62) Abel Tasman to Cape Foulwind

Abel Tasman National Park was named after Abel Tasman, the Dutch navigator whose expedition made the first European sighting of New Zealand in 1642. Established in 1942, this small Park is renowned for its golden beaches and sculptured granite cliffs. What astonished us was the lovely blue, blue ocean water that was bluer than a robin's egg blue.

Getting outfitted and ready to kayak! We "hired" a double kayak with paddles, lifejackets and sprayskirts. A variety of options were available for overnight visits. We opted for camping, so plastic bags holding our camping gear was stashed in "almost" waterproof compartments. Other people opted for staying in the DOC huts or a floating backpackers hotel instead of schlepping camping gear with them.

A cool day with some spitting rain kept us in paddle gear as we explored the caves and incredible granite formations along the shore. Easy paddling (but cold water!) and lots of little sheltered coves to check out!














"Permanent European settlement began around 1855. The settlers logged forests, built ships, quarried granite and fired the hillsides to create pasture. For a time there was prosperity but soon the easy timber was gone and gorse and bracken invaded the hills. Little now remains of their enterprises. The landscape has been modified, perhaps more than in other NZ national parks. The vegetation cover varies and reflects a history of fires and land clearance, but the forests are regenerating well especially in damp gullies where a rich variety of plants can be found. Black beech dominates the drier ridges." http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/national-parks/abel-tasman/features/






A rainy day gave way to evening rainbows and a spectacular sunset over Tasman Bay.
























Dirk's Birthday called for a celebration! The skies opened up with rain right before dinner, so we cooked in a protected cave on the beach that kept us dry. As night fell, the rain stopped and the sunset turned spectacular colors. Candles provided the festive atmosphere for birthday cake on the beach.







No - despite the fire ban in the whole park due to dry conditions no one called in a water tanker plane to douse the flames!
Dirk: "if you didn't know how old you were, how old would you be?"
The World: "Oh grow up!"








Did we mention the water was a gorgeous blue?! Te Pukatea Bay, where we camped overnight up in the "bush" next to the beach. That little yellowish dot in the water on the left side of the picture is Dirk, paddling around in the morning light.




Did we mention the water was a gorgeous blue?!

The sun came out for a beautiful day of exploring around. This little island was home base for baby seals learning to swim in sheltered rock pools, and mom seals watching indulgently between snoozing in the sun. Other seals swam just off-shore, doing endless barrel-rolls, seemingly just for the fun of how it felt to be swimming in the blue blue ocean!






Tide going out of a little lagoon made lovely striated sand lines on the beach. It was fun to sneak into the lagoon in the sinewy path of the deepest water and try not to get stuck. We did it!










Shags wondering what we are all about!






Just another lunch spot! Pretty scrappy climbing on a *very* coarse granite - some shoes would have been nice!













Dirk looking happy as a basking seal! The seal rock is in the background. This is pretty perfect weather and no seas to speak of. A guide we met mentioned that on frisky days they can be paddling 3 m swells – the boats in front of you disappear in the troughs –that *would* make turning some of the points interesting!

In a high tide, you can kayak through these arches, but we contented ourselves with stretching our legs and walking through them to see the other side. In the background is the line of sand of the beach where we take our kayaks out of the water and get picked up for a water taxi ride back to the Park entrance. We put it off as long as possible...

This is definitely a place to return to. It is possible to kayak a few days, get on the Coastal Track to bypass the 'dangerous water' stretch of the coast, and then kayak back, catch a bus back or get a water taxi. The park is extremely user-friendly with numerous options.







One last jump in the Tasman Sea!












As a final surprise ride, the water taxi simply pulled up onto a trailer where a tractor pulled it, and us, up onto the road, and a few hundred yards down to the outfitter office! The high tidal range and lack of good mooring means that many (most?) boats are pulled out of the water every trip - passengers get on the boat on land and are driven out across the tidal flats to water deep enough to float their boat!






Our next leg took us up the farthest NW part of NZ - Farewell Spit, Tuhuroa or Onetahua (depending on source). It is 26 km long (above sea level) with an additional 6 km of shallow sand bars. It is reportedly the longest natural sandbar in the world.


















Beaked whale skeleton at Farewell Spit.







A majority of the spit is closed to the public
except through rather spendy eco-tours which we decided against.

"Its huge dunes form a coastal barrier that protects an important staging area for migratory shore birds. A total of 83 species of wetland birds have been recorded at the spit, which is also a breeding ground for colonies of Australasian gannet. This significant location is now protected and considered a Wetland of International Importance."(http://www.aatravel.co.nz/101/101-details.php?section=MustDo&101Id=Farewell-Spit) We walked out at sunset on the few km open to walkers - the windward side of the spit is awesome terrain - kilometers of crescent dunes shaped by the howling wind, stunning sand dunes, artistically resplendent exposed cross-beds, and scoured pebbles. A photographers paradise!(except for the windblown sand getting into *everything*!)






















It was hard to leave Abel Tasman in such fine weather but beckoning voices called from the western coast. Who can resist a drive to something as foreboding as 'Cape Foulwind'?

Named Tauranga ('Sheltered Anchorage') by Abel Tasman, it greeted Cap't Cook with days of desperate wind and high seas on his lee shore. He referred to it as Cape Foulwind - the name has stuck.

But on our visit, it belied its name--with clear skies, a slight breeze and lovely views as we walked the track to the lighthouse passed the seal colony, beautiful flowers, and a flat sea.































Paddling in the Abel Tasman - the full 360 view!