OK... Able Tasman is a wonderful Park located on the North Coast of the South Island. Hiking in the park is considered one of the top 5 things to do in New Zealand. When we first arrived in New Zealand I discovered that 3 families from work were planning a trip to the park. We got ourselves invited and the rest is history. Four days before the hike I was in Tahiti and rolled my ankle in a basketball game with the employees of the Service Center. I "hopped" home to New Zealand and tried to baby my foot up until the hike. An x-ray showed that it wasn't broken so with a lot of TLC and ice, and a blessing, we continued to prepare for the hike. I wore a walking cast through all the airports and bus rides up until the actual hike. All the ice, ace bandages, and prayers worked! My foot got better each day. It was tender throughout the hike but with good hiking boots I was able to do it in good shape.
Getting to the park was a logistical challenge since we were not driving any cars. Backpacking in New Zealand is really common so with the right arrangements you can figure out ways to get just about anywhere.
Seventeen of us met at the Auckland Airport, had a 3 hour delay, and boarded a plane to the South end of the North Island. The city is Wellington. It took two shuttle vans with cargo trailers to take our stuff downtown to the hotels we were staying in. Some of us packed two ways. We packed a suitcase with clean clothes, and food for our time before and after the hike. Our hope was that we could leave the suitcase at the hotel and pick it up at the end of our journey so we would have clean clothes and not have to pack them around in our back packs. Miriam and I stayed in a place called the Downtown Backpackers. These are places that rent you a clean bed in a dorm, a shared bathroom and a common kitchen where you prepare your own food. We upgraded to a private room with bunk beds that was right across the street from the bus terminal which we needed the next morning.
The next morning we left the suit case at one of our parties hotel and put on the backpack and went to the bus station. A city bus took us from the station to the Inner Island Ferry. This ferry is huge! It's like a small cruise ship. It transports people, cars and trucks. It has bars, theater, restaurant, etc. It was a three hour ride to the South Island through beautiful sounds, islands, etc..
We departed the ferry in a city named Picton. A bus picked us up and transported us to Nelson, where Miriam and I stayed in yet another backpackers house that held 90 people. Common bathroom, kitchen but a private room (queen size bed!) but a taco mattress. We spent the afternoon and night in Nelson. We walked around the town, window shopped, and bought little things that we needed for the hike (propane, and hawaiian sling). We loaded up with a seafood pizza and prepared our packs for the big hike.
The next morning our backpackers host drove us to the bus station where we caught the bus to the trailhead still 2.5 hours away. The drive was beautiful. Love the large hedges around the farms. (Wind blocks) As we approached to the trailhead we stopped and checked our very heavy backpack in to a water taxi. Their job was to deliver our backpack by sea each day to the hut we were staying in. It was always there waiting for us as we arrived to the huts we were staying in. The huts are kind of like a backpackers inn. They sleep any where from 20-40 people all in one room, have a common room for relaxing and food preperation, no electricity but candles to light the room. There is also a campground nearby.
The first day we hiked from Marahau to Anchorage Bay. It took about 4 hours. (Actually 6 hours because of our playing for 2 hours). Our backpack was waiting for us. Some of our party (little kids and a mom) took the water taxi and were waiting for us. The tramp is on great trails that put you in tropical type bush some of the time and great beaches some of the time. We stopped for lunch at a great beach, went snorkeling and just relaxed. Then on to Anchorage Bay. Wayne snorkeled and gathered muscles in the shell that we boiled. The shells open up when they are done. There is a nice piece of meat inside that is pretty tasty! Easy to go to sleep after a rousing game of crazy Rook. We loved visiting with the people there from all over the world. A fun couple from Israel, Germany, Australia and a sweet family from Denmark.
Because of a tidal crossing right away we could not cross the estuary until 9:15 without getting really wet so we waited until then. This was our long day. It was really a wonderful day for us. We took another 2 hour stop for playing in the ocean and lunch. Very beautiful tramp. The cliffs got a little steeper and the water a bit rougher the further up the track we got. We skipped the Bark Bay hut ant headed up to the Awaroa hut. People fly into that area and stay in a really ritsy resort for about $400 a night. We were fine with the hut. It took us around 9.5 hours including the playing around. It was a very hard day for a couple of the families so our plans are changing for the end of the trip. They didn't get settled with their packs till 11 pm. We met some interesting people, both hiking alone from Germany. It was a really warm day so the cold shower was very welcomed. We cooked up the muscles that Bob collected for us earlier. They go well with the Ramen etc. that you usually take on a hike.
