We got up from our night in the tent along the east cost, on the South Island, close to Blenheim without breakfast and drove in the direction of the town Nelson. On the way we found a green area with a table were we had breakfast. We arrived in Nelson still in time to see the Saturday market that had great local food as well as art. The town is very charming however we decided to move on and to get closer to the Abel Tasman National Park.
We went to visit the Tourist Information in Motueka where we got a lot information about the Park and where we planned the upcoming two days. The night we spent at a campground close to Tasman where they forgot to charge us.... Nice!
We had to get up early that morning, quickly packed up and were at 6:15 am on the road. About 30 minutes later, we arrived at the park entrance and we started walking at 7:39 am, after having breakfast. We had 28.5 km in front of us. The trail was wonderful, with lovely forest parts as well as looks over the amazing clear water that was light blue and you were able to see the bottom of the ocean. Not to forget to mention all the white sand beaches that were caressed by the soft waves that were almost empty and it even was a Sunday.
We did a small detour to see the Cleopatras Pools. Some people were swimming there, we decided only to have only lunch. It was still a little cool and cloudy when we arrived there, but we enjoyed the first rays of sun shortly, which stayed with us for the rest of the trip. There I already felt that my shoes give me some troubles (that's quiet normal for Chrisy).
We continued walking in this amazing, picture perfect scenery and stopped in the later afternoon at Bark Bay at the beach to give my by now hurting feet a rest and just enjoy the tranquility.
After the break we still had 5.4 km (2 hours walking) in front of us to reach our pre booked camping area. The last km I was so in pain that Robert took even my backpack. Somehow we made it to Onetahui Bay and while I was allowed to enjoy the sunset at the beach and later to nurse my blisters, Robert set up the tent and prepare mashed potatoes and baked beans for dinner.
The alarm rang at 5:15 am and an hour later we started walking so we can walk dry footed to our pick up destination. After already 10 minutes walk along the beach of Onetahui Bay we had to take off our hiking boots and cross a small tidal river to continue our hike. The water was cold and my preparation to protect and cushion the areas of my feed that were tender was gone. I was devastated and not looking forward to the rest of the walk. I checked the first aid kit again and found two more blister bandaids. I was so happy.
After two hours we reached Awaroa Inlet were we had low tide as expected so we were able to cross. Also this time we had to take our shoes off and wade through knee deep water to get to the other side of the trail. Once again I lost all the blister bandaids, but we only had 1 hour 15 minutes more to walk. But before we continued we deserved a breakfast, we had muesli and chi tea.
In the last section of our hike we passed through lush forests and walked again along a stunning white sand beach, called Goat Bay (Robert's favorite) and arrived at our final destination Totaranui were we enjoyed the beach, had lunch and were picked up by the water shuttle "Wilson". We enjoyed the cruise back towards the entrance of the park. On the way we saw some seals on the rocks of Tonga island. We were dropped of at Coquille Bay and walked for about 45 minutes back to our car.
One thing I have to mention Robert carried his and my backpack the entire day so I would not have the extra pressure of weight on my feet. This helped me to get through this and enjoy the park even with pain. Now Robert is in pain...
The night we spent again at the campground close to the park were we relaxed and played Skip-Bo with two fellow German travelers.
For more pictures click on the following link: Abel Tasman
No comments:
Post a Comment