Sunday February 17 started cool and cloudy, but then the sun came out and it was warm. High of around 21C. We spent the day at the Abel Tasman National Park. The Park is named after Abel Tasman, who in 1642 became the first European explorer to sight New Zealand and who anchored nearby in Golden Bay. The park was founded in 1942, marking the 300th anniversary of Abel Tasman's visit. The park covers an area of 225 square kilometres, and is the smallest of New Zealand's national parks. The Abel Tasman Coast Track is a very popular hiking (tramping as they call it in NZ) track that follows the coastline.
We had to get up early as we were being picked up at 7:25 a.m. at a nearby hotel by a Shuttle Bus that would take us to Kaiteriteri where we would broad the Abel Tasman Sea Shuttle at 9:00 a.m. for a Full Park Scenic Cruise up the coast of the park as far as the boats are allowed to go. On the way down, we would be let off at Tonga Quarry at 11:15 a.m. and hike for about 1.5 hours to Bark Bay. After hanging out on the beach at Bark Bay, we would walk another 10 minutes to Medlands Beach where we would be picked up by the boat at 3:30 p.m. taking us back to Kaiteriteri where we would get the Shuttle Bus arriving back in Nelson by 5:30 p.m. A very seamless process, as our bus driver travelled on the boat all day.
 |
| Heading out from Kaiteriteri- a very pretty town with a lovely beach |
 |
| First views |
On the cruise on the way north up the coast, we would stop for a few minutes to look at various features, and then stop at each place where people could get on and off for walks of various degrees of difficulty.
The first stop was the Split Apple Rock--an incredible feature that looked exactly as described.
 |
| Split Apple Rock |
 |
| Another shot into the sun |
We passed a beach with some houses on it. Our guide explained that when the Park was opened in 1942, there were already some private residences. These summer homes remain private land, but have no electricity or services and are only accessible by boat. Some have solar panels and use generators.
 |
| Private homes on the beach |
 |
| There are a number of islands off the coast that are part of the Park |
We stopped to look at a group of fur seals -- some were swimming and others sunning themselves of the rocks.
 |
| Fur Seal swimming |
 |
| Hard to see but they are there |
 |
| Beautiful day for the cruise |
We made a stop at Anchorage Bay, where yachts and other boats anchor. Another beautiful beach. Our guide told us that over the Christmas and New Year's holidays there can be up to 90 boats anchoring there.
 |
| Anchorage Bay- only a few boats today |
There are many kayakers in the park. The tour companies offer kayaking options.
 |
| Kayakers |
Our guide pointed out areas of what looked like grey trees. These are pine trees (not native to the Park), which have been poisoned but the Department of Conservation.
 |
| Poisoned Pine Trees |
We stopped at Medlands Beach, where we would eventually be picked up. It is a small beach, with a stone Guardian just up from the coast.
 |
| We'll be visiting him later |
 |
| On the boat- taking it all in |
We stopped at Tonga Quarry, where we will be left off on the way down. There was an operating granite quarry there from 1904-1913. Tonga granite was used in the construction of the steps leading to the Cathedral in Nelson and also used for the original Parliament Buildings in Wellington. The quarry was reopened briefly in the early 1970s when some matching stone was required to link the old Parliament buildings with The Beehive which was being constructed at the time.
 |
| We stopped at Tonga Quarry, where we will be left off on the way down the coast -another great beach |
 |
| The old quarry area just before the beach |
 |
| Kayakers at Tonga Quarry |
Our next stop was the expansive Onetahuti beach.
 |
| Stop at the beautiful Onetahuti Beach |
 |
| A bit windy on the boat |
 |
| Picture of big rock going north |
 |
| Rock coming south a bit later |
The next stop was Awaroa Beach.
At each stop where we dropped or picked up people, the boat would come close to the beach and a gangplank would lower. We would only stop for a few minutes and the process was very quick.
 |
| Getting ready to lower the gangplank as soon as we got closer to the beach |
Our final stop was Totaranui Beach, a very popular spot with backpackers. There is car access to this spot and camp grounds for up to 90 people. The National Park continues further north of this beach, but the cruise boats can only go this far up the coast.
After reaching Totaranui, the boat turns around and heads back down the coast, stopping briefly to let people on and off the boat. We got out at Tonga Quarry at 11:15 a.m. to begin our hike. Our first stop would be Bark Bay which we got to at about 12:45 p.m.
There were a few birds on the beach as we arrived.
 |
| This could be the start of a beautiful friendship |
 |
| Leaving the boat at Tonga Quarry |
The first part of the trail was straight up. However, the paths are wide and there is only one path to follow between the various beaches. There are lots of wonderful ferns-- the first part of the walk reminded us a bit of Meares Island (just off Tofino, Vancouver Island), which we have hiked.
 |
| Heading up the trail |
 |
| The first part was all uphill |
 |
| Views from up high of the water |
 |
| Alain finally changed to shorts as it was hot out |
 |
| First sight of Bark Bay-- still a 20 minute hike downhill |
There was only one fork in the road with a low tide vs a high tide route to get to Bark Bay. While the high tide route was only 15 minutes longer, we decided to follow a young couple down the low tide route. It turned out the tide hadn't gone out all the way in the spot where we had to cross. The young couple turned back, but we decided to have our lunch and chill. A few minutes later an older couple came down and the woman put on her bathing suit and waded over to the other side. It turned out that the deepest part wasn't that deep after all. I put on my bathing suit and we waded over.
 |
| Alain crossing the Rubicon |
We then had to walk up to the beach--- lots of beautiful sand and a few bits of water to cross.
 |
| Heading up to the beach during low tide |
 |
| The beach |
 |
| Alain took this pic in bright sun, so it's a bit grainy-- water was shallow and air was a bit cool when we were there. I walked around in the water for a while but didn't go in |
 |
| Don't see too many of these signs at home |
 |
| Leaving Bark Bay and heading out on a short 10 minute trail to Medlands Beach |
We stopped at the lookout with the Guardian for a picture at Medlands Beach.
 |
| Picture with guardian just before we went down to the beach |
The boat picked us up at 3:30 p.m. and we were back at Kaiteriteri by 4:30 p.m. We then boarded the bus for the hour trip back to Nelson. We wandered around town a bit, and then returned to our place for a rest and a fish dinner with fresh corn. It was a wonderful day--- we would highly recommend a visit to Abel Tasman National Park. There are many options for hiking or kayaking and the cruise up the coast provides a great framework for the different beaches and features along the way.
We have found that tourism in NZ is done extremely well. The I-Site booking process is efficient and trustworthy. Everyone is helpful and we have found that tours are very good value for money. Of course, the magnificent scenery and weather doesn't hurt one bit. On Monday February 18, we will be taking a half-day wine tour.
Comments
Post a Comment