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.
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