Abel Tasman

On Tuesday, after a quick stop at Golden Salami (salami in a vending machine!) and mountainous road curves extreme enough to make an Uruk Hai car sick, we arrived on the north side of Abel Tasman National Park. We'd had a late start, so the beautiful views of the sunset over the water soon disappeared as we continued hiking (or "tramping" as it's called here) in the dark for the last twenty minutes.




Our accommodation was in a former homestead in the park, and with this being the off-season and the general lack of people everywhere in New Zealand, we figured we would probably be alone. As it turned out there was an entire global village sharing the cabin with us, and we had an enjoyable night talking European history and learning an Israeli card game with the other travelers. Although I saw it as a spacious cabin, it was properly known as a "hut," and the New Zealand government has created a wonderful system of huts all across the country to make tramping more convenient, at a very low cost per night. Most huts are apparently smaller and more primitive, but we even had a toilet with plumbing (but not in working order).

a weka, a flightless New Zealand bird

fan tails, lively little birds that have been following us on most of the trails

the building in the center of the photo is our hut

On Wednesday we did a loop trail in the park and returned to the same hut. The weather was gorgeous. Throughout the trip we've been so impressed with not just the amazing scenery, but how easy it is to enjoy it in the complete absence of any other people, and Wednesday was probably the best day yet. Even the seals were relaxed.












This morning we had a rainy hike out of the park, and have had an indoor day in our guesthouse. It actually belongs to a couple that are friends of Lynn and Jay, and the very attractive main home has been around since 1870, almost the oldest in the region. They grow and sell feijoas, a tasty green fruit we've really warmed up to on this trip. As with most of the trip I have very little idea of what we are doing tomorrow, but I'm not too worried about it. I love being on vacation.