitched right on the front of the beach. With all that rocking half of the pegs were gone from the sand, and part of the sand has moved inside the tent. At sunrise the front pole snapped, and I decided to get up to go to the toilet.
It was much worse being in the tent than outside, so we decided to pack our stuff and go while the others were still sleeping. We left when our friends were getting up and arranged to catch up at The Anchorage. This part of the track is really beautiful, and as we left very early we can take it easy, stop whenever we want and have a look around. About 20 minutes before reaching the campsite we can look at the bay from the top of the hill. It’s hot and sunny, and the sea looks gorgeous glittering under the sun. we find a nice spot at the campsite which is quite big, in an area large enough to fit all our tents and sheltered from the wind. While Mike starts pitching the tent, I make a couple of sandwiches for lunch and we can sit down in the shade, relax, and have a cup of coffee.
When the others arrive we are sunbathing lying on the grass. We spend all some time there, while they pitch the tent and sort everything. We realise we have to share our spot with other people which seems relatively weird considering the amount of space around to pitch tents, but never mind, definitely not a problem for us.
In the afternoon it’s time to head to the beach, enclosed in this wonderful inlet dotted with other strips of sand all around. It’s still quite windy even if sunny, and at the end only Chris dares to dive in and have a little swim. It’s too cold for us. Klaus suggests to try a small beach behind some rocks that looks more sheltered. Needless to say, after the massive effort of passing over all the rocks to reach the sand, we’re hit by a wind stronger than before. I give up, honestly I rather sit on the grass by the tent and relax.

31/12/09

After a nice evening eating and playing Uno, we all went to a nice night of sleep despite the cold and the young guys having some fun nearby. The morning is lazy, we’ll spend another night here, so we don’t have to pack and leave! A funny group of quails join us for breakfast and entertain us with their curious behaviour. Lots of people have already left the campsite so there’ll be a lot of space until late afternoon when new campers will arrive. All our group get into a game of hacky sack and I take the chance to go for a run. I follow back the track up the hill, the sun is already up in the sky and it’s terribly hot. Once I made my way to the top I run back to the campsite, we get ready and walk towards the Cleopatra Pools. It’s about an hour and half from the camp site, but it’s a nice walk, and the pools are very nice, even if too cold! When we got there it looked pretty crowded, kids running and diving all over the show, but we found ourselves a nice little spot on a big rock where we could enjoy the place and sunbath a little. Chris and Klaus have been brave enough to spend most of the time in the water, but it’s really freezing! Slowly the place is emptying and we’re the only people left. Around mid afternoon it’s starting to fill again and we decide to walk back, the tide is low now and when we get to the beach we can go and have a nosey at the cave that is impossible to reach when the tide is in.
Before going back to the camp site me and Mike decide to stop for a cold shower on the beach, the only available anyway! It will be good to start the new year nice and clean! Tonight we’ll have to stay up until late, so we start an endless game of Uno accompanied by some dinner and numerous snacks.
At around 23.00 we head to the beach, as word of mouth was suggesting the fireworks would have been early. We sit on the sand all wrapped up in our warmest clothes and slowly the beach fills with other people, from the group of youngsters to the “geriatrics”! we find out from the DOC man that in fact he heard from a lady coming from Bark Bay that the fireworks could have been earlier, but in fact it was only her suggestion! Anyway, here we are, so we’ll sit in the cold until midnight. The bay is dotted with the lights of boats anchored and makes a wonderful atmosphere. With the beginning of the New Year, our patience is paid off by a beautiful display of fireworks in the middle of the bay. It seems to me like a good start, and we wish it will be really a very good year.

01/01/10

I wake up the first day of the year to find Michael laying next to me reading his book! I wonder if it’s a sign…
Today we’re on the move again, and five hours of walking are waiting for us. My back pack is slowly getting lighter thanks to the food we eat every day! But still we are very heavily loaded. When we’re all ready, it’s time to go. Because the walk is long we have decided to stop regularly to rest along the way. We have no rush and it will be a good chance to take a breath and enjoy the place. I personally don’t like walks for the sake of getting from a place to another, so I’d rather take my time and look around. We all agree fortunately! From The Anchorage to Bark Bay there are some spectacular views on the bays and a famous swing bridge that carries no more than five people at the time, and honestly I wouldn’t like more on anyway as it starts bouncing like a spring very easily!
When we can finally spot Bark Bay from the track, a wonderful wide strip of sand stretches in front of us. We’re so tired thou, that the first thing we do is choose a spot, move the table at the centre, and eat! Then we can pitch our tents!
The sea looks very promising here, and it’s quite shallow for a good distance.
We all have a go for a swim, the water is crystal clear and the seafloor is dotted with starfishes everywhere. It’s wonderful.
An hermit crab is taken by the wave every time it tries to move forward on the beach, and the sand is decorated by strips of white shells. We can lay on a sand dune and let the sun dry us. This place is incredible, I think probably the best spot along our way.
The camp site is very nice too, and we find out that near the hut there’s also a shower, a real one, I mean an outdoor one, but with a sort of screen so you can even get undressed!
We have some dinner accompanied by some scallops that finally rewarded Klaus’s fishing attempts! And then half of us are up for a shower! Yeahhh! The others will be patient enough to have one in the morning. What a great feeling…

