Abel Tasman Track

Last week we spent a couple of days on the Abel Tasman Track. Here are some thoughts on the experience.

Day One:

Today we hiked around 20 kilometers on the Abel Tasman Track, starting in Marahau, which was only an hour's drive from Nelson. This hike was MUCH more enjoyable than the first day at Lake Waikaremoana. That day left us feeling demoralized after an hour so, whereas this one was great. We stopped at the Anchorage Hut/Bay to eat our lunch and take a little break around noon. There were a ton of people there, including a lot of children. Either the summer holidays have begun, or these were school trips. We figured a number of people will walk out there for the day and either head back mid-afternoon, or take a water taxi back to the car park.

After lunch, we set out for the Bark Bay hut, which would be our accommodation for the night. This time, Alan's Charlie Brown vortex abated, and we hit an estuary crossing at just the right time. It was low tide, so we could just walk right across. If we had had to go around, it would have added at least an hour to our trip, if not more. It was kind of surreal to be walking through the muck and mire of an estuary. There were a lot of shells and other sea remnants. Many people took off their shoes and either switched to sandals, or walked barefoot. We were able to make the crossing wearing our boots, although the water was almost too deep a couple of places.

The rest of the walk took us along some beautiful coastline, including views of bays below. There was a good variety of trees and plant life, along with many different birds singing. 

We arrived at the Bark Bay hut around 4:00, and we went ahead and claimed our mats. We were able to get mattresses right next to each other, which is fairly remarkable in a hut that's full for the night. 

After dinner, we sat around reading and watched the tide roll into the estuary there by the hut/campground. We were sitting inside once it cooled off outside, and another young couple came over the fireplace area where we were sitting and asked if it was time to make a fire. The guy had chopped firewood and had stuff all ready. He went to work while we began chatting. It ends up that the two of them, husband and wife maybe, quit their jobs, sold their house and decided to travel for awhile. Yes, there are other people who do such a crazy thing. 

Day Two:

It was another beautiful day outside, and we had a few tough climbs as the day started, so we were in the groove fairly quickly. We arrived at the Awaroa Hut around noon and ate our lunch. Unfortunately, the estuary we needed to cross wasn't going to be ready for another hour or so, and we needed to leave right away to make it to the next bay in time for our water taxi pickup. Thankfully, there was a ranger at the hut who was able to tell us that we could catch the water taxi at a little lodge just a 30 minute walk back the way we came.  We just missed an earlier shuttle, so we walked back to the lodge where the woman at the reception desk was able to call the Sea Shuttle folks to let them know we would not be there for the 2:30 pickup. We made our way to pickup spot and enjoyed some time on the beach before our pickup.

The sea shuttle ride was really pleasant. It continued to be a nice day, so we were able to see great stuff all around us, including mountains off in the distance. We made a few stops at bays we had passed while hiking, and were eventually dropped off at Apple Hill Bay, an hours' walk from the car. 

Return to the South Island

Alan and I wrapped up our time on the North Island with a few days in Wellington, where we would again take a ferry across the Cook Strait. On Sunday, November 16, we again visited the Te Papa National Museum. We found that a Thailand celebration was being held on the main floor, and watched some traditional dances. There were two floors at Te Papa that we didn't get to last time. Both were art galleries, and the top floor offered a view over the Wellington harbor.

A farmers market was being held next to Te Papa, so we headed into the crowd to find something for lunch. There were plenty of food trucks to choose from, and lots of musicians playing. We sat down to eat and watch this guy, who was rocking his loop machine.

We simply enjoyed the afternoon sunshine, reading in Cuba Street until time for evening worship at St. John's. Service was around the parable of the talents. The discussion was around the question What are our gifts? Alan and I enjoyed talking with Brett. At both services we have attended, the minister, Stuart, has asked folks to share a particular phrase or Bible verse in lieu of the typical words shared at the Passing of the Peace. This was very cool.

