Overnight in Marahau there was a storm with very strong
winds that rocked our campervan and dropped some pretty big raindrops. In the morning we emerged from the van to see the hilltops covered in snow and realized just exactly what kind of
storm happened…this is pretty out of the ordinary considering this area is
subtropical in climate. We were worried
it would be too cold for our kayaking trip; however the sun emerged when we
finally got the kayaks on the water at about 9am. Paul
and I were in a tandem kayak, and I was a little worried we would just fight
the whole day. It turns out we worked
very well together; I watched out for rocks under the water and Paul expertly
steered us away from them. In the morning
we kayaked along the coast from Anchorage to Bark Bay. They had already dropped off our lunch of
sandwiches, giant muffins, chip-your-tooth Budget brand chocolate cookies, feijoas, and
most importantly, hot drinks. Four other
girls joined us who had been walking the coastal track in the morning and we
kayaked up around Tonga Island in the afternoon. Paul and
I saw so much wildlife while kayaking including a little blue penguin, fur
seals, a sea star, and native birds. The
little blue penguin was adorable, just floating in the ocean, taking a break
from hunting in the sunshine. We were
able to take a hot shower back at the base camp for the kayaking company, then
drove the van through the snow-covered mountains to the northern start of the
track in Golden Bay, Totaranui.
After
staying the night in the Totaranui Department of Conservation (DOC) campground,
we woke up and packed lunches to walk a portion of the track. It was an interesting day to say the least…we
were fine in the beginning, crossing beaches as they came. However, from one beach we decided to
scramble over the rocks to reach the next beach. I think it's safe to say we misread our map. It turns out we should not have done this rock climbing because we ended up stranded on a sandbar.
We had to continue climbing over rocks and fallen trees and mud to
re-enter the track. The bright side is
we got to see a sting ray swimming in the inlet. Once back on the track we realized there was
a low tide crossing as part of the normal route, so we took off our shoes and slowly traipsed over all of
the empty shells that birds had picked over and waded through the shallowest parts of the inlet water.
I was elated to discover tiny crabs about the size of my big toenail,
which walked sideways to run away from our impending footsteps. We had lunch at a hut, then turned around and
walked back to Totaranui. I loved all
the wildlife we saw this day including birds, large and small crabs, various
snails attached to sea rocks, the sting ray, a blue sea star, and a
tiny-bottom-feeding shark.
It was
this day that we realized how cold it could get at night. Usually we drive around during the day and
the engine warms up the van. However,
our van had been sitting cold all day while we hiked. We were huddled under our comforters as soon
as the sun went down at 5pm. We tried to
cook rice on our gas burner, but the flame was low and eventually we ran out of
LPG. Therefore, we ate cold sandwiches
in the cold van…followed by crunchy rice (because it was warm) for
dessert. I find it ironic that our
coldest night of the whole trip was in fact in Abel Tasman National Park, a
subtropical climate.
The
next day it was so difficult to get out of bed in the cold weather. However, we managed to get up and drive to
Takaka to refill our LPG. We needed a
break so we parked the van near a bird sanctuary outside of town by the
sea. We aired out the camper, made
crepes for brunch, and had a walk along the shore. In the afternoon we did the short walk around
Te Waikoropupu Springs, or Pupu Springs as the locals call it. We drove through Nelson, stocked up on
groceries, and camped at the Pelorus Bridge campground. This river was used in some scenes of The
Hobbit movies; I think when the orcs were chasing the dwarves in all those
barrels down the river. The next day, on
Thursday, we wound our way to Picton and drove our van onto the ferry. It was so cool to be riding the ferry along with
all of those large semis. Of course it
was pouring rain in Wellington soon after we arrived, which made it a bit
difficult to get around and find a place to sleep. We ended up in a parking lot just off the
interstate, right beside the sea.
Sea kayaking at Abel Tasman National Park
Sea kayaking
Lunch break at Bark Bay
Fur seals resting at Tonga Island, part of the marine reserve
Sunset over Motueka
Snow in the hills above Abel Tasman National Park
One of my favorite birds, the Shag
Just one of the many beautiful shells we encountered on the golden sand beaches of Abel Tasman
Golden Bay
Abel Tasman National Park
Blue sea star, so amazing!
A much deserved rest on the beach after a day of hiking
A seagull staring at the dinner buffet
Paul being a tourist on the Wellington Ferry;)
Wellington Ferry, Marlborough Sounds
