Abel Tasman National Park

On an absolutely gorgeous morning we drove up to Nelson and stopped for coffee with Brian & Inika Hetzel. Brian emigrated to New Zealand from Bermuda 14 years ago and spent a year travelling around before settling in Nelson, we were curious to know the reasons for moving. As soon as we arrived we saw the first one, these superb views across the bay to Abel Tasman say it all:

The entry to the Park is at Marahau, the end of the road, and the coastal track is 51km long, sunshine was forecast so we checked into the lodge and booked the water taxi. Wrong! Rain came in overnight but we were not deterred. The taxi system is interesting: you get on board the boat on the trailer in the parking lot. A tractor then hauls the trailer down the street, onto the beach through the water onto a sandbar for release into open water.

We opted for the longest trip to the north end of the park with a stop at the fur seal colony on Tonga Island. We then disembarked at Bark Bay for the 8km trek on the coastal path back to Anchorage Bay where we were collected 5 hours later. This is one of the most scenic walks in the country, over bridges and falls rising up through the forest where there is an occasional glimpse of the azure waters of an inlet below.

We can only imagine how spectacular this walk would be without the mist and drizzle and we returned cold and wet but fortunately our lodge had the hottest hot tub ever, heaven. Our camera appears to have been a casualty of the damp so in order to keep you informed and for our records we invested in a new one this morning en route. This was a wise move because the Buller River and Gorge can be dark and foreboding but this afternoon they were sparkling in the sunshine.

There was also a side trip to the Riwaki River resurgence, a fascinating place where the river, which has gone underground back in the mountains, emerges again out of the rocks into a crystal clear pool. So plentiful are the phenomenons of nature in NZ that this one does not appear in the guidebook.
In the space of a few miles one can be in Scotland, then Vermont, then the Rockies and Switzerland and the problem here is that around every corner is another photo opportunity, but we can't shoot all of them.
Now in Westport, Karamea tomorrow.