Nelson & Abel Tasman

{Live* from New Zealand}

* Change of plans. The Internet is more accessible than I was expecting and with long bus rides I've been able to write all my posts. Plus this way you don't have to read two posts that are pretty much the same thing :)

Thursday:

Ah I can't believe I'm 3 days into my NZ adventure! Nelson was a charming little town at the top of the South Island. Although Katie, Bekah and I were only there for 2 days, we made a lot of memories and a few friends.

After a long day of traveling from Christchurch, we arrived in Nelson. We had a dinner of cheese and crackers accompanied by a local Sauvignon Blanc. The Marlborough area which includes Nelson is known for its wineries. During the harvest season, you can walk down the street and sample wine at the restaurant's cellar door.

We were in bed by 9 p.m.-so exhausted plus we had an early morning departure to Abel Tasman National Park. Named after the Dutch explorer who first came to this area, Abel Tasman is the second most visited national park even though it is the smallest. The park is known for its turquoise water, golden sand and rain forest habitat. 

For our tour, we were transported to Motueka, a small town at the base of the national park. From there we took an hour long water taxi ride to Bark Bay. One of the highlights was Split Apple Rock. When Captain James Cook came to this area, he shot off one of his cannons. The cannonball hit this perfectly round rock. The rock being made of granite (extremely brittle) split in half, leaving what I saw today. Another interesting thing I learned from our boat driver was that the ocean tidal differences along the Abel Tasman coast are among the biggest in the country. There is about a 4.8 meter difference between high and low tide! During low tide you could walk out to Split Apple Rock and during high tide you could kayak through the split.

It was cloudy and I was freezing in my Nike shorts. Luckily it soon turned into a lovely, blue-sky weather. Plus I warmed up on our six hour hike back to Motueka, a total of 24 km or 14.1 miles. The hike was gorgeous. The 2 hour hike from Bark Bay to Torrent Bay was my favorite because it offered the most variety in scenery. I came up with three distinct "ecosystems" at Abel Tasman:

1. Leaves- rain forest, large canopy trees, brooks, GREEN

2. Sticks- tall, slender trees with few leaves, transition ecosystem to the

3. Beach- bush and sandy coves, right on the turquoise water

In Torrent Bay, we found a picnic table and had lunch overlooking the water. The hike back to base was predominantly rain forest. It took four hours though the signs said five. We were starting to freak out because the last bus left at 5 p.m. and we couldn't stay overnight. The signs ended up being wrong and we arrived an hour early. The last 3 km took us probably an hour because we were so tired.

Another early night and leaving for Franz Joseph in the morning.

Cheers for now,

Kim

{Hostel Review: An old boarding house, we stayed at Paradiso and were absolutely spoiled. They provided free wireless, breakfast, and a soup dinner which was perfect when it got cold at night. Really comfortable beds. Residential area so it was quiet. Hot tub and sauna. Reading lights and hooks in the room. $22 a night.}