The two of us woke up to the most wonderful and strange bird singing. We found out later that it was a Tui bird. It has two voiceboxes so it sings a duet all by itself. The men left to take the packs to the dock. They had to go back to the resort so they took 3 hours to do that. We needed to wait until about 12:30 to cross the estuary where the tide needed to receed. A few people were impatient so they left with a few less clothes on than we did. You will see in our pictures. (The German boy is PG13). This day was only about 4 hours. It just gets prettier and prettier. We ended up at a campground where there were 850 people! It was Totaranui Bay. Nothing like Coyotee Gulch is it? There was a road that came to that area. It was sweet though to watch all the families just have such a great time together. We do miss the large family gatherings. Dave was walking with his 3 kids a met a lady walking the trail. They got talking and he told her how our large group was going to stop a few hours early and so we would be on the ground instead of them using the huts. (Do to the rough seas the water taxis would not take the shuttled children and moms to the final hut-Whariwharangi Bay). When we were settling she showed up with 3 extra tents for us. Her name was Penny Sue and it was not a coincidence. She was a real blessing from heaven for these families. We made a fire and sang a few songs. The stars were really incredible. But so different than the stars that we know about in our northern hemisphere.
It was a long night on the hard ground but all woke up warm and in good spirits to make the way back. It was fast Sunday and we kept it the best that we could. We boarded the bus and changed buses twice before we actually got to Picton to get on the Ferry. By this point it was 5 pm. It was a really beautiful bus ride though. I am glad that I needed to be in the front of the bus and stay awake so I didn't get bus sick. Because I was awake I saw such wonderful mountains and countryside. We boarded the ferry. In 3 hours we were in Wellington. It was a clear and beautiful night. We stayed in the same room we stayed in 6 days earlier. We made our noodles and enjoyed our bunkbeds. In the morning we had a good greesy breakfast, took a cable car ride in the rain and spent the day in a really outstanding museum. Te Papa is the best in New Zealand. We never even made it to the top 2 levels. At this point it was just the Pembertons and us left. We walked around the streets and ate at the Lone Star. That was the most American place we have been to in 4 months. We sat on the plane for an hour and then took our 45 min flight to Auckland. We got in bed by midnight. Make sure you go to the photo album called "Able Tasman Tramp." Written by both of us...
Getting to the park was a logistical challenge since we were not driving any cars. Backpacking in New Zealand is really common so with the right arrangements you can figure out ways to get just about anywhere.
Seventeen of us met at the Auckland Airport, had a 3 hour delay, and boarded a plane to the South end of the North Island. The city is Wellington. It took two shuttle vans with cargo trailers to take our stuff downtown to the hotels we were staying in. Some of us packed two ways. We packed a suitcase with clean clothes, and food for our time before and after the hike. Our hope was that we could leave the suitcase at the hotel and pick it up at the end of our journey so we would have clean clothes and not have to pack them around in our back packs. Miriam and I stayed in a place called the Downtown Backpackers. These are places that rent you a clean bed in a dorm, a shared bathroom and a common kitchen where you prepare your own food. We upgraded to a private room with bunk beds that was right across the street from the bus terminal which we needed the next morning.
The next morning we left the suit case at one of our parties hotel and put on the backpack and went to the bus station. A city bus took us from the station to the Inner Island Ferry. This ferry is huge! It's like a small cruise ship. It transports people, cars and trucks. It has bars, theater, restaurant, etc. It was a three hour ride to the South Island through beautiful sounds, islands, etc..
We departed the ferry in a city named Picton. A bus picked us up and transported us to Nelson, where Miriam and I stayed in yet another backpackers house that held 90 people. Common bathroom, kitchen but a private room (queen size bed!) but a taco mattress. We spent the afternoon and night in Nelson. We walked around the town, window shopped, and bought little things that we needed for the hike (propane, and hawaiian sling). We loaded up with a seafood pizza and prepared our packs for the big hike.
The next morning our backpackers host drove us to the bus station where we caught the bus to the trailhead still 2.5 hours away. The drive was beautiful. Love the large hedges around the farms. (Wind blocks) As we approached to the trailhead we stopped and checked our very heavy backpack in to a water taxi. Their job was to deliver our backpack by sea each day to the hut we were staying in. It was always there waiting for us as we arrived to the huts we were staying in. The huts are kind of like a backpackers inn. They sleep any where from 20-40 people all in one room, have a common room for relaxing and food preperation, no electricity but candles to light the room. There is also a campground nearby.
