Feb 11, 2023 Marahau & Abel Tasman National Park, South Island, NZ

One is never far from water in New Zealand since it is comprised of 2 main islands. It is also quite mountainous so the driving is an adventure in itself. We arrived after dark, after navigating the narrow, windy roads to our Ocean View Chalets in Marahau. The Chalets were three very rustic cedar lined cabins in a 50 acre armlet, slightly elevated and nestled along a bush line, with a view of the ocean. In the dark, the view we had from our balconies was a majestic one of the night sky with bright twinkling stars, the Milky Way and to Craig’s thrill, the Southern Cross. The fragrance of Cedar was strong in our rooms as we all fell thankfully into the soft beds after a long day. 

In the morning, we were rewarded with views of the Ocean, but it was low tide, so we saw more sand than water. The tides here are 15 foot swings as witnessed as we drove down the mountain and saw the boats sitting high and dry in the sand. There was a boat being trailered to the water by tractor because they didn’t want to wait till the tide came back in because half the day would be over. Local news that Cyclone Gabrielle is hitting the North Island and causing much devastation as a Cat 3. There hasn’t been a Cyclone this large since the 1980’s. We are very grateful, that we are out of the track here on the South Island but our hearts go out to the New Zealanders dealing with the flooding and storm. 

We drove a short distance to board Wilson’s Tour Boat, (similar to a jet ferry) that took us to the Abel Tasman National Park. The boat cruised along the eastern coast of the Pacific Ocean. It is a scenic shoreline of enchanting coves with golden sand beaches, stunning cliffs and azure water. The boat stopped at coves and beaches from Kaitetiteri to Totaranui. We didn’t disembark until we reached Anchorage the farthest point on the tour. We had brought a picnic and we enjoyed it while sitting on a large flat rock on the pristine golden sand beach. The day was beautiful with blue skies, sun and warm temps. After lunch, all of us but Cheryl, hiked for 2 hours, a total of 4K, along a nice easy trail through the forest.  Cheryl has a trust issue so she didn’t believe that NZ doesn’t have anything poisonous or snakes, too bad because she missed a great hike. We reached Pitt Head lookout and found a pretty cove with a sand beach. Even though the day was warm, it wasn't hot enough to entice most of us to jump in except Jeri who braved the cool, clear water-she’s tough from all those summers spent in Michigan @ Big Bear Lake.

When we met back up with Cheryl on the main beach, she and I walked to the farthest point to see some caves and we saw a big stingray in the shallows and a wave came up & splashed me at the same time. There were signs warning of Earthquakes, Wow, Cyclones and Earthquakes-nowhere on our fine earth is free of risks from natural disasters. Their facilities were really nice and abundant. Each cove had flush toilets and running water. 

After our daylong boat trip, we arrived back to our Chalets, showered and then enjoyed “Tipple Time” out on our balcony, taking in the views of the water and forest. We then walked down to a really nice Restaurant called Hooked for dinner. We sat outside and were served delicious food by the owner who was a Hannah Waddingham look alike. Some of us even were adventurous enough to try Ceviche.  Another wonderful day!