So I did it! The famous Abel Tasman coast track that is. It's a really popular route in the summer months, but only see's 10% of its traffic over the winter. I caught the 1330 water taxi from Marahau that actully started up a street on dry land! The boat was on a trailer mounted to a tractor that pulled us along the beach front and then depsited us down the slip way into the sea! Pete, our pilot told us to hang on as it was going to be a rough trip! I think it had something to do with the last few days of the storm that was still hanging around out at sea. For us however, it was a fine day. An hour and a half later I was deposited on the remote Tortaranui beach. The boat backed in as far as possible amoung the breaking waves and I was told to make a jump for it when the waves sucked back. "shall I remove my boots?" I asked. "nah, you'll be fine".
So I arrived at the start of my 3 day walk with soaked feet. Despite Pete's reassurances I did get wet. A wave broke just as I leaaped off the back of the boat and went in up to my knees. This depressed me somewhat as the over-riding factor that led to me buying some boots was so I would have dry feet. Oh well. I started off down the coastal track in good time so that I would make the Awora estuary crossing bang on low tide. It was only an 90 minute walk away. No sooner as I had started walking 2 German girls came the other way saying that the track was blocked by a large landslip. This was a set back. The hut was on the other side of the esturay and the slip and I had no tent. I decided to carry on non the less to see if I could find a way around the slip. With renewed confidence I set of again. About 10 mins later I met a Columbian guy coming the other way. His English was broken but he basically said it was impassable. He had tried. "now what?" Back at the beach there was an information board that showed a gravel road that led to the estury at almost the exact point we needed to be – Perfect! Andre was also trying to get to the hut so we decided to quick march the gravel road route. Only problem was it was 8km further than the track. We only had 1 hour until low tide. 2 until the estuary was not crossable. We better get walking then! It was getting dark too and there was no way I was wading through 100m of waist deep ice cold water in the dark! Fortunatly for us the German gils were only day tripping. Tortuanui is the only beach in the NP accesable by (gravel) road. They were heading back to Takaka and offerd to give us a lift half of the way we needed to. Phew! So we made it to the crossing in time and navigated our way across the huge mud flats avoiding too many area of quick sand and got to the river. Thanks to our lift we managed to only get wet up to our knees so It was boots off and wade. It took about 10 mins to cross and it was pretty chilly! Fortunatly the hut was only a few hundred metres away and we made it just as twilight left the sky. I lit my candles (for light) and the wood burner and settled in to make some pasta! The hut sleeps 24 but it was just us 2 this night. Andre crashed out beside the fire (that had failed to get really going due to soaked wood) and I settled into my sleeping back in one of the bunks to read my book. I had set my alarm for 0530 and made it my aim to be walking by 0600. The reason for this was that there was a 2nd tidal crossing that needed to be crossed within 3hrs of low water. It was a 90mins walk from the hut and low tide was at 0500. Andre was waiting till the afternoon low tide as he only needed to get to the next hut 9.5km away. I was aiming for one further on at 22km away.
I awoke brightly and hurried my things together and put on all my warm gear and headed out into the night. Sunrise was at 0728 and I made it my goal to make the crossing by that time. It was a moonless night so my head torch shone the way – scaring the odd rabbit and possum. Navigating off the beach was pretty tricky. Trying to find a small path through bush was like trying to find a needle in a hay stack (excuse the cliche). This lost me a bit of time, but I soon made it to the track and steamed off. This crossing was much smaller but I still had to remove my boots – which were still wet.I sat on the deserted beach and ate a muffin as the sun rose over the headland and gradually illuminated the whole bay. It was pretty special. I was at Bark Bay hut (where Andre would be staying) before 0900. This hut had a great location and I had my second breakfast on its steps looking out to sea. On the 12 or so kilometers left to go I passed few people at all, except some workers on the track blowing up some rocks with explosives! I passed through dense sub-tropical bush and wide open beaches only accessable by foot or kayak. I got into a rhythm and by 1330 I was at the Anchorage hut and in need of a sit down! This beach is popular with day trippers as its only an easy 4hr walk back to Marahau so during the day there were a few people getting dropped off or being picked up by water taxi during the afternoon but before long the immaculate beach was deserted except 4 of us staying in the hut. The weather had been perfect all day so we huddeled around the LPG heater and got to know each other when the sun went down. There was a Belgium bloke and a couple from Spain. We chatted away until the candles ran out and went off to bed.
So I arrived at the start of my 3 day walk with soaked feet. Despite Pete's reassurances I did get wet. A wave broke just as I leaaped off the back of the boat and went in up to my knees. This depressed me somewhat as the over-riding factor that led to me buying some boots was so I would have dry feet. Oh well. I started off down the coastal track in good time so that I would make the Awora estuary crossing bang on low tide. It was only an 90 minute walk away. No sooner as I had started walking 2 German girls came the other way saying that the track was blocked by a large landslip. This was a set back. The hut was on the other side of the esturay and the slip and I had no tent. I decided to carry on non the less to see if I could find a way around the slip. With renewed confidence I set of again. About 10 mins later I met a Columbian guy coming the other way. His English was broken but he basically said it was impassable. He had tried. "now what?" Back at the beach there was an information board that showed a gravel road that led to the estury at almost the exact point we needed to be – Perfect! Andre was also trying to get to the hut so we decided to quick march the gravel road route. Only problem was it was 8km further than the track. We only had 1 hour until low tide. 2 until the estuary was not crossable. We better get walking then! It was getting dark too and there was no way I was wading through 100m of waist deep ice cold water in the dark! Fortunatly for us the German gils were only day tripping. Tortuanui is the only beach in the NP accesable by (gravel) road. They were heading back to Takaka and offerd to give us a lift half of the way we needed to. Phew! So we made it to the crossing in time and navigated our way across the huge mud flats avoiding too many area of quick sand and got to the river. Thanks to our lift we managed to only get wet up to our knees so It was boots off and wade. It took about 10 mins to cross and it was pretty chilly! Fortunatly the hut was only a few hundred metres away and we made it just as twilight left the sky. I lit my candles (for light) and the wood burner and settled in to make some pasta! The hut sleeps 24 but it was just us 2 this night. Andre crashed out beside the fire (that had failed to get really going due to soaked wood) and I settled into my sleeping back in one of the bunks to read my book. I had set my alarm for 0530 and made it my aim to be walking by 0600. The reason for this was that there was a 2nd tidal crossing that needed to be crossed within 3hrs of low water. It was a 90mins walk from the hut and low tide was at 0500. Andre was waiting till the afternoon low tide as he only needed to get to the next hut 9.5km away. I was aiming for one further on at 22km away.