02/01/10

It’s overcast and the sandflies have had a feast over my ankles that at this point are itchy and swollen beyond patience. The tide is high so we’ll have to walk around the inlet, which apparently won’t make our walk much longer. The DOC lady is asking us about a tree that has fallen on the track we came from yesterday, but it seems like everyone has a different opinion on where the tree was, so I think they’ll have to ask all the people in the camp site to get a better idea of where to head to!
The walk is pretty nice and we get glimpses of cliffs and beaches that remind us of Italy. We stop at Onetahuni Beach, a wide and long empty beach with a small campsite. We discuss a bit over where to pitch our tents and we finally settle on a spread configuration!
My ankles are giving me a hard time so I lay in the tent trying to relax. We eat something, but we’re running short of food so we’d better keep an eye on it! In the late afternoon me and Mike go for a walk on the beach. It’s so quiet. There’s no one around and we walk to the very end where tomorrow morning we’ll have to cross at low tide.

03/01/10

I didn’t sleep very well, but early in the morning we have to get ready and leave before the tide will be too high. Me and Mike have the last few nuts left for breakfast, at least we’re not running out of coffee! At 7.30 we leave. We walk in the early lights along the beach of Onetahuni, a long white strip of sand. At the end of the beach we can cross almost without taking our shoes off, maybe just getting a bit wet.
The sky is covered in clouds, but the walk is very nice and easy. The thick bush is dotted here and there with red Pohutukawas that look stunning among all that green. At the top of the saddle a sign marks the way to the Awaroa Cafè, where is quite clear everyone wants to go. But for now we had towards the Awaroa inlet, to find the camp site. The low tide leaves space to a vast plain of sand that we can cross easily to reach the side of the camp site. After long discussion as usual we decide where to pitch the tents, and as the weather is not looking very promising for the day, we decide to head to the cafè to fill our stomachs. And empty our pockets!
As we step outside the camp site it starts raining and not a meter of sand is left in front of us! The tide is high. But we’re determined to reach this cafè, no matter what. We start walking along the very edge of the beach still quite dry. We start a journey across marshes, private land and water, for no one knows what reason. We have to walk two hours to get to the cafè, and we get there all exhausted and frustrated. No one is quite sure why we’ve done it. But well, at least we can enjoy the pleasure of some amazing food, and a bit less amazing bill. Rivers of beer, giant burgers, cakes, coffees, and nonetheless we have the amazing opportunity to use toilets provided with warm water, and take the chance for a little washing!
On the way back, full as balloon, we can catch the low tide and be back in half an hour with a bit of wet walking. It’s raining without mercy, Kath shows off her brand knew yellow poncho bought just for the occasion, so that if we get lost, they’ll definitely going to find us!
At the campsite we all find refuge in our own tents. It’s pouring. Mirjam’s tent is floading, so she’s got to move to the hut. Even if our tent has been losing weatherstrips all the way here, it’s just dripping and we decide to remain in the tent. Klaus and Sarai join us for a game of Uno, so at least we can spend some time together. It’s been a great day, even with the rain, and I’m actually quite happy that we had at least a day of rain, I like it when inside the tent is dry! Unfortunately the heavy rain warning says that if it keeps raining like this all night, we won’t be able to cross, but we’ll get up early anyway and find out.

04/01/10

At 2.00am it stopped. When we get up at 6.00 the sky is clear, and the tide is out. We get ready quickly and start the crossing. It’s probably one of the most amazing part of this walk. There’s no one around, we’re the first to go, and in front of us one of the most spectacular landscapes of this journey, under the pale morning light. We have to go barefoot because even at low tide in some parts the water gets to your knees, it’s wonderful.
When we get to the other side we make a stop to put shoes back on, and then we face the last part of our walk. A nice, easy track, that following the coast takes us to Totaranui.
Here we find a different world. A huge camp site, with campervans, big tents, cars, boats. Fortunately trampers have a sort of enclosure where they can camp in a more suitable way! Our hope to find some sort of food here, soon vanishes. The only edible thing available is chocolate bars! Nonetheless we buy a few of those, just in case.
The day turned out to be incredibly hot, and we’re so tired that me and Mike fall asleep in the tent as soon as it’s pitched!
In the afternoon we all go for our own things, and me and Mike decide to go for a walk to the next bay to spend some time at Anapai beach. It’s another hour and half walking, but it’s very nice. Unfortunately it’s quite windy on the beach, but we find a nice spot beside the rocks where it was sheltered and sat under the sun.
We’re slowly getting back to reality. In the evening we all have a proper shower, eat some dinner (thanks to Klaus, Sarai and Mirjam), and we even go to have a look at a concert organized nearby. It’s the end of our journey, we have a last game of Uno before going to sleep and tomorrow morning a taxi boat will take us back to the world.

---

Photos

Best beaches
Bark Bay - The Anchorage - Goat Bay - Onetahuni

Comments

[Ana]

I wish i was there...
...even if is for an hour of sunshine!! what a beautiful landscape, it´s so grey and dark here...rainy and cold...