Cara's walk along the Heaphy track finished in the golden bay area in the very North part of the South Island, so the Abel Tasman coastal track, being located right in the heart of this region, was the obvious choice for our next adventure. However rather than just walk the track, we decided to Kayak along its coastline heading North, before dropping off the Kayak and walking back.
By now it was no surprise, to us at least, that when the day arrived to set off, the kayak rental company informed us that 30-40knot winds were forecast and recomended we postpone. However, they were confident that the weather would sort itself out in a day or two. Not to be put off we drove a little further North and waited it out in a beautiful backpackers known as Shambala. Actually Shambala was also a kind of yoga and meditation retreat and in the eco freindly spirit, was run off solar power and serviced by composting toilets.
The beauty of the latter being that if you were a guy and needed to pee, you were encouraged to "find a tree' and as all us guys know there's nothing like peeing outdoors to bring you close to nature ;-).As fortune would have it the local pub/restaraunt The mussel Inn, had what we were told was live music playing for the next couple of nights. On the first night this turned out to be a kind of local version of a "jackass" video, a set by some local DJ's and some pretty awfull rap by a guy who looked about 35 but was still hanging out with the teenage crowd...........perhaps he'd been held back a few years ;-) . However even if the music was bad, the energy was good and it was great to see such a mix of folk, with the youngsters dancing wildly at the front and their parents in the back capturing it all on video for posterity .............or maybe leverage in years to come ;-). The most amazing thing tho was that the cars parked outside this tiny place in the middle of nowhere, stretched almost as far as the eye could see and I think the entire rural population had turned out in support. I also nearly lost Cara that night when a woman fell against a guy sitting 3people along from her on the decking railings. As you do, he grabbed the person next to him as he went backwards over the rail, as did the next person and down went the domino chain, including Cara. I'd like to be able to tell you that she saved herself with her cat like reflexes but if truth be told she landed in a bush, ;-). The next night was definatley true live music and we were treated to a superb blues singer/guitarist who it turned out had played with all the blues legends. Although traditional blues isn't really my thing, it was hard not to appreciate the skill with which he played.
We had rebooked the kayaking for a couple of days later but once again the weather foiled us, so with time starting to run short we decided to head over to the Nelson lakes region, where the forecast was better. Upon arrival the DOC infomed us that there had been snow up on the tops and that the hike shouldn't be attemted without full winter mountaineering equiptment. However, by now we were starting to get savvy to the DOC. For example if your planning on doing a lesser known track you'll probably face almost certain death several times a day without so much as a word of warning from them. On the other hand if decide upon a well known track you can expect to be terrified by tails of such woe, only the foolhardy wood continue. But if you do you'll probably find a track so tame you could push your Granny and her wheelchair along it. However not wanting to be too clever for our own good, Cara and I decided we would head up the valley and just take a look at the pass. When we arrived at the first hut we met a Kiwi guy who now warned us off with tails off waist deep snow...... and killer wasps.Okay, killer wasps! enough was enough, we decided that we would just go do the thing and see what happened. well the snow on the top was about 70-80cm deep and was pretty hard going where it was soft but other than that the conditions were perfect .............and not a killer wasp in site ;-) .
This was Cara's first real wilderness hike in deep snow and she absolutley loved it, although I shouldn't have been surprised as she's such a little gypsy she can adapt to just about anything in no time at all :-)We also met a tiny little Japanese woman who had hiked it alone, and although she later told us she was thought she was going to die a couple of times during the ascent, had kept going anyway and made it to the hut. The great thing about travel is meeting all these different people who are living outside their comfort zone yet thriving on the experiences. This rubs off on you and encourages you to experience things outside your own comfort zone, which is where the real memories of your trip are formed.
From Nelson Lakes we headed back to the Abel Tasman for one last final attempt. As we drove back thru one of the beautiful pastoral valleys, we could see up ahead hundreds of people all dressed casually with parents swinging kids around and cars parked everywhere. Cara being an inquisitive sort, just had to know what kind of event was taking place and got me to stop the car so she could ask someone. Just as she was rolling down the window the crowd parted just enough to show..... the local graveyard. We drove away without further enquiry, feeling slightly guilty but with tears of laughter rolling down our faces at our close call.
The next day at The Abel Tasman the weather was great and it was predicted to last until our third day, by which time we would have ditched the kayak anyway. The first few hours were spent with a guide who went over all of the safety and navigation skills whilst we were paddeling thru the Southern part of the park. He also told us about all of the best places to see. With this info in hand Cara and I took off, trying to get a little ahead of the other paddlers so we could get that sense of adventure feeling. After a couple of hours we found a small low tide beach on the back of an island, which we had all to ourselves, so we stopped for lunch and to soak up a little sun. However after about 20minutes and despite our best efforts at dissuading them with various psychological ploys, a stream of kayaks gradually invaded our haven. So with the illusion of seclusion now a delusion ;-) we paddled towards our campsite for the night.
