Abel Tasman National Park

En Arapawa Island, mientras hacíamos el Woof conocimos a Brianna y Lynn quienes también estaban  haciendo Woof en el mismo lugar, con quienes compartimos dos semanas de trabajo, decidimos continuar parte del viaje juntos... Por lo que nos encaminamos hacia Abel Tasman National Park. 

New Zealand es un país con paisajes maravillosos, todo aquel que disfruta de la naturaleza, tiene que venir alguna vez a NZ, yo he quedado maravillada con todos los lugares que hemos visitado, la diversidad de paisajes naturales: montañas, bosques, playas tropicales, playas extensas, Ríos, lagos con el agua turquesa, glaciares... Etc. Tanto en la isla norte, como en la isla sur hay caminatas largas (The great Walks) que pueden durar entre 3 o 5 días. Entre estas caminatas está la del parque nacional Abel Tasman... Y que decidimos hacerla entera, es decir 5 días caminando entre 12 y 14 km por día. 

After leaving Arapawa island, we headed towards the Abel Tasman National Park for one of New Zealand's Great Walks. We had already postponed the walk several times but the Nelson region is known for its many hours of sunshine so we hoped even well into autumn, to find good weather and less people on the tracks. We teamed up with Lynn and Brianna, previously woofing companions and from Sweden and Hawaii respectively, for this 5 day adventure.

Ya habíamos leído antes sobre Abel Tasman y las playas espectaculares  por las que uno pasa mientras hace la caminata, pero realmente no imaginaba que iba ser tan increíble. Las playas eran de película, daban ganas de sentarse en la orilla y contemplar a tu alrededor... y no hacer nada más... El agua del mar variaba entre azules, verdes, turquesa... Siempre rodeados de bosques, arena blanca y dorada... Me pregunté más de una vez mientras hacía la caminata si existirá alguna playa más linda de las que estábamos viendo... 

The Abel Tasman Coastal walk is attractive because the walks comes across beaches and through native forests, is relatively flat and easy and, although rain is always possible, no severe mountain conditions with below zero temperatures and snow have to be considered. To me one of the highlights of this track are the campsites and huts, located on or very close to the beaches. As some slight rain was predicted, but we had been gradually improving our camping skills during our six months in New Zealand, we decided to camp 3 nights and spend one night in a hut, in case we got wet on the way. We barely had any rain during the walk, mostly even blue skies and sunshine but at night time we got the rain we missed during the day. After 8 hours of heavy rain and barely any sleep due to the noise of the drops beating on our tent, we finally declared our tent waterproof and Ana Belen successfully completed one of the trials of my great outdoor exam :)

During the preparation of the hike, discussing what we should take and what not, Belen asked me if I would carry my spare arm all the way. This gave some raised eyebrows and an alarmed look on Brianna's face, in the end, we only met a couple of weeks ago and now they were going to venture their hike with some freak carrying spare arms....After some confusion, I understood Belen meant my Spear (spare) gun(arm) for fishing and the confusion gave way to a roll of laughter by us all. Now, it wouldn't be fair to write about this funny anecdote, without mentioning the enormous progress in English language Belen has made, first through classes, then through taking on this trip and finally by talking to friend and stranger alike, willing to learn with small mistakes as a logical side effect. Congratulations Belen, I am very proud of you and your efforts to learn and speak English.

The last day, we added a small loop to the trail, where no water taxis reach and usually left aside by the regular hiker and after climbing a 400 m mountain with spectacular views over Abel Tasman and Golden Bay came to a 2 century old farmhouse restored as a hut. We made a big campfire outside and cooked a big pot of mussels, which we had been carrying all day up and over the mountain. Some of the mussels were the size of a hamburger, leading to the difficult, and not yet experienced moment, of deciding which side of the mussel to bite first. We ended this beautiful hike with a hot cup of tea under a bright sky full of stars, first telling stories and then dozing away next to the fire.

Empezamos la caminata un día con sol y algunas nubes... Pero perfecto para caminar, lo importante es que no llueva. Mientras caminábamos, íbamos conversando sobre la vida, los viajes, las experiencias de cada uno en los Woof anteriores... De vez en cuando parábamos a tomar un descanso, comer algún snack, tomar algunas fotos, y luego continuábamos hasta llegar a nuestro lugar de camping. Pasamos por bahías a las que sólo uno puede acceder caminando y en verdad valía la pena hacerlo. En las noches por lo general nos juntábamos a preparar la cena juntos, y luego prendíamos una fogata para calentarnos al lado del fuego y disfrutar de un cielo lleno de estrellas. 

Hay tres momentos que no olvidare de esta caminata. 

El primero cuando el track te llevaba por la orilla de una playa, y vimos que estaba repleta de choros, inmediatamente imaginamos esos choros en nuestra olla en la noche, acompañando la cena, así que cada uno se metió al mar a recolectar los mejores ... Los que efectivamente preparamos en la noche con cous cous, y comimos frente a la fogata. 

