Keep Left!

Jenna: We arrived in Nelson on Tuesday and headed right for the visitor center/Department of Conservation office to check out hiking through the Abel Tasman National Park. The coastal track is one of the 'Nine Great Walks', the best nine multi-day hiking trips in NZ. This designation means they are very popular and require booking ahead of time - to stay in either a campsite or a DOC hut. We checked out the route and booked a hut for Wednesday night. This meant we were going to tackle the track in two days instead of the recommended 3-5. We're young, we can handle it... right?

We did our grocery and gear shopping in Nelson on Tuesday, which is a nice town of about 45,000. From there we headed north toward the park, wanting to spend the night as close to the start of the track as possible. We drove as far as we could and stayed at The Barn, a motor camp and hostel in Marahau, where the track begins. Glad we were sleeping in the van and not inside because the rest of the guests were up boozing til after 4am. No thanks!

Bright and early we ate oatmeal, packed up, and drove to the Abel Tasman Centre, which runs a water taxi up and down the track. We left the van in their parking lot and began the 9am water taxi up to Totoranui, the start of our ambitious trek. We stopped at a few beaches along the way to see seals and a number of odd rock formations - 'split apple rock', kiwi rock, and elephant rock. (I was the first person to spot the elephant - big surprise!) We hit the beach in Totoranui about 11am and began walking south with our backpacks loaded with food, clothing, emergency supplies, and sleeping bags. Didn't need a tent or sleeping pad since we'd be in the hut that night.

The track has two crossings that must be timed with the tides (the first within one hour of low tide, the second within three hours). However, timing the tides right does not mean your feet are going to stay dry! We waded through ankle, then knee, then thigh-deep water at the first crossing. Thank God we both brought flip flops or we'd have been stuck with wet boots the rest of the day! The first day was 17km (or 5 1/2 hours) of hiking and by the last few hours I could really feel the pain in my feet. The walk isn't difficult, just long.

We arrived at the Bark Bay hut about 6pm, ate cold chicken soup for dinner, played a few hands of cards, and turned in about 8pm when it got dark. The hut had one big common/cooking area then two bunk rooms with sleeping for 34 total. There is treated water, but no electricity or gas for cooking or lighting. We got up at 7am for breakfast and hit the trail again around 10am for our marathon day of 21km.

The walk was beautiful - white sandy beaches, beautiful coves, blue water, and best of all... no rain! We got really lucky with the weather considering its rained almost every other day of the last ten or so. However, we did put our feet through the meat grinder, or so it felt. I didn't know I could develop so many blisters so fast. The last few hours of the walk were really painful, but we had no choice but to push on and make it to the car. I felt a little guilty putting my ipod in, but it made the walk so much better. Plus the weather was so nice, and the scenery so great, it was impossible not to enjoy the experience.

Now we're back in Nelson on the job hunt and trying to decide if we should get something ASAP, or travel a bit and try and hit the seasonal agriculture work in a month or so.