Blogs from Abel Tasman National Park, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 35

Soon after leaving Wellington, I arrived in a little town called Nelson. Nelson is famous for having the best weather in all of New Zealand, mainly the most number of sunny days. It was a lovely little town, nestled right in the middle of a long mountain range, which somehow made the town feel very cosy. It actually reminded me a little of Banff, with smaller mountains though. From Nelson there are a wide array of outdoor activities available surrounding the town, mainly in the nearby Abel Tasman National Park. New Zealand has chosen 9 different tracks and classified them as their country’s nine great walks. One of these walks is called the Able Tasman Coastal Track which is 51 kms long and they say takes an average of 3 to 5 days to complete. One ... read more

Over the next few days we would spend most of our time driving along highway 6 down the west coast of the south Island hopping in and out of the car to take in the popular tourist attractions and lookouts sign posted along the way. The ferry from Wellington to Picton was a lot longer than expected, about 4 hours. The tourist maps we had seen not conveying the distance between the two Islands. I still don’t know how far it is between them but it must be double the distance from Calais to Dover. Our first destination was Abel Tasmin National Park. Jewel in the crown of the south Island and guaranteed to be sunny. The drive there was good fun, windiest so far, we seem to find them in ever country we visit! After ... read more

We arrived in Picton and got to our caravan park about 10.30pm, stupidly we had not had dinner (or not, considering the crossing was rough and loads of people were sick!). After we checked in we asked where we could get something to eat, remember this is 10.30 on Saturday night! To which the reply was ‘ Ooh nothing open in Picton at this time of night, just a 24 hr garage!’ Sven went to get us something and we ended up with the great New Zealand delicacy, a steak and cheese pie!! Yes, I did say steak and cheese, grim, but they are everywhere, the equivalent of the British meat and potato. After a night in Picton, where the ferry docks we set off for Abel Tasman. It was a nice scenic drive although the ... read more

So we departed Taupo and made our way to do the best one day walk of New Zealand, the Tongariro Crossing on Mt. Tongariro an old but still active volcano. The weather was pretty shitty looking but it was supposed to clear up (so the weather forecast has stated) So we arrived in the slight rain and definite clouds. On we trekked with hope in our hearts. It was bloody strenuous. The winds were absolutely freezing once we neared the summit and strong enough to blow me off the bloody mountain. The Tongariro is near the Mt. Ngauruhoe, which is Mt. Doom on the Lord of the Rings. So we were climbing over these volcanic rocks feeling like Frodo about to die. We were frozen to the bone and thought we were going to have to ... read more

After seeing the Queen Charlotte Sound and now Abel Tasman National Park, I really think I'm seeing the real countryside of New Zealand. I caught the bus from Nelson to the end of the line at Marahau, which is a small village and claims to be the gateway to the Abel Tasman NP; rightfully so being right at the start of the Abel Tasman track. The hostel is in a great setting and I would certainly recommend "The Barn" to anyone looking to stay in the area. An example of NZ's famous friendlyness came after I had done my shopping at the village store, a 15 minute walk from the hostel. After loading up three shopping bags (with the plan to self-cater for a few days in order to balance out the relative extravagance of the ... read more