From the Marlborough Sounds, we traveled from east to west along the northern coast of the South Island (was that clear?). We got some more great views of the sound and the mountainous terrain on our way towards Abel Tasman National Park.
We stopped by Nelson for lunch and stumbled upon a German sausage sidewalk stand. They actually had currywurst, so we each got one, since we have been missing them since Berlin. Nelson is a really nice town with a cute downtown full of independent shops and restaurants. It’s a place that we could live because it is near the water and has a central location that is a few hours drive from some amazing places.
We continued on towards Riwaka, a very small town just past Motueka, that is right at the southern part of Abel Tasman. This is the view from the one of the two little guest cottages in a ladies backyard that we stayed in.
In the area there were a lot of roadside vegetable stands that were run out of people’s homes. We stopped in one and got a bunch of wonderfully fresh produce.
About a half hour north is Marahau where the southern end of a trail that runs along the coast through Abel Tasman National Park. The entire trail takes about 4 to 5 days to hike and there are campsites and huts along it that you can stay. People can also take water taxis to different points along the coast.
It was low tide and we were able to walk out onto a huge stretch of beach that is normally underwater. Below, Megan is inside a tunnel carved out by the sea.
We walked along the beach and over to the next bay pictured here. The small island in the distance has a big brother island to the north that we looked out at from the trail above. The trail itself is very lush, with many ferns, trees, and several streams.
The next day, we headed north to Golden Bay, which is on the northern end of Abel Tasman. We stopped by a lookout and got this incredible view back south along the coast. In the distance, you can actually see Nelson, which is over 100 km away.
In the area, there were also these interesting rock formations. We read something about them, but now forget what they are and how they were formed. After crossing over the mountain, we descended into a valley and out towards the Golden Bay.
Near the town of Takaka is the Te Waikoropupu Springs. They are a sacred place for the Maori and the water is provided for healing and blessings. The water comes up in several places in the area, including this pool of water. This is the some of the clearest water in the world, second only to some water in Antarctica. They have a series of mirrors into the water that shows you how clear it is by showing that you can see all the way across the pool. The colors are amazing with the blue bottom and different colored plant life. The same network of underground waterways is also connected to the sea where are there are some offshore springs.
Near the northern end of Abel Tasman National Park, we hiked out towards Wainui Falls. After walking along a river through thick forests, we came to this swing bridge with a maximum capacity of 1 person at a time. It was really narrow and had some real movement to it. Once on the other side it was a short walk to the falls.
On a cliff that sticks out into the water there is a small monument to Abel Tasman, who was the first to sail around the region. The picture above looks north over the Golden Bay and you can see part of the Farewell Spit, a strip of sand that extends out for miles. The picture below looks south over another bay that we walked out on. It was again low tide, and it was interesting to see the water receding from the sand.
We ended the day back at our cottage and were treated to an incredible sky over the neighboring black current vines.
No comments:
Post a Comment