As we sat down for dinner after service, a guy came to sit by us. This was Mike, from Seattle, come to welcome other Americans. He was so friendly, telling us how he had come to NZ for a working holiday, and met his girlfriend Carolyn. So after returning to Seattle, he decided to return to NZ for the foreseeable future. Carolyn arrived, and after some chatting, we found that we share a common interest in craft beer. They asked if we'd like to meet them for "happy hour" the next day. They also recommended a brewery called The Garage Project, and advised us of the odd hours. What kind friends!

On Monday, we visited the Weta Cave. Alan had long awaited this day. Weta Studios was started by Peter Jackson and several others to provide props, costumes, special digital effects, etc. They have worked on tons of films, like District 9, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings.

While waiting for a tour inside the workshop, we explored the lobby to see the cases of armor and props.

These trolls were out front...

Next we visited The Garage Project to taste beers. Their beers had very strong flavors! Certainly good, but almost too strong for me. A few chili/habanero styles were too spicy, but I think Alan liked them.

In the evening, we met Mike and Carolyn. They showed us to an area with some of their favorite pubs. We had an hour to get to know each other before they needed to catch a bus for an evening engagement. We so enjoyed getting to know them, and we hope to see them again!

On Tuesday morning, we boarded the ferry that would take us back to Picton. Goodbye Wellington!

We ended up sharing the ride with Ultimate Frisbee playing friends that used to live in Nashville. Beth and Eric are traveling in NZ for a few weeks, so we caught up on the boat before going our separate ways.

We drove to Nelson, there to be near the start of the Abel Tasman Coast Track, which we would start on Wednesday. In the evening, we visited The Freehouse, a pub that was originally a church.

Roam If You Want To...Unless It Snows

As we approached Tongariro National Park, snow-capped peaks loomed out in the distance. Both of us expressed excitement at the possibility of being on top of Mount Tongariro the next morning. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing begins in Whakapapa Village, which mostly centers around the Chateau Tongariro, with a ski lodge and holiday park in close vicinity. We pulled into the holiday park and procured a campsite with this view out the back of our van.

It was mid-afternoon and neither of us was ready for dinner yet, so we decided to check out the Chateau. Picture a fancy hotel lobby from a movie, and you'll be in the ballpark of Chateau Tongariro. There was a fire blazing in the fireplace, and the waitstaff was cleaning up for high tea. We found a cozy nook by a picture window where we could read a bit and consider the mountain's majesty. As we left to head back to the holiday park for dinner, we saw a poster for the hotel cinema. They were showing The Dark Knight at 7:30, so we agreed to return for movie night.

Here's a picture of the kitchen/dining area at the holiday park. This is pretty typical for Department of Conservation (DOC) sites.

After dinner and movie, we settled in for a night of sleep as the river roared below.

ROAM, the shuttle company that takes trampers/hikers to the beginning of the Alpine Crossing and then picks them up at the end said they would make a call about whether they would run at 6:45 Friday morning, so that's when Alan hopped out of the van and made his way to the office. He saw an employee fueling up a shuttle bus, which seemed like a good sign, but alas, there had been avalanches reported the afternoon prior, and the forecast wasn't great for the day. They would not be running, so our plans were dashed. We were both fairly sad about this. Not only had our hopes of hiking Taranaki been crushed, but now we were being told the Alpine Crossing was out as well.

We were determined to get out and use our legs, so we took the advice of the ROAM employee who told us to do the five hour out and back hike to the Tama Lakes instead. It was a well maintained trail with only a couple of stream crossings and a bit of a climb at the end. For all the LOTR fans out there, the Tongariro area was used for scenes in Mordor and possibly the Dead Marshes. Here are pictures from our hike (check out the picture gallery over in the right column of the blog for even more great pics), which might not have been the Alpine Crossing, but was still pretty cool.

Waitomo Caves, Taranaki, and Wanganui

Since our "budget" attempt at glowworm caves was such a failure, we decided to buck up $50 for the ticket to Waitomo Caves, south of Hamilton. It was a guided tour, on (thankfully) dry, lit pathways, though we ducked and wove around the rock formations to make our way deeper into the caves. Our guide began by telling us about the people who first found, explored, and mapped the caves 125 years ago, equipped with ropes and candles. She said glowworms live in the caves because the river that runs through it attracts insects. We saw The Cathedral, a tall-ceilinged room with other rock formations named to suit, like a "pipe organ," and "choir loft". Concerts are given in this room, because the acoustics are so good. Finally we boarded a raft on the river, and were shown out into and around other caves, full of glowworm lights overhead like stars in the night sky. The raft guides navigate in the dark with ropes overhead, pulling and turning until we reached the exit.

