Monday January 14th - Sunday January 20th
If we'd been told before we arrived in New Zealand that in the five weeks we'd spend on the South Island there would be maybe 3 or 4 days where it rained we'd have laughed. Our two previous trips had taught us that it always rains here and in the south-west it's guaranteed. As it is we still can't believe how lucky we've been with the weather.
If we'd been told before we arrived in New Zealand that in the five weeks we'd spend on the South Island there would be maybe 3 or 4 days where it rained we'd have laughed. Our two previous trips had taught us that it always rains here and in the south-west it's guaranteed. As it is we still can't believe how lucky we've been with the weather.
This last week has been a prime example. The majority of it has been spent walking the Abel Tasman Coast Track. It was due to rain on the first day and it did...for about 10 minutes while we were on the bus to the start. On the last night a weather front came over and threatened a huge storm...which didn't arrive and the next day was glorious sunshine again. We know this luck can't hold and even if the remainder of our time in New Zealand is wet we really can't complain.
So, the nitty gritty of the week then. We started it where we finished the last one, in Nelson at The Bug backpackers. If ever you're in Nelson stay at this place as it's really well run, has great facilities and is exactly what a backpackers should be. On Tuesday we started the Coast Track in Abel Tasman National Park, another of New Zealand's Great Walks. This one is a relatively easy walk at 51km in length and we intended to spend 4 days ambling it and relaxing on beaches, etc. Although it is a coastal walk it does cut inland at various points and there are a few short uphill sections to negotiate through manuka tree forests. There are also a couple of estuaries to cross that require some thought so as to get to them at low tide otherwise you have to wait for hours for the water to drop. Given our previous jobs it would have been a tad embarrassing to get tide times wrong and we successfully crossed both, although at the larger of the two at Awaroa we managed to find the deepest point to cross rather than the nice shallow part. Common sense still not a strong point for some!
The relative easiness of the walk lulled us into a false sense of security and we decided to carry some more interesting food with us so that we could have better meals in the evenings. So we took with us fresh fruit and veg and pasta sauces rather than relying on the rehydrated meals of recent walks. When we slung our rucksacks onto our backs at the start of the walk in Marahau we were seriously questioning this idea. We reckon the packs were each weighing in at roughly 20kg and nice though the food was each night I think Rach is not keen on doing it again and is probably about 3 inches shorter than when she started the walk.
All 3 of the campsites we stayed on were at the back of beaches so we could have a refreshing dip at the end of the day and then get a sunrise view first thing in the morning. We also had prime spots for sandfly invasions and both came away looking like pin cushions despite coating ourselves in DEET each night. I think the New Zealand sandflies have a thirst for the stuff myself as they seemed to thrive on it.
The Park is very popular for kayakers, sometimes groups of 10 would descend on a nice quiet beach, and we were insanely jealous of them as they bowled into the campsites each night bringing with them all manner of food and drink that they didn't need to carry on their backs. At one site though we were in the right place at the right time to receive some cheesecake from a group that couldn't finish all their food. Always said how great kayakers are!
We certainly enjoyed the walk and it was different again from the other three we've done on the South Island although it was by far the busiest one too with daytrippers galore. We've made the most of the good weather we've had and have walked over 240km in our five weeks and hopefully we can add to that on the North Island, which is where we are now. We're going to be here in Wellington for a couple of days as we try and persuade the Russian authorities that we're not going to be any trouble for them and see if they give us a visa. A few smiles and some cold, hard cash will probably do the trick!
The week's 24/7s
Monday: Rucksacks get heavier each walk we do
Tuesday: Surely our rucksacks shouldn't be this heavy
Wednesday: Fall asleep to sound of breaking waves
Thursday: After two good meals it's rehydrated again
Friday: More than fifty sandfly bites between us
Saturday: Five great weeks down south, heading north
Sunday: Lazy start, even lazier day, it's Sunday
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