Abel Tasman Coastal Track, February 17 - 20

Following a fun weekend in Nelson at the Evolve Festival I hooked up with the lovely Nicole Lever for a 4 day tramp up the Coastal Track in Abel Tasman National Park.  The distance, if you count the Headlands Track and the trip over to Seperation Point, was about the same as the Caples and Greenstone (60 KM or 37.5 m) but we were taking a wee bit longer to do it. We started out from Marahau in the early afternoon and walked up the coast past Adele Island to the Anchorage Hut. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was stunning as you will see from the photos. If I haven't mentioned it before, the thing that makes New Zealand and all of these trips special is the people that you meet along the way.  At the Anchorage Hut we met a Kiwi family out tramping together. The daughter, Amelia, looked very young at first glance (we won't mention what that say's about me) and I thought, "how nice it is to see a family out tramping together". As it turned out, Amelia was an Architecture student in her mid-20s taking her parents out for their first tramp. We walked with her on the beach and got to know them a little. The next day was going to be long as we had to get up early, low tide just after 6 AM, to cross Torrent Bay. We hiked up the coast, through the bush and along the beaches until we reached the Awaroa inlet where we came upon a German and Irish couple looking forlornly at a set of steps leading down into the water. We were about 30 minutes from the hut and ready to be there. According to DOC it was supposed to be an 8 hour walk but we had gotten here in 6 hours, just past high tide. We were way faster than the DOC times and still enjoying our breaks and the views. We sat there 30 minutes or so watching the water recede ever so slowly when the German woman decided it was time to wade. Before long, we were all in the water which never really got much past our knees. A half hour later we were at the Awaroa Hut and happy to be there. There were several Kiwi couples who had kayaked in and it was a pleasure to talk with them. Plus, they agreed to take our, ahem, wine bottle with them for extra water capacity. That tilted the scales in favor of finishing it on the second night. I should have stashed another in Nicole's pack, it may have slowed her down a wee bit. There was a bush shower available which was nice as we were covered with salt from wading, the water was cold so you didn't tarry but it was nice just the same. All of the huts on this tramp had a shower. The next morning was another early start as we had to make the tidal crossing over the Awaroa Inlet.  We walked up the coast again past Totaranui where we were to meet the water taxi the following day. The northern most part of the track to Wharawharangi Bay (far-ah-fah-ron-gi) was the nicest part and not to be missed. After Totaranui we took the Headlands Track which added some time and a steep hill but is worth it for the view back to Awaroa. We also made the side trip out to Seperation Point, more hill, to see the fur seal colony. It was "grand" as one Kiwi tramper told us. Very steep, rugged and beautiful, a nice place for a rest. After that it was back up the hill, across the saddle, and finally down into the beautiful Wharawharangi Bay and a very rustic hut set back in the bush. This hut was actually an old homestead and we met some very nice people there. The next morning we had to make the tramp back to Totaranui to catch the water taxi. We didn't have to get up early to catch low tide so had a little more time to pack and enjoy breakfast before we departed. We didn't want to wait too late because we (I) had very sore feet. Doing a tramp where you get your feet wet a lot apparently requires a lot of extra care. It was all good though, we had sufficient first aid to make them tolerable. We were glad to make it back to Totaranui and not walk much for the next couple of days. 

View of Adele Island early on the track

The lovely Miss Lever out for a day at the beach

The Anchorage at Adele Island

Nicole taking a break in the bush

Looking down at Torrent Bay where you can see the Anchorage Hut and a few sailboats

Leaving Anchorage hut early, the advantage is seeing the beautiful sunrise

Looking back across Torrent Bay at low tide

Across the swinging bridge

Falls River, I love how clear the water is.

I believe this is the view down into Bark Bay

Tramping through the bush

The Beach at Tonga?

Oyster Catchers

A diving duck trying to catch a fish which are having no part of it. This was amazing to watch. 

Just another beautiful coastal view in Abel Tasman National Park

Wading through Awaroa Inlet on our way to the hut

This piece of beach is where we need to be

The Awaroa Inlet at low tide in the evening. We did swim in this before the tide went out completely. 

Crossing Awaroa Inlet in the early morning, low tide at about 6:30

It never gets quite dry

Nicole tramping into the sunrise

The Beach at Goat Bay

Another view from Goat Bay

Still tramping through the bush, it seems to get more beautiful as you go north. 

Worth another view

Looking toward Totaranui

That is one big tree and one energizer bunny

This is the view that makes the Headland Track worthwhile

You can see all the way back to Awaroa. 