I awoke brightly and hurried my things together and put on all my warm gear and headed out into the night. Sunrise was at 0728 and I made it my goal to make the crossing by that time. It was a moonless night so my head torch shone the way – scaring the odd rabbit and possum. Navigating off the beach was pretty tricky. Trying to find a small path through bush was like trying to find a needle in a hay stack (excuse the cliche). This lost me a bit of time, but I soon made it to the track and steamed off. This crossing was much smaller but I still had to remove my boots – which were still wet.I sat on the deserted beach and ate a muffin as the sun rose over the headland and gradually illuminated the whole bay. It was pretty special. I was at Bark Bay hut (where Andre would be staying) before 0900. This hut had a great location and I had my second breakfast on its steps looking out to sea. On the 12 or so kilometers left to go I passed few people at all, except some workers on the track blowing up some rocks with explosives! I passed through dense sub-tropical bush and wide open beaches only accessable by foot or kayak. I got into a rhythm and by 1330 I was at the Anchorage hut and in need of a sit down! This beach is popular with day trippers as its only an easy 4hr walk back to Marahau so during the day there were a few people getting dropped off or being picked up by water taxi during the afternoon but before long the immaculate beach was deserted except 4 of us staying in the hut. The weather had been perfect all day so we huddeled around the LPG heater and got to know each other when the sun went down. There was a Belgium bloke and a couple from Spain. We chatted away until the candles ran out and went off to bed.
My boots had finally dried out but my feet were looking a sorry site with a few blisters and loads of sandfly bites! Despite this I quickly despatched the final, beautiful 11.5km and was back at my car by 1130 and off to grab a shower in Motueka. That afternoon I headed off to Golden Bay in the North West of the South Island. It's known for its arty hippies that have inhabited the area. There is only one road in and out of the region which goes over a steep, winding mountain pass – Takaka Hill 800m, There are some supurb views from the top! Dropping down into Takaka valley you get a good feeling of isolation as the whole bay is hemmed in by mountains on 3 of its sides and the ocean on the other. I stopped in Takaka town and decided to use this as my base to explore the area from. Ths is a really cool little town with a very chilled out atmosphere. Lots of little art and craft shops and organic cafe's line the towns only street and colourful murals adorn walls that should be covered with graffiti. Everyone seems to be riding around on bikes and not many people are getting fuel out of the tired looking BP garage. 'The Quiet Revolution' bike shop is busy refurbishing old bikes to sell on cheaply to the kids of the bay. Back in my hostel, the YHA-affiliated 'Annie's Nirvarna Lodge', I flopped into an arm chair and planned my few days here.
After a good nights sleep I decied to head East from town along the Abel Tasman drive. First stop was brunch in a little cafe followed by a walk around 'The Grove' – a prehistoric amalagmation of limestone formation and jungle. I then went to a salmon smokery and a walk to the Pupu Springs – Australasia's largest fresh water springs. The water is so clear that you can see for 1km through it. An observation deck had been set up with a reverse periscope to reitterate this point. As it I hadn't done enough walking I then went to the Pupu Hydro walkway. A 3 hour walk around a 100 year old hydroelectric station that is still in operation today. It was really cool, with a massivly long water-race with cray-fish in! Half way around I was approached by an elderly man whelding and hammer. I wasnt sure what to think at first – should I be scared? It turned out that he was one of the people involved in keeping the project running. We had a good long chat and he told me a lot about its history which was most interesting. I got back to my car just before dusk and headed back to Annie's where I played a game of Risk with two Scottish sisters.
I left Annies pretty early this morning and drove the 50km to the base of Farewell Spit – a huge sand spit that sits at the far North Western corner of the South Island. It is a haven for wading birdlife, but there is not much else there except for a lighthouse right on the very end. From here, my plan was to get as close as possible to Karamea. A small village that only layed 100km or so from this point at the top of the West coast, but no direct road meant I would have to drive for 6hrs the long way round to get there. I knew I wouldnt make it in one day, but wasnt sure where I would spend the night so I filled the tank and headed off back over Takaka hill and beyond, leaving the superb Golden Bay behind. I stopped at a few places along the way including the longest swingbridge in NZ across the Buller gorge. I paid $5 for the priveledge of walking across it and back. Im not sure if it was there for a reason, or like a lot of things in NZ, just because. I made it to Westport on the West coast, 100km south of Karamea. Its a pretty dead town with nothing of interest here, im staying in a hostel with (to my disgust) a coach load of Brits on 'The Kiwi Experience' a package coach trip that plagues this country. I wont get into my reasons for disliking this operation but I will say it reminds me of being back in the union at university on freshers week. There were no dorm beds left so im in a Twin room on my own, so at least i should get a reasonable nights kip!
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