The Abel Tasman Track

On Thursday 5. November Marcell and I sallied for our last adventure on the South Island: The Abel Tasman Coastal Track. A breath taking, 60 km long track along the northern shore of the southern island.

Getting ready for the march: packing clothes and food for three days into my freshly purchased 80 litre backpack, which was quite heavy afterwards, I can assure you that!

 The starting point of the Abel Tasman Track located in the marvelous town of Marahau. 

 The track led us through pristine woods for about three hours until we reached the first of many beaches. 

 As we had one ginormous and one tiny backpack we had decided to swap backpacks every hour or so. Here Marcell has the honor to act as our pack mule and carry the 30 kg rucksack for the next 60 minutes.

 We found a tranquil spot in front of a little creek and decided to have a little break and relieve our shoulders from the heavy burden of our backpacks.

 Every now and then the path left the woods and led us to a marvelous beach.

 En route to the first hut, which would turn out to be a hike of a little more than seven hours.

 The path, consisting mostly of sand and soil, was so dry and compressed at some points that it almost looked and felt like concrete. 

 After about four hours of hiking we reached our first bay. Some lazy tourists took the shortcut via the Abel Tasman Ferry and arrived by boat; still full of vim and vigor. I´m not sure if I can say the same about the two of us.

We spotted a neat little place down at this river and decided that it was time for another break.

 We approached the river that functioned as an influent stream for the sea and sat down, ate some muesli bars and drank some cold water for refreshment.

 The sight of this tree and the astonishingly familiar seeming face carved into it, made me ponder whether I had been a tree in one of my former lifes...

 Approaching the second big bay marked two thirds of our stint for the first day. Hiking for five hours had been exhausting and made us weary and we were already looking forward to finally reach Awaroa Hut, where we could stay for the night.

 It was already getting dark when we reached a huge swing bridge on the final kilometres to the hut.

 Right in time for the sunset we reached Awaroa Hut, our home for the next night. Although we couldn´t actually see the sunset, we could still witness of the beautiful colors that coated the sky.

 Our second day on the Abel Tasman Track was marked by blazing sunshine and a crystal-clear blue sky without a single cloud.

 Marcell is getting ready for the hike - in the background you can see the meandering river flowing through Awaroa Bay directly in front of the hut.

 In contrast to the part of the track we had hiked the previous day, today´s path would only lead through the woods for a very short time and we would be hiking through the sand along beaches and bays for most of the time.

 Time for a surf

 We only had four hours of hiking to do on this second day, so it was pretty relaxed and we spent a lot of time taking pictures and videos or simply relaxed at the beach.

 Marcell obviously enjoyed taking off his hiking boots and walking barefoot on this wooden boardwalk.

 Tranquil and absolutely gorgeous view of one of the countless beaches we encountered that day.

 A little later we reached a part of the track that reminded us very much of the famous tidelands in the very north of Germany. The seabed was very flat and even at this place and the difference of up to 3 metres in the sea-level between high and low tide created a vast dry-land with numerous ships stranded ashore during low tide.

 A few hours later (during high tide) the water levels would rise by three meters and the whole area would be covered in water - perfectly suitable for taking a boat-ride. Not so right now during low tide ;)

I can´t tell you how good that feeling was - walking barefoot through this path studded with small mussels and gravel, covered in tepid water after a daylong hike.

And luckily for us we had already reached our destination for today - Bark Bay Hut - after only four hours of hiking. It was only 3 pm by the time we approached the hut so we decided to enjoy the rest of this beautiful day outside and play some card games in the sun.

Our third and last day of the Abel Tasman Track started pretty much exactly like the second - beautiful weather and tepid temperatures, a perfect day to hike. This third day would be a lot harder than the second because we had to tramp twice the distance, resulting in an eight hour hike.

 I guess that´s exactly what I had in mind when I was thinking about going to New Zealand for a semester abroad - turquoise ocean, golden beach and all of that in a pristine National Park where you couldn´t find a single piece of litter.

This stunning bay would be the perfect spot to go kayaking. Unfortunately we didn´t have the time to do so. So I might have to come back to this place in February when I´ll travel around the South Island with my parents.

Most certainly one of the most breath taking sceneries I´ve ever seen in my entire life.

We had to be back at the car park in Awanui at 5 pm in order to be picked up by the shuttle that would bring us back to Marahau where our car was parked, so we had made the decision to take a shortcut. This new path led us up for 400 metres of altitude and was quite exhaustive.  But the view from the top made it totally worth it.

Selfie on top of the hill. From here it was just another 45 minutes of walking down the hill until we reached our final destination, the Awanui car-park. 

We had done it - Abel Tasman, 60 terrific, tranquil and untouched kilometres of beach-hiking along New Zealand´s most beautiful coastline.

Queenstown and the voyage north

On Tuesday 3. November Marcell and I left our beloved 378 flat complex, which had been our home for almost five months, and started our journey to the North Island. Before actually heading north, we paid New Zealand´s adventure capital Queenstown a visit. Because we only had one day to spend in Queenstown, we tried to pack as much action into this day as possible. 

Shortly after arriving at around 1 pm we parked our car at the lower terminus of the Queenstown Skyline gondola and took a ride up to the top of the mountain which offered us a spectacular panorama of the gorgeous town, the adjacent Lake Wakatipu and the staggering, snow-covered peaks of the Southern Alps.
 Our first activity was the Queenstown Skyluge. Luges are quite similar to go-carts except for the fact that they don´t have an engine but instead use gravity to accelerate. We bought a ticket for five rides and could choose from two different tracks. Although we weren´t allowed to race against each other, Marcell and I ignored the rules and started a head-to-head race. After all we ended up with a 2:2 draw because we couln´t do a race in one of the rounds. But it was heaps of fun!

Our next destination was a very relaxing stop at the local spa. After 2 or 3 hours we left the spa in utmost relaxation and had a delicious burger at Queenstown´s most famous restaurant: Ferg Burgers. A short visit to the 12-D-cinema "Vortex" was the completion of a great day packed with action. 

The next morning we had breakfast at the lakeside of Lake Wakatipu and prepared for our 8 hour long journey north that would be quite fatiguing, that was for sure. 

Here´s some pictures of our voyage north:

A winding road lead us from Queenstown to Wanaka.

Stop at a viewpoint somewhere between Queenstown and Wanaka. (some of the more diligent readers of my blog might recognize this spot? :P )

Some 3 hours later we had passed Wanaka and approached New Zealand´s west coast, leading us past the famous Franz Josef and Fox glaciers all the way up to Nelson on the northern tip of the South Island where one of the biggest adventures so far was awaiting us, the Abel Tasman Coastal Track.