Abel Tasman

Leaving the van in the car park of the water taxi, we hand over our rucksacks and climb onto the boat, to be driven via tractor down into the sea where we float free and set off up the coast of the Abel Tasman National park. The driver of the boat informs us of the history of the coastline and its discovery by the likes of Abel Tasman, even taking us to specific points of interest, including a seal colony happily lying on the rocks of one of the islands. Dropped at the top of the park at Totaranui, we collect our rucksacks, paddle to the shore, don our trainers and set off on our way. We’ve been given a relatively tight schedule by the guide at the booking office, as we’ve a couple of points on the trail that can only be passed at low tide. Passing through the sea still at Awaroa, we hike across beaches, through forest and up and down hills and pass the second low tide point by 2:30pm so allow ourselves a break for lunch. We’ve been hiking quite fast for 3.5hrs and we welcome the break, especially as we get to sit and chill on beach at Onetahuti bay, golden sands and bright blue sea as far as the eye can sea. Setting off stuffed with sardines, bread and biscuits the going seems tougher, my knees don’t like the downhill sections and my back is aching so much I’m starting to wonder if there is something seriously wrong with it.

We arrive at Bark Hut, our first night’s stay to much relief, leave our stuff marking two mattresses on one of the four bunks that each sleep seven people and head down to the beach for a quick dip and a lounge before dinner. Rehydrated food and some lovely dried fruit and nuts from one of the other walkers and we’re turning in for the night. Its noticeable just how long the days are here, at 10pm its still bright light, but we manage to get to sleep anyway. Halfway through the night and we’re disturbed by three girls in the same bunk as us. Rather naively the three have “packed light”, seemingly just packing cotton bag liners to sleep in and no more than t-shirts and shorts by way of clothing. They are freezing and discussing their predicament in what can only be described as stage whispers, this carries on for over an hour and even I’m tempted to offer them some extra clothes just to quieten them (in the morning I discover Rob was lying there thinking the same thoughts). Other than that we have a good nights sleep and waken early ready for the next days walk.

Rehydrated scrambled egg celebrates in Rob’s birthday and he opens his cards before we set off (this is on record as Rob’s quietest birthday since “coming of age”). I put my backpack on and immediately affected by the same crippling pain in the back as the day before. I take the pack off in case I can adjust it to make it more comfortable but I’ve only got soft stuff packed in the back so I don’t know what I’ll be able to move. Incredibly I find three sets of keys in an inside pocket that has been digging me squarely in the back for the whole of the previous day, doh! Much more comfortable we set off at a more leisurely pace than the day before. We’ve a shorter walk to do today, just 9.5km so we get there by early afternoon and lounge happily on the beach. Receiving a burnt bum (my usual tan sees me with a white shorts line so my bum is a bit more sensitive to the sun in my bikini), we cook tea. Starting with some mussels that we’ve picked on the beach, we unfortunately then overcook them and have to throw them away. Never mind, some noodles, more rehydrated food and a tiny bottle of wine is the posh birthday dinner.

After tea we return to the beach as Rob remembers a cave with glow worms in it from his previous visit three years earlier. The tide is on its way out so we roll up the combats and wade through the shallow waters to the collection of caves. The first couple are disappointing and the third is blocked with a large branch so I leave Rob to scramble over and explore on his own. Seconds later he is calling excitedly for me to join him so I scramble over the branch too and squeeze through a short passage into a small cave which seems to go up vertically for several metres. Sure enough the tiny flecks of green that signify glow worms are clearly visible, but Rob assures me that the best is yet to come. By the light of a tiny keyring torch Rob illuminates the cave wall above the entrance I’ve just squeezed through. The wall is covered in something I later learn is a cave weta, it looks like a 3 inch cross between a grasshopper and a prawn with big long feelers twitching away, there must be thousands of them. I’m out of the cave and back on the beach before Rob can even draw breath, my skin crawling, much to Rob’s amusement.

What should be a sound nights sleep after the days walk is destroyed by the presence of another monster snorer ensconced in a mosi-net that surrounds him and five others so we have no means of waking him. With sandflies and mosquitoes rife outside we can’t even escape outside, after a couple of hours we finally manage to nod off.

The final day of the walk involves an 11.5km walk which we manage to complete in 2.5hours as the incentive of a shower and some proper food entices us on. We drive via a supermarket back to Motueka and pay for a good camp site. Bellies full of bangers and mash and a nice hot shower and we’re feeling human again.

With the manifest shuffled round again on the Saturday we manage a couple more jumps before high winds again ground skydiving for the afternoon so we bid our farewells and push on with our trip, heading across towards the west coast and the town of Westport. Taking in the somewhat hilarious view of a man cycling with his shorts hitched right up his bum we are some miles out of Motoeka before we realise we’re running low on fuel. Spying an old service station we decide to pull in for the night to wait for it to open in the morning. We’re greeted by a Staffordshire bull terrier who somewhat nervously assesses us before deciding we’re harmless enough and befriends us instead of attacking us. She is soon joined by an older dog and two gambol about happily alternating between ragging each other and trying to beg our food of us with big puppy dog eyes. The local pub has a rowdy race night on and we’re a little worried that we’re going to get some grief from the local drunken yokels but fortunately we get no bother. The younger dog decided to guard our van as I discover in the middle of the night when I return from the toilet and startle it. I hadn’t seen it as I’m not wearing my contact lenses and I’m not sure who took the bigger fright but fortunately it recognises my voice and the growl turns to a wag of the tail, thank goodness I shared my tea with it earlier!