Blogs from Abel Tasman National Park, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 36

We have been to the Bay of Islands in the North which is very picturesque. It is also the place where the Waitangi Treaty was signed between the Maori people and Britain in 1840. We visited the centre there which is really interesting. There was a cultural show which was brilliant and I even had a go with the poi (balls on a string which are used to strengthen the wrists). It was really hard but the Maori women are so skilful and make it look really easy! We then had a guided tour with our Maori guide and he was brilliant. He explained all about their culture and the Marae which is their meeting place. He was also really welcoming, the Maori people are very spiritual and really genuinely welcome you to their country, it ... read more

Today was supposed to be a climb of Mt Arthur (1750m) - but when we reach 1200m the cloud rolled it, with hardly any visibility, and guess what - it was raining again! We followed a different path through the subtopical forests instead. Shelley headed back to the carpark while Phil ascended a different mountain called Lodestone; which was free of cloud and had fantastic views over the region. ... read more

If you come to a fork in the road.....take it Yogi Berra New Zealand has 7 great walks that are known around the world to anyone who enjoys hiking (which is actually called "tramping" here). While, they are called walks, this term is quite misleading. They are grueling hikes that go over and around actual mountains. We started off in the North West side of the Southern Island and did a 50 km walk over 3 days called the Abel Tasman Great Walk. We had to buy our own cooking sets and pots and pans etc...The first days walk was supposed to be pretty short and we made it to within 20 minutes of our hut before things went terribly down hill. We had been walking for only about 4 hours and the day had been ... read more

All the pictures in the brochures of the Abel Tasman National park so named after the Dutch explorer who (I think) lays claim to being the Westerner who discovered New Zealand were of aqua waters, lush tropical vegetation and glorious sunshine. When we arrived, there was plenty of lush vegetation, though the sun had made way for rain and when added to the wet conditions the wind helped to disguise the crystal clear waters as, well, not so crystal clear. There on a blagged freebie… Myself, Judith and Niamh all claimed to be there on a fact-finding mission from Queenstown… where we all worked in the tourist industry - and quite frankly, who wouldn’t believe us with our shiny official-looking letters to back up our stories. The question was more, who would be willing enough to ... read more

Hey there, Safely installed on the South Island, just on my way back to Nelson after dropping three of the others off at Abel Tasman for a two day hike (which I chickened out of). Spent a couple of hours walking through the national park there myself....such a lovely place...check out the photies! Its lovely here in general, coastal, fishy villages and great scenery...loads of snow-capped mountains and some amazing lakes. Staying around Nelson for a few days before travelling up the west coast and evetually flying back to Aukland. From there we're hoping to go to Fiji but there's talk of a military coup happening in the coming weeks so we're not sure if we'll be able to fly into the area....fingers crossed! The weather is lovely today but it was a bit rough during ... read more