A Very Kiwi Venture: Sat Nov 19 Able Tasman National Park

I stayed the night in a lovely B&B to which I arrived after 8pm last night and had to be gone from at 7:15am this morning to dash over to Motueka where I met my kayaking people. There weren’t a lot of folks taking the tour this morning, and they offer a number of different options of kayaking and walking and such. I was they shuttled us to the main starting point of all things Able Tasman, Marahau and that joint was jumpin’. There were all kinds of tourists, again, going in a bunch of different directions based on what they wanted to do while in Able Tasman. Some were hiking with huge packs for days along the track, many were kayaking, some were swimming, some canyoning…there is a bunch of things to do, and these guys running the water taxis had it down to a science. They had manifests of who needed to be dropped off at which bay, and when, it was pretty impressive. Also impressive is the tide change in Able Tasman, it has the highest change of anywhere in the country, about 16 feet or so. When we left in the morning, it was low tide, and so they launched us by driving tractors pulling the boats into the water. By the time I returned, the tide was in, and everyone was able to use the boat launch ramp…still with the tractors, but it is quite an operation.

The day was once again, AMAZING! The weather was perfect and the park really beautiful. I opted to do a 2+ hour hike through the park and then meet my guy and the other folks who had kayaked first, for lunch on the beach, and then since I was the only person kayaking in the afternoon, my guide hopped in the back and I was in the front of the two-person kayak and off we went to find seals and any other wildlife. We did see a number of seals and birds, but not much of anything else. It didn’t really matter though as the scenery was astounding. The water was turquois and the sky so blue…what a lovey way to spend the day. A little wind kicked up in the afternoon, so as we were crossing the bay we had some little whitecaps to deal with but that just made my workout all the better. Once we arrived at our final bay, we met others who had done some other option, one couple for example had kayaked for two days, and overnighted on one of the beaches, we loaded up the kayaks and headed back to Marahau. From there we shuttled back to Motueka and then I hopped in my car for a 1.5 hour drive or so back to Rapaura, so I am near the ferry to go to the north island tomorrow. This is the third night (interrupted by last night in Mapua—near Nelson—that I have stayed in the same place. It was really a good choice because it put me close to both the Queen Charlotte sound from which the dolphins boat (the other day) and the ferry tomorrow will leave, as well as to the Pelorus sound, from where the mail boat left.

Some of you asked before I left, how my ankle would do with hiking. Well, I can now tell you; it is similar to how it does, when I cycle…after about an hour of activity, both of the balls of my feet start to turn numb and hurt. So, I am guessing that I have a circulation issue…which I knew. And yes, I loosened the laces of my boots (which are fabulous, btw) and had to stop and move my toes around a bit to get the blood flowing again. I am not really sure what I can do about this, but as I would like to do more hiking, I am hoping I can find a solution at some point. Maybe just more hiking and building up my feet? I would like to hike Kilimanjaro in a couple of years, so I had better get practicing.

I did make one mistake today; I didn’t bring the trekking poles, which I have with me, along on this hike. I vacillated back and forth between bringing them and leaving them. I kept thinking about the over-gearing fiasco of my last kayaking trip and didn’t want a repeat. Well, I gambled and lost on that one today. While much of the path was flat-ish and very easy to walk, there were areas of some serious grade, both up and down and some rocky patches too. I think they were super easy for people with normal feet/ankles, but every time I passed someone with poles, I looked at them with such longing that I was hoping their owners wouldn’t think I was some wacky stalker. I thought over 100 times, I sure wish I had them. Silly me! I also discovered that I am a pretty slow walker…but I did the trail at my pace, and I am thrilled that I was able to do it at all. Additionally, I only took the GoPro, and have since discovered that it is really easy to get your hand in the stills...so my pictures today are not the best. I will be posting some video too soon.

So Yay! Victory today on many fronts.