Anapai Bay

Getting ready to climb into the bush from Aanpai Bay

A couple of Shags, one strutting his stuff

The view down into Separation Point

Nicole on the descent into Seperation Point

A fur seal hanging out in the sun

Penguins

Looking north from Seperation Point

Same view as the previous photo showing the Penguins

Finally, the view into Wharawharangi Bay

Yay, the Wharawharangi Hut

Final morning, we got this sea mist a couple of days. It's normal for California but very rare here. It didn't rain so was nice and kept us cool. 

Nicole walking the log

Pekeku

Gotta have some flower photos, after all it is summer here.

More flowers. 

Nicole and Paul, happy to be on the water taxi. 

Noinja Turtle rock on the way back to Marahau

Split Apple rock

Our water taxi turned land taxi pulled by a Ford tractor. He took us almost back to the car. 

Another lovely trip with a lovely person, thanks Nicole for making it happen. I'm looking forward to the next one. 

Caples and Greenstone Birthday Tramp, February 6-8

I was in Queenstown getting ready to head back to Christchurch for the weekend to hang out with Tasha and maybe do some climbing when John suggested that they come to me and do some tramping. Well, Queenstown is not too bad a place to hang out; if you overlook the tourism it is exceptionally beautiful. It's not like the tourist traps in the US; it is smaller and there are less people. The decision was really not that hard to make; Caples and Greenstone here we come. To get to the start you drive north through Glenorchy, the site of our future home and salami farm, and then down through Kinloch on the opposite side of Lake Wakatipu. Can you tell there is a wee bit of Scottish influence in this country? The tramp goes up the Caples river valley toward Divide and the Milford Sound area and gets very close to the Routeburn Track which is one of the Great Walks. It then crosses McKellar saddle over into the Greenstone river valley and then back to Lake Wakatipu. It is a 60 Km (37.5 mile) tramp through beautiful country which is an easy 4-5 day tramp. I was thinking, silly me, that we would head in on Thursday and come out Sunday.  Tasha and John had different plans; some friends were coming from Christchurch so we needed to hook up and "do" Queenstown plus there was steak and chips waiting for our consumption; we had to be back by Saturday evening.  We met in a cafe in Queenstown on Thursday around two. We headed over to the Department of Conservation (DOC) office to make plans and get our hut passes. Almost all of the tracks here have huts so you can tramp without tents if you want. We took tents though and were glad to have them, it gives you more options away from other people; there is no getting away from the sand flies. After a little waffling in the DOC office due to bad information, a visit to my van to gather my stuff, driving around the lake, deciding what gourmet provisions to take, and doing the final pack we finally hit the trail at 5:00 PM Thursday evening. 

The view back across Lake Wakatipu towards Glenorchy

Finally packed and ready, it's a good thing the days are long. Tasha and I got to the Upper Caples Hut where we stayed the first night at just before 10 PM.  John was faster and got there around 9:30. 

 View from the trail in the Caples valley

Looking up the Caples river valley

Tramping along in a beautiful place

Tramping through the bush as the light starts to wane

Upper Caples hut on the morning of our 2nd day

View from the trail on the way up to McKellar saddle

Another view from Mckellar saddle

John and Paul enjoying an apple just before the saddle

I like this photo so it's worth a closer look. 

Nice day!

Ok, the apples alone aren't cutting it; time to break into the salami and cheese. 

Words alone cannot express the beauty of this place and this country. 

Looking down the Greenstone Valley; as we learned from a couple of American National Park Rangers, this is a premier fly fishing area.

We stopped at this hut for a nice relaxed lunch. We carried lots of good food and were determined to eat our way though it so we had a hot lunch.

Tasha perusing the map at our campsite on the Greenstone. In the interest of getting to our steak on Saturday evening we decided to tramp another hour or so past the hut to shorten the last day. It was worth it as we had a beautiful site with no one else around. 

Hanging out at camp and thinking about dinner. One of the beautiful things about tramping is you can eat a lot because you earn it. 

Getting ready for dinner. 

Misty Mountain Morning; John is trying to not make me look short. 

Tasha and Paul, misty morning on our last day. 

Morning view down the Greenstone.

Still have a way to go down this beautiful valley. 

John on the swinging bridge. 

Paul making his way across the bridge.

Another lunch stop in a hut. You can see what nice facilities they have. 

This is the Greenstone hut where we stopped for lunch on Saturday. Some mountain bikers came riding up as we were leaving. 

This pool on the Greenstone looked too good to pass up, we were hot and tired and ready for a swim. 

Finally! We made it back to the car for some refreshments. We got to the car about 4:45 on Saturday, just under 48 hours after we left. Steak and Chips is apparently good motivation. It was an excellent birthday week tramp and I thank Tasha and John for making it special. John brought some scotch which was very much appreciated and I heard, after the fact, that some birthday cake made the entire tramp with finding the appropriate moment to make an appearance. Oh well, it was the perfect birthday week; even without the cake.