Down Under January 2014 | The Abel Tasman 3-day Track

It's been tough to find time to post. We arrived in Nelson five days ago (I think) after a twisty drive up and over from Blenheim. But first we stopped for lunch at Allan Scott Winery, which was recommended to us many times over. Thanks especially to Baiba for this suggestion. We tasted several wines before lunch (ouch) and I had a chance to appreciate NZs Methode Traditionelle for the production of "bubbles". This is how they distinguish their sparkling wines from more Champagne-like wines made the old way. GF eating is fairly easy here so I had a linguine dish with, of course, white wine sauce, and Russian fudge for dessert (that's the flavour not the origin) which tasted much like maple with a bit of burnt sugar finish. Sounds more like a wine doesn't it! The winery itself is really a work of art--all made to look like a cellar, with plaster walls and numerous seating areas, including both a covered and open patio. Intermittent drizzle kept us inside. Their photos are much better than mine so check out the link if you are interested.

Wine tasting at Allan Scott, Marlborough, NZ

 Our bed and breakfast in Nelson is all that we had hoped for and more. It's actually in Tahunanui, across from the beach. We really thought the pics on the internet could not be real but they are.  Absolute Beach Bed and Breakfast is a stunning home in a stunning location. I am writing this while sitting in the room featured on the site, but our first night we were offered the 'bridal suite" (it's occupied tonight by honeymooners) which is on the upper floor with it's own sitting room complete with television,two large red  leather couches, a piano, a large window facing out to the beach, spa tub, and a private grassed-in lounge area at the back. The view across the water is to the Abel Tasman National Park which is the real subject of this post, but you know, it's hard not to be impressed by this landscape and the sea beyond.

So to the Abel Tasman Track. We bussed from just down the road to Marahau then tramped 40 km over three days with two overnight stays. It's a well-used track that takes you through forest, along beaches, and across two tidal bays which must be crossed at low tide until you reach the rather busy drive-in camping area at Totaranui.

The first day was relatively easy because you spend a fair bit of time getting there. We picked up our packed  lunch (gf of course) and had coffee at the Park Cafe before heading out, with Anchorage as our destination for the day. Anchorage is just that--a sheltered harbour where boats and kayakers come in and where we stayed for the night on board a boat that slept 20 guests and crew. There was steak and sausage and salads for dinner and significant amounts of wine and beer passed the lips of a diverse group of travellers: a family of six who had kayaked in, a father and daughter from the North Island, two young professionals from Argentina and Chile both studying and working on the North Island, a couple from Belgium, and many more that we did not get to know. Some of these travelers followed our same itinerary so we had a chance to get to know them along the way. After tramping for 12km, it was no problem getting to sleep but we were awakened early to pounding rain, blistery winds and the hollers of a nearby sailor trying to alert another boat that their anchor was up and they were drifting. Just a little excitement to get us up and moving for our second day on the track.

Our agent described day 2 as the best day of the track, the most beautiful and everyone's favourite. Anyone we met described it as the toughest, and I think both descriptions were true.  There is an an early low tidal crossing at Torrent Bay which you have to make by 930 so the skipper dropped us on the beach in the pouring rain at about 8 am. Once you get through the muck of the low tide, you can change into proper shoes, but it was still raining and it was a bit of a hike before we could peel off those wet outer layers at Bark Bay and enjoy the sun. The latter half of the day included a fairly steep climb out of Bark Bay, a bare foot walk along Onetahuti beach at high tide, and on to the Lodge at Awaroa.

The beach at Awaroa

Awaroa Lodge is a luxurious eco-lodge in the park that strives to minimize its imprint on the park. They maintain an organic garden on site, serve up local fish, provide an eco-friendly all purpose wash soap, and  blends seemlessly into the landscape. Due a slight error in our reservation (one bed instead of two) they kindly upgraded us to a suite, and we had a spacious room with seating area, a Nespresso, patio looking out to the wild, and cozy down-filled quilts. Dinner was great: lamb for both of us with all those home-grown veges, including kumara, a popular NZ root vegetable much like a sweet potato. We met two women from Christchurch over dinner who with their families were still feeling the effects of the earthquake, and spent a great evening getting to know them. Our only regret at having chosen this small luxury was not staying for two nights and exploring more of the tracks around the Lodge.

Awaroa Lodge

Low tide crossing at Awaroa

Day three started with this load tide crossing at Awaroa. Off to bed. Day 3 to come.