That night we dined on fresh mussels, which I made into a kind of chowder. Unfortunately I boiled the mussels in their shells rather than steaming them and the result was a rather bitter offering. Cara politely declined saying something along the lines of still being full from lunch...... she's such a people person. However the amazing sunset and subsequent moonrise were sufficient to make up for my culinary cock-up and the next morning we were up bright and early to catch the sunrise..........and no I didn't get food poisoning.
The highlight of the trip was an area known as shag harbour at the very northern-most boundry. We paddled toward a slight inlet which
at first appeared to be a wall of rocks, but as we approached we realised there was a small canyon like opening which wound its way round for about 50 metres before opening up into what could only be described as a seal nursery. This place was like something out of Disneyland and although the juvenille seals were completley wild, they were so inquisitive and playful that they would actually tag our hands as we paddled and when a guided group entered the nursery one of the seal pups actually climbed up on the guide's kayak. 
We walked back the next day then headed into Motueka, a nearby town to fuel up and grab some food before heading off for the Marlborough Sounds. Now I fancied some fried noodles so I went to the takeaway.
Just as I was getting back into the car a girl called out from behind me in a Glaswegian accent "Big Nige?". I turned round to see Marie Gallagher, who was the lab technician when I first started in Prof MacLean's lab. Marie and her husband Stewart had been travelling round Australia and NZ for the last 18months and looked like they were positively thriving on the experience. We then met up with Cara and had a good blether for an hour or so, catching up with all we had been up to and Marie and I reminiscing about old times. Unfortunately Cara and I had to head off as we had accomodation booked that night in the Sounds and still had a long drive ahead.
After the superb weather we experienced at Gillespies pass we were told the the chances of it staying sunny on the West coast whilst we did the Copland track were pretty slim. Amazingly tho, the cloud held off for a few more days. 
On the Copland a lot more time was spent in the bush and by the time we reached the Welcome Flats hut the hilarious banter of the last 5 days was starting to give way to quieter spells of reflective thought. But this was fine because as you can see, someone with a sense of humour had provided a little "on track" amusement for us.
That night we all went skinny dipping in the hot pools, which were surrounded by alpine peaks and covered by a sky full of stars. The evening was spent scaring the tourists by playing "skinny chicken" and then making up bizarre stories before Nick and Mike decided to head off to bed. Cara and I stayed a little longer.........long enough to share our first kiss (Aahhhhhh) before also deciding to go back to the hut..........well, we would have if the two little pranksters hadn't stolen our clothes. This mean't we had to walk back and into a hut of about 30 people completley naked. Little pranksters wasn't actually the term I used when I got hold of them ;-)
The walk back was pretty tedious but this mind numbing repitition had the effect of creating a kind of meditative state and I had some pretty amazing revelations about my life, its direction and the Universe in general..... And no Gav, they weren't induced by eating some funky native mushrooms!
After the Copland we headed back to fox just as a weather front started to move in and that night we were rewarded with this sunset which actually made the front page of the next days paper.
Next morning we said goodbye to Nick who was heading to Wanaka and then Mike, Cara and myself continued on to Greymouth. We spent a couple of days there in a very nice place called Global village, before Mike decided to go off and meet some chick who he'd been e-mailing for a while. Obviously Cara was devastated at the thought of being left alone with me so to help her get over it I fed her ice cream whilst she relaxed in the outdoor hot tub....... this seemed to help ease her suffering a little ;-) .
The two of us continued to head North to Karamea,where Cara was going to start the Heaphy track. I had gotten a little bored of hiking by this point so I was off to do a little white water rafting etc, with the plan being that I wou
ld meet her in about 5days. Before going our seperate ways we stayed at a very cool backpackers called Rongo which was run by a guy called Paul who also ran the local 24hour pirate radio station. Anybody and everbody was welcome do a spot and the eclectic mix incorperated German thrash metal, blues and possibly tips on milking your cow. I think the station must have been a real hub for the local community.
After Cara started on her hike I stayed a little longer as the next night there was to be a traditional Japanese meal prepared by two visiting elderly Japanese ladies whom Paul had taught English to in Japan. One of them seemed to take a shine when she saw me knocking up some lamb and vegetable shish kebabs and kept having her pal take photos of me with her. I thought this was very sweet till Paul later told me she was a bit of a gal, swore like a trooper and would probably tell her pals back in Japan that I was her european toyboy :-!.
Shortly after I went rafting in the Buller gorge, which to be honest was a bit tame cos the river was on the low side but near the end we got to do a little cliff jumping which was pretty exciting. Rather ironically about 20mins from the end of the trip the heavens opened and it poured down for the next couple of days ......Sod's law.