The first day we hiked from Marahau to Anchorage Bay. It took about 4 hours. (Actually 6 hours because of our playing for 2 hours). Our backpack was waiting for us. Some of our party (little kids and a mom) took the water taxi and were waiting for us. The tramp is on great trails that put you in tropical type bush some of the time and great beaches some of the time. We stopped for lunch at a great beach, went snorkeling and just relaxed. Then on to Anchorage Bay. Wayne snorkeled and gathered muscles in the shell that we boiled. The shells open up when they are done. There is a nice piece of meat inside that is pretty tasty! Easy to go to sleep after a rousing game of crazy Rook. We loved visiting with the people there from all over the world. A fun couple from Israel, Germany, Australia and a sweet family from Denmark.
Because of a tidal crossing right away we could not cross the estuary until 9:15 without getting really wet so we waited until then. This was our long day. It was really a wonderful day for us. We took another 2 hour stop for playing in the ocean and lunch. Very beautiful tramp. The cliffs got a little steeper and the water a bit rougher the further up the track we got. We skipped the Bark Bay hut ant headed up to the Awaroa hut. People fly into that area and stay in a really ritsy resort for about $400 a night. We were fine with the hut. It took us around 9.5 hours including the playing around. It was a very hard day for a couple of the families so our plans are changing for the end of the trip. They didn't get settled with their packs till 11 pm. We met some interesting people, both hiking alone from Germany. It was a really warm day so the cold shower was very welcomed. We cooked up the muscles that Bob collected for us earlier. They go well with the Ramen etc. that you usually take on a hike.
The two of us woke up to the most wonderful and strange bird singing. We found out later that it was a Tui bird. It has two voiceboxes so it sings a duet all by itself. The men left to take the packs to the dock. They had to go back to the resort so they took 3 hours to do that. We needed to wait until about 12:30 to cross the estuary where the tide needed to receed. A few people were impatient so they left with a few less clothes on than we did. You will see in our pictures. (The German boy is PG13). This day was only about 4 hours. It just gets prettier and prettier. We ended up at a campground where there were 850 people! It was Totaranui Bay. Nothing like Coyotee Gulch is it? There was a road that came to that area. It was sweet though to watch all the families just have such a great time together. We do miss the large family gatherings. Dave was walking with his 3 kids a met a lady walking the trail. They got talking and he told her how our large group was going to stop a few hours early and so we would be on the ground instead of them using the huts. (Do to the rough seas the water taxis would not take the shuttled children and moms to the final hut-Whariwharangi Bay). When we were settling she showed up with 3 extra tents for us. Her name was Penny Sue and it was not a coincidence. She was a real blessing from heaven for these families. We made a fire and sang a few songs. The stars were really incredible. But so different than the stars that we know about in our northern hemisphere.
It was a long night on the hard ground but all woke up warm and in good spirits to make the way back. It was fast Sunday and we kept it the best that we could. We boarded the bus and changed buses twice before we actually got to Picton to get on the Ferry. By this point it was 5 pm. It was a really beautiful bus ride though. I am glad that I needed to be in the front of the bus and stay awake so I didn't get bus sick. Because I was awake I saw such wonderful mountains and countryside. We boarded the ferry. In 3 hours we were in Wellington. It was a clear and beautiful night. We stayed in the same room we stayed in 6 days earlier. We made our noodles and enjoyed our bunkbeds. In the morning we had a good greesy breakfast, took a cable car ride in the rain and spent the day in a really outstanding museum. Te Papa is the best in New Zealand. We never even made it to the top 2 levels. At this point it was just the Pembertons and us left. We walked around the streets and ate at the Lone Star. That was the most American place we have been to in 4 months. We sat on the plane for an hour and then took our 45 min flight to Auckland. We got in bed by midnight. Make sure you go to the photo album called "Able Tasman Tramp." Written by both of us...
3 comments:
Great post!!
And loved the pictures, good thing you didn't need to use that helicopter to get out. Really cool that dads ankle was manageable.
Awesome!
That sounds like so much fun. Right up your ally. We love you both and glad that you are still alive!
~Dan & Erin
Hi - I don't know how my name got here, but I've loved reading your blog. I sat down to write you an email and I've read and read instead. What wonderful experiences you are having - I'll have to say I'm envious or all the things you've seen and done! Jay and I love New Zealand, but we haven't done near the things you have. What a blessing for you both.
I guess you will be coming home soon. Can't believe a year has gone by since we were swimming in Park City. I see your Aunt Donna almost everyday at the swimming pool in Logan. She's great.
I'm so glad I met you and I'm glad this has turned out to be a wonderful experience for you.
Jane Monson
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