We were finally here, the Abel Tasman National Park. It’s based at the top of the South Island and runs around the coast, west from Nelson. See link for map…..
http://www.abeltasmancentre.co.nz/images/abel-tasman-map.pdf
The trip was to Tandem Kayak around the coast from Marahau to Onetahuti, (which is as far as you can go unguided). We had a five day freedom tour which is a leisurely pace to get up the coast leaving plenty of time for Seal Colony’s, lagoons, rivers and island touring, with plenty of hiking the coastal tracks in between.
We arrived late at Marahau at 8am and proceeded to stuff our Kayak with all of the essentials, beer, wine, cheese, loaves of bread, bug spray, sunblock, feijoa bubbly and plenty of water. There’s only one tap in the whole of the park that pumps out drinking water, there are no showers and only long drop loos so it’s pretty rough and ready. Everything you haul in must be hauled out again including all your rubbish and food scraps so it’s pretty awesome to have a kayak to stuff it all into and not have to lug it along on your back like the many hikers.
After a safety briefing with our Ocean River Expert Pania, we pushed off into the ocean. Our heads were full of weather and tidal info and we felt confident heading out.
Despite the slightly overcast sky the water was like glass, smooth and calm, barely a ripple. On instruction and verbal phrase from Pania, Pete secured the back of the yak with his butt while I clambered into the front and fitted my spray skirt. On completion I was to yell “sweet up front bro” to which Pete’s reply was to be “sweet as”. Pania was a true kiwi lass, I think the germans also doing the assessment that day were mildly confused by the terminology but gave it a good '”svvveet arse” and pushed off without hiccup.
Despite the odd skirmish about our steering (the yaks fitted with a back peddle rudder that Pete was controlling) we managed to prove to Pania we were capable paddlers and she gave us the ok to head off into the open sea on our own. I was later to recall that Clare had forwarned me the nickname for these tandem Kayaks was ‘divorce boats’ but at this point…we were happy as.
Our first campsite was Apple Tree Bay, not a huge haul round the coast but it sat opposite two Islands prime for touring, Adele and Fisherman Island. There is nothing like food after good exercise and lunch tasted like the best food I’ve ever eaten, in fact every meal tasted like the best food I’d ever eaten cause every day we had earned it.
Despite the look of solitary above there were a couple of rather weighty Americans looking beached further up the dunes who had been dropped off by a water taxi (cheaters).
We Kayaked out to Adele Is. The tide was out exposing this beautiful stretch of golden white sand and I took my first swim, ahem, paddle….um so I waded up to my waist. Without toilets to hand there were lots of swims that entailed wading up to the waist.
Taking the shot below never got tiring. It was bliss, it was like paradise, it was every good shipwrecked film, Blue Lagoon 1 AND 2, Cast Away, Gilligans Island….except it was better, we had booze, good food and a boat. She was called Packhorse by the way, the Kayak, although Pania called her, Purple Power on account of her purple top.
Back to the Bay and we were keen for a celebratory drink and some good kai. When your day survives around eat, paddle, hike, eat, paddle, drink, swim, eat… you feel like you’re in heaven.
Can I just take the time to mention here that it was all our good friends at Pepper that bought us this trip as a leaving present and the camera that took all these amazing pics and we are so grateful.
Pete pouring the feijoa bubbly. You’ll have to come to NZ to try it as I asked for it repeatedly in the UK to no avail but it is yummy as. Feijoa’s are an oval shaped green fruit that have a tart skin and a soft fleshy sweet inside and you can eat them skin pips and all. Feijoa bubbly is an invention of pure alcoholic genius.
The sun was inescapable and I went a bit arab at times to avoid the burn.
We got a bit over-excited on the first day and took 101 pics but everything seemed so mint. I mean look, a little family of geese!
And in the morning in our massive four-man tent cause pete’s so darn tall a two-man just ain’t big enough, we opened up the flap of the fat hippo to the sunrise.
Day two and we set off early not quite waiting for full tide cause Pete could barely contain his excitement and desire to get back in the saddle. Again calm water, which was essential as we tackled the ‘mad mile’ this day, a stretch of the coast deemed un-kayakable 20 years ago because of it’s exposed headland of rock without any stopping point. Still, the day was calm, we were chilled, mad mile… pah! divorce boats…pah!
We paddled into our campsite bay early called Te Pukatea and set up the fat hippo. Then we took the yak out around the point and into Anchorage where there was a stunning lagoon to explore….
Back in the bay and Pete spotted this beach tucked in a nook on the coast. We pulled up to glistening white sand that probably wouldn’t exist at high tide and spread out our picnic.
The water was so clear we stood and watched schools of baby fish swimming around our legs. Pete doing his best man run in for lunch.
Hiking up to Cleopatra’s Pool, the promise of fresh water was too much to resist.
This part, this is called ROCK HOPPING and is somewhat a moment of true kiwi initiation for Pete. You might recall one of the first ever entries where my brother in law took us hiking in the Waitak’s? Pete could barely stretch a shuddering foot from pebble to pebble let alone leap from boulder to boulder….WELL….check this out.
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!
Balance AND Speed!
If this were a Rocky film he’d be at the top of the stairs in a grey track suit and sweat bands.
Ahem, basically afterwards, I couldn’t help but show-off. I know, ME? I’m usually so reserved. I just wanted to exercise my prowess for a change.
I leap, I bound ….
I pull Christopher Walken moves…
Check it.
The location was a fresh water river that formed Cleopatra’s Pool, cold as ice but wonderfully refreshing when your hair’s full of salt, sand and sun block.
Good place to do a bit of hand washing too.
Casual as.
The next day we paddled round to Bark Bay to pick up fresh water and use a flushing toilet. It was hot and sunny and while I read my book on the beach Pete took a hike up over the hill to look back on Sandfly bay below and noticed this well hidden lagoon from the cliff edge.
After back tracking to check out the lagoon we paddled onto Mosquito Bay. We had to time the tides right to paddle in around the big sandbar below in the pic, another tidal lagoon stretched out behind the campsite.
Although we’d just entered the marine reserve a couple of guys in the site paddled back out to the nearest bay and hooked themselves up with some scallops and a tonne of green lipped mussels. Fortunately for us they had more than they could eat and this night we feasted on fresh fat mussels.
Day four and we paddled round to Onetahuti Beach, our final camping spot and riddled with sandfly’s. Up until this point our bites were minimal. Pete has a minor reaction to sandfly’s and mosquito’s where each bite will welt up like he’s been hit with a small but effective baton. Fortunately for me, they like the taste of his blood so much I barely get nipped but this time we were overwhelmed. The bug spray was utterly ineffective, we sprayed but they landed right on it like we’d smothered ourselves in blood aerosol. So from Onetahuti we took every opportunity to hike out of the bay and escape the bugs.
Off to Awaroa Lodge.
Looking down to Awaroa Lodge.
The Lodge is an oasis of wealth in the National Park, packed full of fine wine and beer and incredible food.
Just off the coast from our last campsite was Tonga Island, this was a dedicated seal colony with many of them coming here to breed at this time of year. We found they were so well camouflaged but if you look close below you’ll see a big bull seal to the left and right of the pic.
Pete wading out for his last half mast swim….
And here it ended. From Onetahuti we caught a water taxi back to Marahau and from there the bus back to our motel in Nelson. Thankfully the other three passengers on the bus were from London and New York so nobody felt compelled to make small talk.
We ended the holiday in our motel with hot showers, sky movies, and takeout pizza. bliss.
