Golden Bay

I know, i know, ...those of you who have been following our NZ blog have been eagerly awaiting a new post. I have been slacking for the last couple of weeks, and the people have spoken.

he exhausting two day excursion through Abel Tasman was wonderful, and gave us new inspiration to see what was next on the agenda. The plan was to head across the Upper Takaka Mountain Range and into the Golden Bay Valley. Crossing the mountain range was a task itself. The elevation change and the switchbacks in the road were enough to make Denise car sick.

All was well after we finally made it across the range. It was immediately apparent that we would fall in love with the Golden Bay area.

Although it was getting late in the day, we decided to head out to the Farewell Spit, a 35 kilometer long sand formation at the tip of the south island. We were able to take a brief walk on the spit before heading back to catch the sun set. As it turns out, I am always chasing the perfect sun set, and although this one was a great one, the search continues. We ended up breaking free of our preset agenda, and stayed in a small town called Collinwood. We decided that the Golden Bay area would take another day to explore properly. Collinwood had a main street, one local pub/restaurant, corner store, fire station, church, and a few beach houses. That was it! We did however stumbled upon a great little hostel that had a wonderful wood burning fire place that kept us warm.

The next day was spent hiking through sheep pastures to the white cliff coast line.

We were almost able to take these two curious youngsters home, but after watching the Kiwi cult horror flick "Black Sheep",about genetically engineered sheep that go on a killing spree in the South Island, we were not about to take one home for a pet.

We followed the next trail down to this amazing beach. For some reason, the rock formation out int eh rough surf from our angle reminded me of one of Hannibal's battle elephants ready to charge the enemy. I think my imagination runs a bit wild, but I still say it resembles a charging elephant....

Anyway, the best part of the beach was the encounters with the local seal colony! We didn't actually count how many were lingering about, but they were everywhere, and they were just as curious about us as we were about them.

We were able to get really close.

After hiking the coast for the first part of the day, we started our trip back to the Nelson area. Along the way, we hit a local brewpub and a magnificent machine of sausage. Those innovative Kiwis!

This bloke made home made sausage and sold it out of a vending machine during the hours when the shop was closed. Brilliant I say! Smoked lamb, beef, and pork sausage.....done!

Anyway, after my amazing sausage vending machine encounter, we decided to check out one of the local caves. This particular cave has not yet been fully explored by the Department of Conservation yet, and is a bit off the beaten path for most tourist. We found out why most tourist avoid the hike.... It was basically an hour hike strait up a mountain. I have never sweat so much in my life. The reward at the end was definitely worth it.

The cave opening itself looked like the rock was melting. Stalactites adorned the opening, and the depths of the cave we will never no. It was too dangerous to explore.

Trading our tramping boots for kayak paddles

Weary, hungry, and thirsty, we finally made it to out DOC hut destination in Bark Bay. After 7.5 hours of hiking, we were ready to relax.

I woke up surprisingly early the next morning, and was able to catch sunrise. It was just me and a couple of New Zealand ducks to welcome the new day.

Absolutely stunning!

Denise joined me shortly after the sun started heating up. We strolled around a bit to kill some time before our kayak guide arrived by water taxi with our kayaks.

Our guide arrived around 9:00 in the morning smiling and greeting us with some cookies juice for breakfast. Denise and I would be piloting a two man kayak, and our guide K.P. had his own slick looking sea going vessel. We were the only ones on the guided kayak tour back to where we started, so we got an exclusive tour of the coast of Abel Tasman. K.P. had a wealth of knowledge about the park and New Zealand. He is half Maori and overall a cool old dude. He has been just about everywhere and done just about everything in the adventure arena.

This is K.P. below pointing out Seal Island, our next destination.

We played around with the seals for a bit at Seal Island. They would circle around and under kayak, and pop their heads up every now and again out of curiosity.

After the seal encounter, we stopped for lunch in this cove. As exhausted as we were, we took K.P.'s recommendation to do a short hike up the near by mountain to get a great view of the bay.

We made it threw the last leg of the journey and my body was so tired at that point, i could not even lift the camera to snap any more photos. It was an exhausting, yet wonderful day!

Don't worry, it's just around the corner....

Preparations for the great Abel Tasman adventure were in place. The evening prior, we were good little campers, and snuck off to bed after a few beers at the Victorian Rose, a pub in Nelson. We could have stayed for a few more beers and a few more hours listening to the sounds of Boogy Train... an awkward looking, yet great sounding blues band....... but in hindsight, our decision to get some shut eye was best. Anyway, we woke up at 5:30 in the morning to catch the bus to the trailhead looking like hobos itching for a cup of coffee.



Yes, we made it to the trail head at last. We did get a quick caffeine dose and a bear claw muffin at the cafe that was literally at the start of the trail. This will be a piece of cake we thought.....




