Words cannot describe the beauty of Abel Tasman. The water is the bluest blue meeting the tannest tan beaches with the greenest green forest...unbelievable! We took a water taxi out to Totaranue, an amazing beach with hardly anyone on it. Taylor and I condensed our gear down to one bag, sleeping bags and a tent. We laid on the beach for about 2 hours before we started our hike. The hike was about 3 1/2 hours long through tropical forests and beaches. It was a little hilly, which proved to be difficult for the one carrying the "big" bag. The trek was exciting with descents onto small beaches reminding me of the movie "The Beach" with Leonardo DeCaprio. The forest's sounds and color contrasts were breathtaking. When we approached different bays and lagoons it seems to pop up through the bush. It was not like a hike down to the beach, but turning the corner to see blue on blue through the trees. We crossed a bay during low tide, when 2 hours prior we had been there sightseeing on the water taxi. Even though Able Tasman is a national park, it still has private homes on the land (Bill Gates has spent the past 5 New Years at his house on Able Tasman). It would be an oasis to escape too!! Our first night was cold! We sprayed half a bottle of bug spray on us... the sand flies were horrendous!!! Some people leave Able with over 70 bites! We ate cold canned food for dinner, due to the fire ban and went to bed early.
The next day we met our Kayak guide for a full day ride. As we were getting into our boats he casually mentioned that a girl had cancelled due to the Tsunami warning, but in our geographical location it was highly unlikely anything would happen. Typical Kiwi behavior to slide that in nonchalant as we were paddling away from shore, the worst place to be in a Tsunami, but we believed him and went full force ahead. The water was perfectly calm all day and it was another amazing New Zealand experience. We saw seal colonies who were not afraid of people! They would come up to our boats and swim around us. We also saw blue penguins which are the smallest in the world and slowly becoming extinct. The highlight of the kayaking trip was the ability to see Shag Cove. Our guide said that usually the tide does not hit right for many to see it and its one of the best sights of the park. Shag Cove is not obvious to the eye. When we paddled in a calming feeling washed over our group.It was like a hidden lagoon....Peter Pan style. I can see how movie producers draw on New Zealand for inspirational backdrops because mother nature took extra time with this country. The day was sunny with cool calm waters and not a cloud in the sky. It was an exhausting all day kayak trip but worth every stroke!!! That night we played cards with other campers until our eyes could not strain anymore, even with my headlamp. The third day we trekked 4 hours into town and caught the bus home. We were so glad we made it a 3 day trip. The hiking and kayaking allowed us to see more then most do of Able Tasman. It's truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen...and the Kiwi's call it a "park."
'mother nature took extra time with this country' :)
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