Today, we planned a tour boat to Abel Tasman National Park. We were excited for the adventure so we got into Wellington late at night, did a few sights downtown and then went to bed. In the early morning, we headed to Kaiteriteri to take the Abel Tasman Sea Shuttle- Cruise and Forest Walk.
Although a little tired, we were right on time at 9 am. Got to the tour office for the tickets, waited in line to get into the one bathroom that they have for all guests within a big complex port. Then, went in as the line moved into the boat. The place seemed quite big and comfortable. Piece of advice: if you are one of the ones that wants to go on top, please bring an appropriate jacket and blanket. There are a lot of seats out there, but its going to get really cold!
We knew the drill. We learned it the hard way in a boat tour we took in Norway, mid-summer. Yeah, it NEVER gets warm! Well, at this time I wore leggings and a hoodie, but forgot my blanket. I thought this time, I was going to make it. We went up all excited, and actually had a hard time finding a seat. My husband had to sit in a different row. Funny, but we were the ones that actually stayed for most of the hour and a half trip. At the time we gave up, half of the seats were already empty.
To be honest, there is not much to see during the ride. At the beginning a weird rock, perfectly cut in half. Rather than that, not a lot of sights. Pretty beaches and pretty water. Infinite and deep horizon. Not a loss, if you freeze. No worries, you can definitely stay down if you feel like it. No regrets. Either way you always get to choose prior or during the ride. The boat was not even crowded.
The bad news is that this boat is indeed a shuttle that stops at all beaches and our stop was supposed to be the last one at Medlands Beach. We were hiking the 10.5 km trail to Anchorage Beach.
It felt like an eternity – especially as we saw faster boats going through with ease and we were hanging out in a smooth freezing/sleepy ride. Why didn’t I book those?
Well, we did arrive at the time we were supposed to and we needed to complete the hike to Anchorage by 3 pm. It was barely 11 am, so we felt like we had plenty of time. We brought lunch and were ready to begin the adventure.
At the beginning it was a bit confusing. There are different trails and not very clear signage. A few steps in the wrong direction, put us back into the right track. Although my main concern was the heat, I noticed that I didn’t have to worry at all as most of the path has plenty of shade.. Yay!
First 5 km were magnificent. Plenty of forest that to walk across, the famous hanging bridge everyone talks about (its bouncy and squeaks!), pretty beach lookouts and I a vibrant energy to what was coming up. Constant pace, no stops. We were killing it!
Then, the afternoon comes along and we started wondering about bathrooms and lunch. It was about that time of the day! We were getting close to a camping spot that was supposed to have bathrooms and picnic tables. Yes, we might wanted to wait. After all, the trail was pretty tight and there were definitely no chairs around.
We kept walking and nothing showed up. No more lookouts: just the same forest, nothing to be excited about. We were feeling tired and hot. 7 kms into the trail and I we keep it positive: we almost there. We were about right, it said the camping spot was 500 m away. That’s nothing, we are right there!
The trail starts to go within private property and we started noticing houses on both sides. Beautiful homes with elegant porches and definitely a view I would like to have. Again, we keep walking and nothing shows up. We are starting to get desperate and I definitely need to pee. Well, we did get to the bathroom first. I took my only chance. The toilet was in a very sport that is hard to see, but funny enough it stays pretty clean.
We kept walking and noticed some picnic tables spread out with a nice beach view. Unfortunately, camping spots were all around. Turns out, people install their tents taking the tables as if they were for their own personal use. The bad news is that no more than 5 tables are available and most of them seem taken or empty – but you could see a a tent on their back.
When we arrived, we saw an empty table, but it had a book on the top. We guessed it belonged to the person who was in the tent installed just on its side. But was the person there?
Honestly, I was starving, so my husband moved the book and decided to sit down. I followed him, until I noticed that a couple was leaving another table in a close spot. I went to make sure it was going to be available and that was how we got to have a decent and pleasant lunch. No fights!
Recharged, we started for our last 3 km. We needed to be back by 3 pm and we wanted to take a detour through Cleopatra’s trail. Without anything new to see, we started going pretty fast. Although some uphill moments surprised us and got us to slow down!
The Cleopatra detour was going to take 20 minutes. There was not a doubt in our mind. We went by the side of a beautiful river and got to the spot beating the clock. Unfortunately, sight was pretty crowded. It was still enjoyable and worth it, but not at all magnificent as we thought.
The way back was easy, just along the same path. But I was wore out. There were about 2 km left. The trail was not very crowded, so we were able to go fast. No more amazing bridges or lookouts. The heat was getting fast to us. The path started aggressively down. Down to the beach, I assumed.
I was right. Straight down was the end line. I was extremely tired and the path was starting to hurt my joint so I jogged. Yes, I jogged until I got to the beach. Once again, beat the clock: it was about 2:15 pm. The wait was until 3 pm. The good news: the boat was on time, and it didn’t stop on the way back. The total trip was no more than 40 minutes. We were back in no time. Perfect to go and check out the pancake rocks before it gets dark!
Wookitu 