Dave & Claire´s Travels: Tongariro to Abel Tasman

Ohakune, New Zealand, 1-2 March 2008
Wellington, New Zealand, 3 -5 March 2008
Motueka, New Zealand, 6-7 & 10 March 2008
Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand, 8-9 March 2008

Our next stop was Tongariro and we really didn't want the rain to last. It rained most of the day and we didn't hold out much hope for doing the Tongariro Alpine Crossing the following day. This is considered to be one of the worlds finest day walks but is very weather dependent. The proprietor of our accommodation said the forecast was "so so". We put our names down for the bus the following morning regardless. Hope springs eternal. However we never heard the alarm and missed the bus. Yarg! After a quick look out through the curtains at the rain we rolled over and slept for another hour. But then the weather changed and the sun came out and all was bright and beautiful in the world. Doh!! "What the hell do we do now". We decided to do as much of the walk as we could by parking our car at one end of the trail, walking out 3 hours and then back 3 hours. This worked out fine, once we got our car jump started, even though we had some really windy spells. Not knowing the route we almost turned back before the best bit! We reached the top of the Red Crater and had stunning views of the Emerald Lakes, Blue Lake and the Red Crater itself. We stayed about 1/2 hour relieved we hadn't turned around before reaching this point. That morning we had been convinced that we'd have to leave the area without doing any of the walk so as we walked back to the car we were very happy with how the day had turned around. Content we'd seen enough of the North Island we drove south to Wellington.

Red Crater

In Wellington we stayed with my Aunt Nualla and her husband Gary. Overall we weren't as impressed with Wellington as we were with Auckland. We did the tourist bit: strolled the various streets, took the funicular to the Botanical Gardens and of course we visited Te Papa museum. The museum has interactive displays on how the earth has changed and continues to change over time. Obviously the emphasis is on how these changes impact New Zealand. There is a large section concerning the various foreigners who left their native lands and came in serach of a better life in NZ. One entire area is given over to the "Scots in New Zealand". It was very intersesting but man-alive Claire had to see & read every exhibit in there. Normally she wouldn't go near a museum but here I had to practically drag her out. What is it with the Scots & their patriotism? We enjoyed meeting my cousins Kieran & Maria and their respective families. After 3 days in Wellington (thanks again Nualla & Gary) we took a ferry accross to Picton at the top of the south island. The crossing was calm and pleasant.

The following morning we visited the I-Site (this is what tourist info offices are called in NZ) & booked to do a 3 day trek in Abel Tasman National Park. With a day to relax before hand we took a drive to a lovely little village in Golden Bay called Tekaka. I can honestly say this is where we tasted the best ice cream of our trip. Real scoops of fruit blended with ice cream and filled deep and high into a waffle cone. Heavenly. Next we drove a little further north past Pahora to the Abel Tasman memorial then it was back to Tekaka for another ice cream before returning to Motueka to prepare for our trek.

You can do the walk from north to south or south to north. The decision depends on the low tide times as there are a number of crossings required. We started at Totaranui in the north and were immediately blown away by the beauty of the beaches. As we looked down on one beach from a look out point we both agreed that Fiji was no longer a required destination. It was stunning and isolated. Why aren't these beaches swarming with people? As this was a coastal walk we had taken a water taxi to the start of the trail. Now here comes the best part for a mere $10 a day the water taxi company will pick up your backpack and drop it off at the campsite you will be staying at that night. So, each day we only needed to take day packs and each evening our tent and large backpack would be waiting for us. It was the business. The weather was excellent which helped also. On Day 2 we bumped into Sharon & Glen while walking on the trail. These were friends we met in Ushuaia. It was great to sit at the waterfront & exchange our travel tales. Then they got on a water taxi and we walked on another two hours to our awaiting backpack. It was another oasis-like crescent shaped beach. We walked it's length while there wasn't another soul on it. Overall it was a really enjoyable 3 day walk, although I (Claire) didn't really dig the low tide barefoot crossings. Gooey & squidgy between the toes with little crabs appearing & disappearing. We stayed one more night in Motueka on return from the trek.