Nelson & the Abel Tasman

So after our defeated visit to Nelson Lakes, we were pleased to see that Nelson itself was a better place to be. A large port in the North of the South Island and a large one at that. It was nice to be in a bigger and busier place after the sparse-ness of the West Coast.

We found a really nice hostel in Nelson called the bug (so called due to all the VW beetle stuff adorning the place). A good place to base ourselves for the next few nights. The next day we explored Nelson town and the surroudings, but after we had spent a good 2/3 hours in the local Information centre and Dept. of conservation (DOC) office to figure out about what to do in the infamous Abel Tasman National Park.

We emerged with our heads buzzing with options, leaflets, but a clearer idea of how we were going to see the place. We spent the rest of the day mooching round Nelson town. Lots of shops, sights and things to do. The cathedreal was impressive, inspite of the 50's inspired spire  at one end.

We then saw a sign for the Centre of New Zealand - so we thought we would give it a try and see if it actually was the centre. Yep, it was. A short walk up a steep hill (again)  and we got to the top to see some great views of Nelson and the surrounds. Also the actual centre point, where they measure all the distances in NZ from.

The next day we headed a short 1 hour drive north towards the Abel Tasman NP and stayed in a little town called Motueka, again in a lovely backpackers. This one was situated on the edge of an apple orchard and was definitley one of the better ones!

The Abel Tasman NP is another of New Zealand's finest national parks and a must do on the route round the south island. As with the other parks in NZ, the Dept of Conservation have restricted and controlled the development of anything in the parks which give these places their peace, quiet and remoteness which is hard to find in many other places.

We planned 2 day trips to explore different parts of the park, sadly because i had broken my collar bone, we were not able to do the kayaking option, where you set off in to the blue, visiting each sandy bay en route and enjoying the views from the sea. However in stead on the first day we drove to the start of the track and walked 4 hours to the first main bay and got a water taxi back to the car. The 4 hour walk was great and along the way took many little detours off the main track, down to secluded and empty beaches to enjoy the view-

The water taxis are so well setup and gave us the option to see the place by sea, rather than panting and struggling in a sea kayak (a bonus of breaking the collar bone !)

The following day we took the water taxi further up in to the park and got dropped off at a bay (Bark's Bay) about half way up the track. With the weather being better than the day before and more time on our hands we had a great, relaxed walk north towards some of the less well trodden beaches/bays. Again some great scenery, with lots of little bays and beaches dotted along the coast, in amongst trees and rocky outcrops in to the sea.

The end of that particular days walk was at a bay called Awaroa and we found a nice little lodge that you could stay in (expensive, but nice to have a nosey round). There is of course the DOC huts that you can use or pitch a tent, but why do that when you can look round a nice lodge.

We waited on the beach for about an hour, relaxing in the sunshine before the water taxi came along to collect us and show us another stretch of coast line en route back to the port.

Overall a great few days walking in the Abel Tasman and good to see another varied landscape the NZ has to offer. We retreated each night back to our lush hostel in Moteuka and again from there planed the next step.

A lovely view from a room in the hostel

As we were up in the North of the South Island we decided to continue up to the top and see the Farewll Spit; the northern most tip of the South Island. We stopped for one night in a little town (by which i mean middle of nowhere) with a nice, well establised hostel which has a lovely garden. The best bit being a massive hammock called the "web" over a small stream.

We went up to see and walk along the "Farewell Spit" and also visit the true most northern tip of the South Isand. So far we will have then travelled to the top and east of the north island and the top of south island. With some more great walks under our belts and more impressive scenery snapped, we drove on to our next destination, Picton.