Blogs from Abel Tasman National Park, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 40

Abel Tasman National Park is a stretch of beautiful coastline near the north-west end of South Island. To really appreciate it you can do a four or five day hiking tour along all its bays. But with time limited we stayed a night near Totaranui Bay, did a days hike toward a view point, and stayed another night. During the hike we saw several wonderful coves, many animals, including strange birds (I felt a bit like in the world of "Riven: Sequel to Myst", for those who enjoyed this computer game) and seals. We also found out how the locals enjoy a trip to this paradise. We met a whole lot of them on the beach. Most of them were pretty drunk since they had arrived by motor boat instead of walking and brought lots of ... read more

Well I have another entry on the computer at the homestay I'm currently in that will get posted tomorrow morning. I'm waiting to meet Kim, who I kayaked with in Doubtful Sound. I ended up in Mapua which is where she lives. Abel Tasman I signed on for a 3 day sea kayak adventure in Abel Tasman. Abel Tasman is very popular and I've been hearing about it since I arrived. Although I was a little bit leary about going to somewhere that might have thousands of other kayaks on the water the lure of golden sand beaches, swimming, camping, and seals was just too tempting. I went with the Sea Kayak company located in Moteuka. They only take groups 8 or less. We had 8. Three couples, myself, and another man who was traveling solo. ... read more

After catching the ferry at Wellington we went back to the South Island and moved onto the Abel Tasman national park. This is a lovely area with forests and some of the best beaches in New Zealand and a lot of it is still untouched. This is where we did some more Kayaking, but this with a guide and proper equipment. Our guide was a Maori who educated us all on a few Maori customs (nose touch greetings) and philosophies. Jason loved his views on the fact that London is so over populated but there are still so many lonely people. The Maori way is to speak to everyone, just like J's. We had an excellent time kayaking. We paddled up to a point called split apple rock (see photo). We got to swim a an ... read more

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 ... read more

Hodge and some of the boys had to get down to Dunedin a little early to get their flat ready for OWEEK and the school year. Since New Zealand is known for its wonderful tramping, Grant, Adrienne, Jeremy and myself did the abel tasman treck. ... read more