Here is a picture of us at the start of our journey with our wits, sense of humor, an optimism at its peak. It was a bit rainy at that time early in the morning, but we were excited to get the tramp started. We were well on our way, blazing the trail with only a few wet outburst from mother nature. Other than that, the stormy weather headed south and for the most part, we stayed warm and dry.
It seamed that with every step further into the park, the weather changed for the better, the views seemed more beautiful, and our cadence got a bit more rapid. As advertised by our bus driver Chet, the trail was fairly easy. Chet says Abel Tasman track is for 4-84 years olds, and he might be full of shit, but then again, I don't think his name was actually Chet.

We continued at a good pace, taking in the beauty of the golden beaches and crystal blue water.



We picked the right time of year to hike Abel Tasman as we would later find out. We were the only ones on the track, and for being the most famous track in New Zealand, that is a rare thing during the school holiday and summer time.

About 3 hours into the hike we stopped to take a break and have some lunch. There was a Department of Conservation (DOC) cabin where we stopped to have some grub. I use "grub" as a term meaning delicious cheese, sausage, bread, smoked fish, and hummus dips. We were in no danger of starving, that much I can tell you my friends. We weren't about to go thirsty either. I've adopted the theory created that beer shall be enjoyed on every adventure, and at any time during the day. This adventure would be no exception. Lunch in the wilderness without a trace of civilization in sight, not without a beer I say....

Lunch and beers, job done! Now on to more hiking. Honestly, the views from the trail were spectacular! The mid day skies turned bright blue, and the beaches below reflected gold.



We were still making good time, although we did miss the short cut across the bay that can only be crossed at low tide. no worries though, it took us about 30 minutes to do the round about way, and we got to see Cleopatra's Pool shown below. If you look closely and use your imagination, you can pick out a figure in the rock laying on her side. Very cool!

It was about 6 hours into the hike at this point, and our dogs were getting tired. In my most reassuring voice, I would tell Denise, "It should be just around the corner, just up ahead." She managed to call my bullshit, and it was a battle to see who could keep their sense of humor.

Towards the end of our hike, we did get to traverse this huge swing bridge.

As the map had indicated, we were getting close to our destination, and my efforts to announce that "it is just around the corner" started to make a bit more sense than 2 hours ago....

The Nelsons in Nelson

Denise and I had our first chance to get down to the south island a week ago. The area was beautiful and flashbulbs from our camera were going off like the paparazzi chasing Madonna just trying to snap a memory of all the lovely landscape. Therefore in an attempt to not bore the audience, I will be making several installments of our trip to keep you interested.

So lets get started! Our first stop on the week long trip begun ironically in a town called Nelson. Being well known for its sea food, artistry, wineries, and breweries, it was the perfect place for us to start our adventure. Although we were not greeted with a red carpet as we got off the twin propellered plane, I gave a distinguisted wave to the grounds crew on the tarmac much like the president does as he exits airforce one. Not a kings welcome at all, but we were happy to be on the ground. The flight was a rough one, and to be honest, we could have landed De Moines Iowa for all I care, just as long as we landed safely.

So we had arrived. The first thing we did on the following day was experiencing the Saturday market held right around the corner from the hostel we stayed at.

The market was fabulous! Intermingled amongst booths and tents of fine artisans and jewelers, there were cheese, sausage, fresh fish, and meat pie vendors. Meat pies are a huge thing down here and are sold not only in bakeries and grocery stores, but you can find them in gas stations as well. Denise found a specialty meat pie vendor that was selling a vegetarian meat pie.......interesting. As we strolled along, we bought loads of breads, cheeses, sausages, and smoked fish for our travels. I took a picture of this guy who was singing Sweet Caroline at the time. He sounded great, and he had the intricate facial tattoos to let us know he was a native Maori.
After the market, we set off to explore the rest of the town. I would call it a city, but the size doesn't constitute the title of city. There are only a few streets to fill out the down town grid.

Nelson is the home of The Ring. You know which ring I am talking about....you know,....the halflings.....hairy feet.....crazy adventure. Yep, one of the local jewelry artisans was commissioned to create the Lord of the Rings ring for the movie. This was the Jens Hansen's headquarters.

We didn't get a picture of one of the real one in the shop, which was almost big enough to be a wrist band, but I did get a picture next to this enormous replica. It makes me look like I am as small as Frodo Baggins himself. Or am I really in Middle earth....watcht out for the Orks!.... I'm a dork!

Anyway, we continued our trip to the cathedral which adorns the hilltop overlooking the town. It was amazingly elegant in side and contemporary, goth on the exterior.

The park surrounding the cathedral was full of blooming flowers and Denise's favorite trees in New Zealand (below). I am not sure what it is called, but we see them all over the place, and they are beautiful.

This is one of our favorite pictures taken while in Nelson
We walked most of the town streets popping in some of the shops before they closed. It seems that on a Saturdays everything shuts down at 4:00PM, and the city becomes a ghost town. But before everything did shut down, we found a brewery and a winery to help cope with the situation.


That as our first day of the trip, and it was a great one. We settled into the hostel which apparently has a problem with travelers steeling the wine corker.
We had to get a good nights rest to get ready for our next days adventure, a day long hike, an over night camp, and a kayak in Abel Tasman National Reserve. Tune into the next entry...