Abel Tasman, Welders and Glacier Hiking

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Hi everyone! I have a bit of catch up to do so bear with me... I start about two weeks ago when I left Akaroa to meet up with Caitlin in Nelson. I picked up Chippy in Picton where she'd been oh-so-lonely for a week or so. I think she may have enjoyed the rest after all we've put her through.

I picked up Cait at her family friends' home in Nelson, where I met the cutest baby in the entire world and had a cuppa before we moved on to Marahau, a little town nestled at the base of Abel Tasman National Park. We booked a double kayak and two nights at campsites along the Coastal Track of the park making a three day, two night trip.

The first day and a half, we paddled up the coast. We started on a beach across the street from the hire place and paddled up a secluded beach spot called Te Pukatea. At this point, we entered a rather exposed section of the coast line and the winds picked up seriously. Had I known at the time the area we were paddling was called the "Mad Mile", I might have suggested that we hang back for a while. Alas, my navigational skills were rusty and our big yellow school bus caught some serious wave action. I was inspired to scream out with joy/terror a few times. Luckily for me, I was in the drivers' seat and Caitlin was up front, recieving the brunt of the splashing. 😊

We stopped at Anchorage campsite, just around the corner from the Mad Mile for the night. Kayaking along the coast is so popular that the site had racks built on the sand to hold our vessels overnight! The facilities were immaculate and beautiful, despite how many people obviously used it over the season. We christened our MSR Whisperlite stove and were giddy that we were out in the great open outdoors after months of essentially site seeing.

It was SO wonderful to be back on the water again, even though it was in a huge bulky plastic thing that weighed a TON. At least it made the packing aspect of it easier. We paddled along the green water, golden beaches and just listened to the water. There were actually quite a few other paddlers on the water, which might have been the only dissapointing aspect. But in general, everyone had great ettiquette on the water and we were in the company of fellow nature lovers.

The next morning, we had an early start and the waters were substantially less crowded. We took our time up to Tonga Island, the site of a local seal colony! These creatures are big, awkward and clumsy on land, but once they slip into the waves are graceful and playful. Though I think they were a bit jaded. They hardly gave us a second glance, despite our best efforts to sing and get their attention. Renditions of Christina Aguilera's "Come on over, Baby" were highly successful.

We pulled up on shore, stowed the gear away and loaded up our packs for the 2 hour hike back the direction we came from, to Bark Bay campsite. It is a beautiful little clearing on a bit of sand jutting out into an estuary. From our tents we could hear water on both sides of the clearing. We were setting up camp when we heard a commotion coming from the beach side of the site. I looked out into the water and in the distance, I saw three black fins poking out of the water! All along the beach, the rest of the campers at the campsite had also abandoned their dinners and were squinting at the horizon. A few fellows that had boated out to the site got in their dinghy and zoomed out towards them to get a closer look.

Little did they know that the fins were going to come to us! A few minutes later, we saw a small pod of fins a few hundred feet away from the beach! I was shocked they were so close during low tide and was worried they were pilot whales. The area of New Zealand that Abel Tasman is in is notorious for whale beachings. Just a few weeks before, close to 120 pilot whales had been refloated a few hundred kilometers to the west of our location.

After they swam away, a Kiwi fellow from Christchurch on his honeymoon let us know that the fins belonged to a pod of orcas (killer whales!) and that they never beach themselves. In fact, he told us that they were probably hunting for baby seals. Phew! And, eww.

The next day we had a 22 K hike back to Marahau where we had began our journey. Luckily, when we woke up, the sky was a bit gray and there was a mist in the air. It never actually began to rain very hard so we had ideal conditions to haul ass back down to base camp. I had actually never hiked so long with a full pack on so it was great to get that bit of confidence. People on the trail were so friendly and the views were incredible, even with the misty cloud cover. I felt like I was hiking in a rain forest with the weather, natural streams and fern canopy.

Shambhala: Part 2

When we got back to our car, we decided that our hard work should be rewarded. After a much needed shower, we headed west towards Takaka and Shambhala! While I had visited it a few months before, Caitlin had yet to experience the serene atmosphere. We drove out there in the now, pouring weather. Exhausted after the hike and the drive, I finally pulled on to the dirt road that lead to the hostel, when I stopped dead in my tracks. Just a kilometer away from the beautiful tranquil setting of Shambhala, where the dirt road crosses a small creek, there was in its place a brown, raging river! Caitlin and I looked at each other and just started uncontrollably laughing. We both managed to get out of the car, look at the river and look back at Chippy's tiny, tiny tires. We turned around immediately and went back into Takaka to spend a night in town.

The next morning, we did eventually make it to Shambhala. I showed Caitlin my favorite hostel, the crazy scene at the Mussel Inn and the kooky atmosphere of Takaka. I also did some serious soul searching there, as I felt the tug of the town and was tempted to stay when I saw an ad posted at the WholeMeal cafe looking for a helper at another kayak hire company. I went out to Golden Bay Kayakers and talked with Nigel, the owner about his needs for a worker. However, the job ended up being more of a babysitting gig than actually being on the water so I declined. For now.

After a few days, we moved on down the West Coast, heading towards the Fiordlands. Passing through Westport, we decided to pull off the road to try and decide where we were heading next. I was driving and pulled off to try and turn around. THAT was when our exhaust split in two! Read the entry, Well, *hit for an update on that. We had to stay in town until Monday when the garages opened. It wasn't so bad. The hostel we stayed at, the Trip Inn, was in an old Victorian style home with tons of character and movies. Plus, the welder we found only charged us 35 bucks to fix our exhaust.

Franz Josef Glacier

Since then, we've moved on to Franz Josef Township, the little alpine town that rests at the foot of the Franz Josef Glacier! Today and yesterday, we went on little day hikes all around the valley where the glacier. We're trying to decide which horribly expensive guided trip to take, that will actually bring us on the ice, into the caves, and potentially on a helicopter ride above the glacier peaks and/or nearby Mt. Cook. We might hold out for the next glaicer just 30 minutes down the road, Fox Glacier.

The township itself is nothing but a pit stop for tourists exploring the glacier, but it's much like a ski town. Tons of souvenir shops, booking agents, a small grocery and the local bar. I like it because from the main street, you can see into the valley where the glacier is as well as the beautiful snow capped peaks behind it. It's been nice to rest up here at the colorful hostel and plan out the rest of our rapidly dwindling five weeks. My planning attitude is a bit less constrained than Caitlin's since she is definately heading back Stateside after our adventures and I am thinking about tacking on a few extra months here or in Australia.

Well there we are! Hope everyone is doing well out there.

meesh

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Photos

Silly Seals
Covering their ears, no doubt...do seals have ears?

Westland
West Coast beaches mean business

Pancake Rocks
I had a Ball shooting these rocks

Big Sheep
Uh, in case you didn't know... I have an obsession with sheep. My eyes lit up when I saw this thing of beauty.

Franz Josef Glacier 2
It looks like a giant ski field! Check out Caitlin's eventual blog on these glaicers... her pics are closer up. I left my camera at home that day.

Comments

[Malique]

Pancake Rocks!
So cool! You know, I have a strong association with you and pancakes. Maybe it reminds me of our attempts to make them in lake house. or maybe it's listening to Jack's Banana Pancakes. But yeah...I think Pancakes...Meesh! Everything looks so gorgeous there!!! I miss you!

[Hazel]

The beach looks so gorgeous and serene. Great pictures.

[irene]

hiya
New addition to my life. For security's sake. . . It's a ose-nay ing-ray. Looks like it should've been there~