El segundo momento es el 4to día, cuando nos toco subir una cima de 400 mts... Pero que con todas las cosas que llevábamos, se hacía interminable, estaba cansada, con calor, sudor, sed, hambre, y una roncha dolorosa en el tobillo de alguna araña u otro insecto que me había picado y se me había inflamado con el roce de las botas, pero a la vez pensaba en que prefería mil veces estar haciendo esa caminata que estar enjaulada en una oficina mirando a la pared... En mi mente empezó a sonar la canción de Queen, "Dont stop me now... Because i am having a good time..." Y me daba ánimos y fuerzas para llegar a la cima. Ahora cada vez que se apodera de mí la fatiga o cansancio, con Johan empezamos a cantar esta canción. 

Lo último, fue el 5to y último día de caminata... Cuando ya estábamos regresando pasamos por una playa que desde que la vi desde lo lejos, me encanto el lugar, era pequeña ... Agua clara  rodeada de montañas con bosques, estábamos todos cansados, otra ves con calor... Por lo que decidimos refrescarnos un poco y nos metimos todos a bañar, en esta bahía donde los únicos éramos nosotros 4. Johan, aprovecho en bucear un poco y nos saco 5 erizos, los cuales disfrutamos frescos sentados frente al mar. 

After a big bbq and a good glass of wine, we said goodbye to our travel mates Brianna and Lynn and continued exploring Golden Bay until reaching Cape Farewell. This spit, or strip of land reaching out like a finger into the ocean on the northwestern tip of the South Island, is a conservation site for bird life with a sheltered and quiet eastern shore, consisting of tidal flats and whale skeletons (pilot whales trapped by the tides) and thousands of birds, and once crossing the beautiful dune strip, a windy wave beaten western Tasman Sea beach. This was translated in a leisurely stroll on the eastern shore and a strenuous hike against sand and wind on the western shore. With few people, beaten by the elements, and ocean all around, it is really one of those places that make you realize you have reached the end of a landmass, an island in this case.

Después de la caminata, Brianna y Lynn continuaron con su viaje, y nosotros disfrutamos de unos días en Golden Bay, caminatas por playas extensas donde nos topamos con esqueletos de ballenas por todos lados, parecía el cementerio de las ballenas, y esto se debe a que es una playa que queda en la punta de la isla sur, entre Tasman sea y Cook straight y las ballenas la usan como refugio cuando hay tormentas, el tema es que cuando hay marea baja, el agua se retira kms y a una velocidad que no permite a peces y ballenas mantenerse en el agua, quedando estacionados en la arena. 

Two of the things I recall from our visit to this corner of New Zealand are; firstly a quick stop next to the Pupu Springs, the biggest freshwater springs in he Southern Hemisphere and one of the clearest waters measured, good for 14000 liters of crystal clear water per second. The site is now a sacred Maori site and even touching or eating next to the water is prohibited but before 2007 diving and swimming were allowed in the waters which must have been really hallucinating. Secondly, is the non-pasteurized milk straight form the cow we drank. In New Zealand each farmer is allowed to sell 5 liters of non pasteurized milk per customer per day under certain hygienic standards. While not directly from the cow, the milk was distributed through a machine, putting I a few coins and pouring out a liter of deliciously creamy milk.

Taking our chances in a rather rainy forecast, we decided on doing a last hike on the South Island, a stretch of the Queen Charlotte track in the Marlborough Sounds. With great views over the Cook Straight and the surrounding Sounds, we got sunburnt by a mistaken weather forecast, but during the nights again our tent proved resistant against the non stop rain. I always imagined New Zealand to be a wet place, as islands like Ireland, and Britain, and coming to New Zealand without a proper rain jacket seemed rather foolish. Nevertheless, in our almost 6 months in New Zealand, we got wet one time, spent 1 day locked in the car and had an incredible amount of delicious sunny hours that made us squeeze every minute of being in the outdoors, walking, eating, reading, sitting, swimming, fishing 

Antes de dejar la isla sur, decidimos hacer una última caminata en Marlborough Sounds, llamada "The Queen Charlotte Track", fueron tres días de caminata entre bosques, y alcanzando cimas desde donde teníamos vistas privilegiadas de las islas. Quien puede dar fe de estas vistas maravillosas es mi gran amiga Fernanda Murillo, quien estaba de cumpleaños justo en esos días y estuvo en mi mente todo el día, y a quien grabe un pequeño vídeo desde la cima más alta con la mejor vista y se lo dediqué. 

Our last night on the South Island we drove all the way up a gravel road deep into the Sounds until finally reaching a magestically located and deserted camping site. After a last dive for a few abalone and mussels, we had our last South Island dinner, a linguine with a creamy mussel and abalone sauce topped with spring onions. We have needed to adjust our lifestyle to traveling, but gastronomy and good food are never compromised. Even with little and dry food we manage, usually supervised and creatively designed by Ana Belen and onions chopped by myself, to come up with a dinner that never lets us down. The last sunrise on the South Island, was without a doubt, one of the most spectacular ones and an unforgettable moment when opening our self made curtains in the van and sniffing the first bits of sea breeze. Now 100 km back over a gravel road without flat tires to catch the ferry to Wellington on time....