Nelson & the Abel Tasman Tramp

We arrived at a fantastic hostel in Nelson, The Bug, which was everything a backpackers should be: clean, comfy wooden bunks (so non-squeaky), large clean bathrooms, free internet, 2 kitchens which were cleaned at different times, hammocks, free parking, lots of plug sockets, cheap dorm prices… all in all, a great find. Nelson is the ‘Sunshine capital’ of New Zealand, meaning that it has the most days of sunshine. And it truly is a wonderful city. I could definitely see myself living here for a bit! We stayed for 2 nights before heading off to a campsite closer to the Abel Tasman National Park.

When we awoke the next day, it was cold, wet and miserable. Did I really want to go on a 3 day tramp in this weather?? And my backpack felt sooo heavy, I really wasn’t too sure whether I had the motivation to do it! But we set off to find a water taxi regardless. We needed to shell out some cash to a water taxi company to take us around the coast to the start of the walk. We got dropped off at the farthest point possible, and walked back, towards Marahau, where our cars were parked. Two friends had gone off earlier, as they were only doing a 1 day hike (no camping), but me and my Canadian friend, Martin, were doing the 3 day tramp. We weighed our bags: Mine was 15.5kg and Martin’s was 22kg. Eeek! And there really wasn’t anything in there that we didn’t need – I’d packed and repacked a couple of times! Ah well… we’d see how we got on.

Mine was 15.5kg - Martin's was 22kg!

So we got in the boat, and an hour and a half later, we were at the start of our tramp, on the beautiful golden sand at Totaranui. We walked along the sand (not that easy a feat when you’ve got a 15kg pack on your back!), and found the track. The views were spectacular. And the smells, sounds and ‘fresh’ feeling in the natural bush were just wonderful. It was one of those times where you really wished that you could bottle up a smell / feeling to enjoy again later. When we had coastal views, the sea was so turquoise and clear, with beautiful white / golden sandy beaches, set right next to the native bush. The walkways were often created so that to your right was a VERY steep (almost cliff-like) mountain coming down towards you, then a flat bit of track (maybe 2 m wide), then a the steep descent continued to your left – you were literally walking on a cliff edge, without really realising it because it had trees on! Very fun – until Martin slipped on the edge (towards the end of the tramp) and almost fell down, that is. God that was scary. Muppet.

On the water taxi

 Two happy trampers

The first day was very easy – we didn’t have blisters, our packs hadn’t yet started rubbing us, and the terrain was pretty easy. We made our first ‘low tide crossing’ over an estuary (it could only be crossed at low tide – what an experience that was!), then our second, and found ourselves at Onetahuti Beach, where our campsite was.
 

Crossing the first estuary at low tide

At the second estuary

Walking along the beach, I found some driftwood which I took as a walking stick. It was a bit big and bulky, but I didn’t care – it looked fab! As I have a penchance for naming inanimate objects, I dubbed him ‘Wilbert’. We set up tent, and went exploring the caves and rocks on the beach. They were very cool! Then we made dinner (kidney bean tortilla wraps), Martin found his own (inferior, in my opinion!) walking stick, and we went to bed, me wrapped up in multiple jumpers.

The next morning, we woke in time for sunrise… but there were a few too many clouds to be able to see it properly. It was still nice, none-the-less. We ate breakfast and set off walking again. This time our feet were sore and the packs were rubbing on our hips / armpits. But it we soon didn’t even notice as it was so beautiful. It took a while to get used to walking with Wilbert (my walking stick), but I ended up loving it! Yes it was bulky, but it did actually help take some of the weight off my feet, help me going uphill, and help to steady myself when going downhill. And it was a cool bit of wood too.

Sunrise

NONE SHALL PASS!!

 

We had hoped to go to Cleopatra’s Pools – some natural pools with a natural waterslide in. We thought that our capsite was quite close to it, so figured we’d drop our packs off at the campsite and walk back there. But by the time we got to our campsite, we calculated that we were 1 ½ hours away from the pools, so with a 3 hr return journey and time to actually mess around in the pools, there was no way we’d be back in time for nightfall. So, having made an almighty descent to our campsite, ‘Watering Cove’, we decided to stay at our idyllic paradise. We (along with one other French guy) had our own beach, and were camping in the woods next to it. We went for a swim in the cold ocean, but found that there were SO MANY starfish in the shallow depths of the sea that it was very difficult to walk out into the sea, as we obviously didn’t want to tread on them! It was too cold to stay in for long anyway, so we dried off and just lay around. Neither of us had taken a book - this would have been a great time to read!! It was such a beautiful place. I washed my clothes in the fresh river nearby, and I realised how nice it would be to actually live a simple life like this one.

Watering Cove Campsite

 

We woke up for sunrise again the next day, but alas, there were still clouds in the way. When we got going, the steep descent that we’d had coming down to camp had to be climbed… ouch! Not the nicest way to start the day! But after that, nothing seemed difficult all day, and we did our 4 hour hike back to Marahau in about 3 hours.

My pack still weighed 14kg at the end...

It was such a shame to be back. It had been a wonderful 3 days, and I hadn’t really wanted it to end. I think it’s safe to say that I love tramping, and now I can’t wait for the Milford Sounds tramp! I’d never really realised that I was such an ‘outdoorsy’ person – but I guess I am! J Walking along the flat road back to the car, however, seemed to take an eternity. Where was the beautiful natural bush, the dirt tracks, the bird song, the sounds of water and the beautiful coastal views?? I guess I only really like walking when I’m truly in the presence of nature. And that’s what New Zealand has an abundance of – lucky me!!