Abel Tasman Day 3 - Last Day in Paradise

Someone else wrote this, but I felt the same way

The Abel Tasman Nat. Park area has been so fantastic I wish I could have stayed longer, and I think many people feel that way because I saw it written on a brochure ha ha ha.



Abel Tasman Costal Track

Since I had exercised my arms the previous day Kayaking, I decided to exercise my legs and do part of the Abel Tasman Costal Track. I drove a short way
out to the Marahau Car Park (where I had played on the beach previously) and started from the southern most part of the track. It was high tide so I had to stick to the route, but for 2 hours during low tide you can actually walk along the beach and meet up with the track part way down. I set a length of time I wanted to go and walked out about 5-6k to just before the Apple Tree Beach Access, and turned around. The trail lazily winds through the hills along the coast line with access to a number of beaches, and amazing views along the way. 

On my way back I decided to take a break for a snack and splash in the water. I didn't take notice of the name of the area where I stopped, but I practically had the beach to myself which made it an even more relaxing place to stop. eventually a number of other day hikers discovered the picnic area, so I decided to move on. Including breaks, I spent about 2.5 hours hiking and though it wasn't a difficult track it felt great to be out in the sun and saltwater breezes.

View at high tide

     

View at low tide

I had lunch at a nice café in Marahau just at the end of the trail, and then drove to another very short trail between Marahau and Kaiteriteri where you can see the Split Apple Rock from shore. It is famous so I wanted to make sure to see it, and I am glad I did but it is kinda just a rock...

Split Apple Rock

The beach from where you can see the rock was a bit windy and cool for swimming when I arrived, but there were rocky caves on either side of the beach and a short excursion along the rocks revealed a number of tide pools! (I love tide pools) There were crabs, snails, starfish and all kinds of living things hiding in them! I could have been out there for hours but the tide would have come in and stranded me so... hahaha.

I hope I get a chance to come back to Abel Tasman someday, if not on this trip maybe with Mario. But for now I will just add a couple more photos and get ready for my drive back to Picton. Oh and Fitz, if you read this Abel Tasman should really be on your bucket list of places to travel!

Cute design someone made with rocks, viewed through the clear water

Bird drying out along the trail

People made rock sculptures along the beach, so I made one too. :)

Abel Tasman Day 2

Today I went Kayaking in the Abel Tasman National Park. This was high on my list of things I wanted to do in New Zealand, and I am SO glad I did.

 

I booked a tour, because I wasn't really sure where good places to go were, and being out sea kayaking by myself didn't really sounds like the safest idea. The boats were all tandems which I wasn't excited about but it ended up being really fun! The woman I was paired with & I worked pretty well together, and the scenery was AMAZING!!! The other people on the tour were fun too.

 



We paddled out to see a seal colony, which was cool but they pretty much looked like small versions of what I saw in California in September. The guide said there are supposedly more seals than people on the South Island. I am starting to get the idea that there are more of a lot of living things than people here (sheep, opossums, seals, penguins...)

For lunch we stopped on a beach and the guide had a simple catered picnic for us. After lunch, some sunbathing and a dip in the ocean we headed on our way. 

I have one day left in Abel Tasman Nat. Park and right now I wish it was longer. I think I will head out for a hike tomorrow. I hope I can make the most of my last day here!

Abel Tasman Day 1

One of the places I most wanted to hit up on the South Island was the Abel Tasman National Park. So after arriving in Picton that is the first place I went!

Today was my first full day so took it easy and just enjoyed the sunshine. I am staying in Motueka, and after a short walk around town... I discovered that there wasn't much here if you want to enjoy the rugged outdoors, but with a car its a nice short distance to the real fun. First I headed to Marahau. The tide was out and it was the biggest beach I have ever seen! And there was no one on it!!! It was flat and covered with little sandy tide pools filled with snails, shell fish, and star fish! I was amazed how much life there was in the sand! At home most of the shells or crabs you find in the sandy beaches are dead, but there were so many live animals it was difficult to know where to step without killing something!

 

Next I went to Kaiteriteri and was greeted with a much different experience. The town around the beach is larger than Marahayu but mostly touristy stuff, and the beach is much steeper. There were people swimming and sunbathing, so I joined them. (First lounging in the sun with a book, then bobbing around.) It was my first time in the ocean above my knees! ha ha

 

Tomorrow I will go Kayaking! I can't wait!

To The South!

Today I started the next leg of my journey... The South Island! I took the ferry from Wellington to Picton. The views were amazing, and I met some interesting other travelers so that was fun.

I also rented a car for the first time (under my name...) and enjoyed a twisty curvy scenic drive from Picton to Motueka. I will be here in Motueka for the next 3 nights, with some kayaking and maybe hiking in the works. Here's hoping for good weather!

New Zealand Festival

Last night I joined Trina & some of her friends I have been getting to know for the opening event of the New Zealand Festival. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, since all Trina had said was that it was a drumming performance, but it ended up being so much more than that! It was an amazing 1 ½ free performance kicked off by (what I was told was) a Maori style singer, accompanied by drums and a full choir, later joined by a rock band, light show, and Haka.

I tend to enjoy drumming performances anyway but this was…. AWESOME!!!  

(I will try to upload a video later)

Wellington Zoo & City Bus

I had done a lot of the touristy things in Wellington, but hadn't been to the zoo, so today I went... 

I also decided to try out he city bus! I found that the buses are pretty easy to use IF you know where it goes, but if you don't have a map on you its a little hard to find information posted anywhere. Also they didn't announce any of the stops, so luckily there were other people going to the zoo. 

So anyway the zoo. Wellington's zoo isn't exactly massive, but it has a nice sampling of animals and the kiwis were really cool. It seemed like a place kids would enjoy, but wasn't so childish that I couldn't enjoy myself. 

Kiwi!!!!!!!

 

Wellington Writers Walk