From there I headed over to Nelson Lakes but as the weather was so bad I couldn't do any hiking. However that night there was an Australian guy called Wayne at the hostel who palyed guitar . So about five of us sat around in the lounge calling out songs at random then singing along. In a session that lasted nearly 4 hours this guy didn't repeat a single song and could even pick up the tunes of songs he didn't know if you sang a few lines to him.......all in all, an absolutely brilliant night.
The next day saw a slight window in the weather so I did a little mountain biking, which was really refreshing after all the hiking. I actually managed to get in a little patch of blue sky and I rode just about half way to Blenheim trying to stay in it. I was due to meet Cara the following day but the weather report had been so bad for the Heaphy track I figured she might push on and finnish it early.
So I drove up that night with her fresh clothes. This turned out to be a master stroke as she now thinks I'm a knight in shining armour who can read her mind ;-) Obviously this incredible guy image won't last long .........but for know I'm gonna milk it for all its worth before I have to pay the price all mortal men must, for the affection's of a good woman ;-)
Only joking Sweetie :-)
On the Copland a lot more time was spent in the bush and by the time we reached the Welcome Flats hut the hilarious banter of the last 5 days was starting to give way to quieter spells of reflective thought. But this was fine because as you can see, someone with a sense of humour had provided a little "on track" amusement for us.
That night we all went skinny dipping in the hot pools, which were surrounded by alpine peaks and covered by a sky full of stars. The evening was spent scaring the tourists by playing "skinny chicken" and then making up bizarre stories before Nick and Mike decided to head off to bed. Cara and I stayed a little longer.........long enough to share our first kiss (Aahhhhhh) before also deciding to go back to the hut..........well, we would have if the two little pranksters hadn't stolen our clothes. This mean't we had to walk back and into a hut of about 30 people completley naked. Little pranksters wasn't actually the term I used when I got hold of them ;-)
The walk back was pretty tedious but this mind numbing repitition had the effect of creating a kind of meditative state and I had some pretty amazing revelations about my life, its direction and the Universe in general..... And no Gav, they weren't induced by eating some funky native mushrooms!
After the Copland we headed back to fox just as a weather front started to move in and that night we were rewarded with this sunset which actually made the front page of the next days paper.Next morning we said goodbye to Nick who was heading to Wanaka and then Mike, Cara and myself continued on to Greymouth. We spent a couple of days there in a very nice place called Global village, before Mike decided to go off and meet some chick who he'd been e-mailing for a while. Obviously Cara was devastated at the thought of being left alone with me so to help her get over it I fed her ice cream whilst she relaxed in the outdoor hot tub....... this seemed to help ease her suffering a little ;-) .
The two of us continued to head North to Karamea,where Cara was going to start the Heaphy track. I had gotten a little bored of hiking by this point so I was off to do a little white water rafting etc, with the plan being that I wou
ld meet her in about 5days. Before going our seperate ways we stayed at a very cool backpackers called Rongo which was run by a guy called Paul who also ran the local 24hour pirate radio station. Anybody and everbody was welcome do a spot and the eclectic mix incorperated German thrash metal, blues and possibly tips on milking your cow. I think the station must have been a real hub for the local community.
After Cara started on her hike I stayed a little longer as the next night there was to be a traditional Japanese meal prepared by two visiting elderly Japanese ladies whom Paul had taught English to in Japan. One of them seemed to take a shine when she saw me knocking up some lamb and vegetable shish kebabs and kept having her pal take photos of me with her. I thought this was very sweet till Paul later told me she was a bit of a gal, swore like a trooper and would probably tell her pals back in Japan that I was her european toyboy :-!.
Shortly after I went rafting in the Buller gorge, which to be honest was a bit tame cos the river was on the low side but near the end we got to do a little cliff jumping which was pretty exciting. Rather ironically about 20mins from the end of the trip the heavens opened and it poured down for the next couple of days ......Sod's law.From there I headed over to Nelson Lakes but as the weather was so bad I couldn't do any hiking. However that night there was an Australian guy called Wayne at the hostel who palyed guitar . So about five of us sat around in the lounge calling out songs at random then singing along. In a session that lasted nearly 4 hours this guy didn't repeat a single song and could even pick up the tunes of songs he didn't know if you sang a few lines to him.......all in all, an absolutely brilliant night.
The next day saw a slight window in the weather so I did a little mountain biking, which was really refreshing after all the hiking. I actually managed to get in a little patch of blue sky and I rode just about half way to Blenheim trying to stay in it. I was due to meet Cara the following day but the weather report had been so bad for the Heaphy track I figured she might push on and finnish it early.
So I drove up that night with her fresh clothes. This turned out to be a master stroke as she now thinks I'm a knight in shining armour who can read her mind ;-) Obviously this incredible guy image won't last long .........but for know I'm gonna milk it for all its worth before I have to pay the price all mortal men must, for the affection's of a good woman ;-)Only joking Sweetie :-)
