Abel Tasman
January 2007, by Gini
We flew into Nelson early afternoon, which marked the beginning of our Abel Tasman experience. After waiting a wee while for the bus we were on our way to Motueka, south of Nelson. We made it just in time to get a gas canister, thanks to tom doing a MacGyver sprint to the camping shop. After the Airport assistant kindly took our other canister! Who knew not to take flammable gas onboard.
We explored Motueka along the shoreline, a warmup walk before the big day. Finishing with some wheat beer and fish & chips, not the best in my opinion - but the beer was! We started early as we had to make our way South to Marahau which took 45 minutes on the bus.
Once we were all set, sun creamed, taped and strapped into our packs we set off to Anchorage Bay, which is where we planned on sleeping the first night in a hut. It was a beautiful and hot day but most of the walk was under the canopy which helped. What didn't help was seeing the beach and water most of the way and only wanting to go swimming instead of walking, but we pushed on.
4 hours later or less we made it to Anchorage Hut which had a stunning beach (something out of a travel brochure - no jokes) and the bay was covered in people and expensive boats! which was quite surprising as the only way by land was walking tracks. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the sun and water, we even got Lisa in the water!
We finished the day with a yummy pasta dinner and a few games of 500 which Graham and Lisa won. I was so pleased when I realised they had flushing toilets, no more long drops for me! After a nice stay at the hut we set out early as we had 7 hours to cover with two tidal crossings. The first was at Torrent Bay which we timed perfectly. Walking straight through we only large puddles to dodge. We passed through a settlement of beach houses which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere but very stylish. The second was at Bark Bay. At that point it had started to rain and there was little shelter so we thought we would rough it and make the tidal cross at high tide. To our surprise it only came up to our thighs and was only 30 metres wide so it paid off. We had a long walk in the rain until the next hut, Awaroa.
The hut was quite packed as all the campers were in there because of the rain and cold. We got all dried off and set about making a another yummy pasta dish with carrots. We finished the night with more 500 which Tom and I started to get the hang of (but still not winning) and had a much deserved sleep. We set off early as the tide was low, but still consisted of knee high crossings, so the shoes and boots came off again. The walk to Totaranui was meant to only take one and half hours but was closer to two and a half hours. But we didn't miss our bus which was a relief.
Once we were on the bus heading back to civilisation we heard that Woody had popped the question to Jo! which was nice surprise. We traveled all the way back to Nelson which took around three hours, which good quality sleeping time. Once in Nelson we walked to our Motel which was in the center of town (Mid City Motor Lodge) which was prefect. We got some beers and relaxed before dinner. We ended our trip with a big meal and wine at Lone Star which was well deserved. g
We explored Motueka along the shoreline, a warmup walk before the big day. Finishing with some wheat beer and fish & chips, not the best in my opinion - but the beer was! We started early as we had to make our way South to Marahau which took 45 minutes on the bus.
Once we were all set, sun creamed, taped and strapped into our packs we set off to Anchorage Bay, which is where we planned on sleeping the first night in a hut. It was a beautiful and hot day but most of the walk was under the canopy which helped. What didn't help was seeing the beach and water most of the way and only wanting to go swimming instead of walking, but we pushed on.
4 hours later or less we made it to Anchorage Hut which had a stunning beach (something out of a travel brochure - no jokes) and the bay was covered in people and expensive boats! which was quite surprising as the only way by land was walking tracks. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the sun and water, we even got Lisa in the water!
We finished the day with a yummy pasta dinner and a few games of 500 which Graham and Lisa won. I was so pleased when I realised they had flushing toilets, no more long drops for me! After a nice stay at the hut we set out early as we had 7 hours to cover with two tidal crossings. The first was at Torrent Bay which we timed perfectly. Walking straight through we only large puddles to dodge. We passed through a settlement of beach houses which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere but very stylish. The second was at Bark Bay. At that point it had started to rain and there was little shelter so we thought we would rough it and make the tidal cross at high tide. To our surprise it only came up to our thighs and was only 30 metres wide so it paid off. We had a long walk in the rain until the next hut, Awaroa.
The hut was quite packed as all the campers were in there because of the rain and cold. We got all dried off and set about making a another yummy pasta dish with carrots. We finished the night with more 500 which Tom and I started to get the hang of (but still not winning) and had a much deserved sleep. We set off early as the tide was low, but still consisted of knee high crossings, so the shoes and boots came off again. The walk to Totaranui was meant to only take one and half hours but was closer to two and a half hours. But we didn't miss our bus which was a relief.
Once we were on the bus heading back to civilisation we heard that Woody had popped the question to Jo! which was nice surprise. We traveled all the way back to Nelson which took around three hours, which good quality sleeping time. Once in Nelson we walked to our Motel which was in the center of town (Mid City Motor Lodge) which was prefect. We got some beers and relaxed before dinner. We ended our trip with a big meal and wine at Lone Star which was well deserved. g
The Beginning...
Anchorage Bay, Gruggie & Lisa
Shoes
I see beach!
A little deeper
