24.-27.04.2018 ABEL TASMAN

After Adam and Seamus left in the morning, I took the only bus to Kaiteri. The bus driver was really nice and wanted to help me out, he generously offered me to store my bags at his place until I get back from the national park, which I accepted. In Kaiteri, I met Anna, an older lady – she and her husband have a summer house there. She was going to Motueka, the next bigger town, for grocery shopping and took me with her, since I had to go there for my camping ticket. She even waited for me outside the i-site, then I helped her with the groceries and back in the small town, she introduced me to her husband and grandchildren that were playing on the beach.

She absolutely went out of her way from me, especially when we found out that the last water taxi to Totaranui from Kaiteri had already left, as well as the one from Marahau. She organised me a ride to Takaka and there I met a German traveller who was going to Totaranui, with one little stop in between: We went to the stunning Rawhiti Cave, where there were almost no other people (probably because of the hour of hiking you had to do to get there).

In the evening, me and the German cooked a huge and delicious meal with rice-shaped noodles, cabbage, tomatoes, coconut milk, carrots, onion, corn and whatnot (it was indescribably  better than the canned baked beans I though I’d eat that evening). In the morning, I got ready for the Abel Tasman Coastal Track. I had about 21km planned for the first day, getting from Totaranui to Bark Bay campsite. At first I wasn’t sure where exactly the track starts, the confusion was then cleared by a lovely 7 yo girl in a pink dress, who pointed out the way to me.

I started walking at around 10am and at the first beach, I immediately took my shoes off for walking in the sand. However apart from the beach parts, the track was mostly in the forest, with views of stunning bays and the ocean from time to time.

I had to do a tidal crossing around 12, which was only possible 1.5hours each side of low tide (that was also the reason I wanted to walk from Totaranui to Marahau and not the other way round).

About halfway, at Awaroa Hut, I got talking with a man who was camping there for a few days with his two little children, then I didn’t see anybody on the track until I arrived at Bark Bay (that was around 4pm).

I arrived at Bark Bay Campsite around 4pm, when the sun was still going strong and I talked for a while with a Belgian girl, ate yummy cold canned spaghetti, watched the sunset and then went to bed – using my diary, a pack of napkins and a t-shirt as a pillow. Next morning, I woke up in time to see the sun rise.

I started walking towards Marahau at 9 am, still having about 23 km ahead of me. There were lots of people on the track after a while, some families, a school group and barely someone walking alone. I saw some more amazing scenery, nice beaches, more forest and people kayaking.

Paul, the bus driver, told me not to miss out on Cleopatra’s Pool. It was about half an hour of a detour, and for sure worth it. Then at Apple Tree Bay, I ate the bread and hummus I packed for lunch.

I wanted to get a beer at the cafe there, however I couldn’t get one because I left my passport in Kaiteri with the rest of my stuff. Two German girls then took me to Kaiteri, where they took a shower while I was waiting for Paul to bring me my bag, then we drove to Nelson together. They were absolutely lovely and we chatted the whole drive, watched the sunset from the car and then they even brought me directly to my hostel in Nelson.