Alas, no pictures were allowed. You'll have to look up Waitomo Caves if you want to see more. This is a shot of the cave exit as we left and another as we walked back through the Visitor Center.

We drove on to New Plymouth, a town near Egmont National Park/Mt. Taranaki, where we would begin a 2-day trek around the cone of the volcano. For the afternoon, though, we wandered the downtown to see some sites, like the Wind Wand sculpture, 45 meters high and leaning in the wind.

The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, listed as a top attraction, was closed for renovation, so we walked on past the clock tower to the Church of St. Mary, also called Taranaki Cathedral, built in 1846. Taking a peak inside the sanctuary, we listened a while to the bell choir practice.

We noticed a sign outside St. Mary's inviting folks to breakfast on Tuesday mornings for $$0.50 crepes. The money would be donated to Doctors Without Borders. So we decided to go to St. Mary's for breakfast the next morning, before beginning the Pouakai Circuit, a 25 km loop around Mt. Taranaki. We had planned two days of hiking, and one night in a hut along the route.

On Tuesday morning we woke up to the sound of rain. The weather forecast revealed a very high chance of rain-- 80%, 90%, 100%-- every day for a week, with temperatures near freezing at night. We even heard a chance of hail reported on the radio. The only exception was a window of decent weather on Friday. We decided to make some decisions after breakfast.

The Priest, host and part of the wait staff, warmly welcomed us to a bustling cafe scene in the foyer of St. Mary's. Our crepes, toast, tea, and coffee were delicious. When we had a moment to speak with the Priest, we asked how they had decided to do this weekly breakfast, such a great way to be part of the community. He said that they had decided to stop worrying about the difficulties, and start doing something. Now people breakfast at St. Mary's, and money is sent to Africa. Very cool.

We decided that the track would not be safe, to walk all day in the wet. The rain was coming in waves, with sunshine between, so we drove to North Egmont Visitor Center, to try some short loop hikes, always near the van just in case. We walked the Connett Loop, listed as 40 minutes, but it took us about half that. Next we walked the Ngatoro Loop, listed as 1 hour, and again we took about 30 minutes instead. But the heavy rain started again, so we returned to New Plymouth.

We decided we would check the weather forecast in the morning. If it cleared, we would skip Taranaki and head straight to Tongariro National Park, where we had planned on the one-day Alpine Crossing hike on Friday.  Let me say that, while I am grateful to have the time and flexibility to shift plans in the face of weather, this was frustrating and it was such a let down. We had bought our food, packed our bags, and been excited to do this "Great Walk".  Now we couldn't.

We heard rain throughout the night.

On Wednesday morning, the forecast was still rain, very cold higher up at Tongariro, plus snow there. We called the shuttle service that would take us to the beginning of the Crossing and pick us up at the end. They had canceled shuttles today and Thursday, due to snow. We were told to call in the afternoon on Thursday to find out about Friday shuttles.

We decided to head on to Wanganui, in the mean time. I can't say either of us was very excited about this. We have visited a good many small coastal towns, and this one did not even boast its own craft beer brewery. In the downtown, we watched some glass-blowing in action at a studio and gallery called The Chronicle.

Then we walked through the Wanganui Community Arts Center, and walked the length of the main street, Victoria Avenue. We liked the look of The Rutland Arms Inn, which looked like it should be in rural Scotland instead. We shared a tasting tray of New Zealand beers and a plate of nachos.

***Disclaimer: These beer samplers are not pints, y'all! They are small glasses that Alan and I share.

As instructed, we called the Alpine Crossing shuttle company mid-day on Thursday, to see if they would run on Friday. They said that there is more snow on the mountain than in the winter time, but Friday's weather looked the best for days afterwards, so if there was a chance, Friday was it. So we drove to Tongariro National Park with the hope of hiking the Alpine Crossing. You'll have to stay tuned to find out what happened.