still chillin'

happy wednesday!

as we're coming up on the two-week mark here in nelson, we're forcing ourselves to start planning the next leg of our journey lest we let ourselves squander away the rest of the year at the bug, which would be plenty easy to do (friendly people, free internet, great city...). also prompting us to pull out the maps again is the realization that we're becoming the kind of sedentary backpackers who don't actually do any backpacking. my short bike ride home from the grocery story (i went to get chocolate and ice cream) left me surprisingly winded...that just won't do!

yesterday we visited the DOC office in town and received some very helpful information about track conditions, transport options, and resupply locations that filled in the gaps of our current plan and instigated some possible changes. one of the benefits of this trip is that i'm becoming much more comfortable in these kinds of conversations, finally shaving off the last stranger shyness of my teenage years (a little delayed, i know) and coming to appreciate the many disasters averted by the information that i gain as a result.

the last few days at the hostel have been especially enjoyable because of the number of solo travellers that have been passing through. a monday evening power outage made for a great atmosphere in the hostel as everyone gathered around the few candles in the commons area. i was especially revered for my "torch" (flashlight-i can't get past the image of a torch as a flaming stick) which made bathroom trips much easier and i quickly secured a few new friends with my newfound power. finally i found myself conversing long into the night with travellers from ireland, wales, germany, finland, and taiwan - the hostel experience that i've been seeking for the last few months. all five of these girls are in nz alone, which i much admire and have plenty of curiosity about. from al, the welsh girl, i've learned plenty about cardiff and the revival of the welsh language and eisteddfod festivals and dr. who; in return, i have introduced her to the mall of america and given strict instructions to watch the mighty ducks movies. it's obvious that i made out better on this cultural exchange.

tomorrow i'm planning to attend beaus and belles at the nelson arts festival. the film presents silent footage of everyday life in the 1920s with live piano accompaniment and will, i'm sure, make me plenty nostalgic for this bygone era, especially as i'm going alone - solo visits to obscure films practically guarantee a withdrawn and contemplative mood for the rest of the evening.

here's what we're tentatively thinking that we'll do after we leave here in a few weeks (sorry about the poor quality of the map):

-take a bus or water taxi from nelson to motueka and spend a night at a backpackers in motueka or marahau, which lies just north of motueka and serves as the beginning of the abel tasman tracks. hike a modification of the abel tasman inland track (5 days) and end up in takaka, on the west side of the track. the two long tracks in abel tasman national park are the inland and the easier coast tracks, of which the coast track is by far the most popular. it's also one of new zealand's nine great walks, which means that it's much more expensive to stay in a coast walk hut or campsite and the route is always crowded; nearly everyone that we encounter at the bug has hiked or will hike the coast track, which dramatically lessens the appeal for us. unfortunately, according to the DOC office, at the current time the inland track is hardcore tramping due to wind damage and heavy snow in the higher passes, so we'll have to check on conditions before we leave to see if it's still appealing. we're really just hiking it to have seen the golden bay area, so i don't think we'd be devastated if we have to bypass abel tasman for now.

-take a bus from takaka to the start of the heaphy track (3-4 days) in kahurangi national park. this is also a great walk track, but DOC workers at a few different offices have especially recommended it and the lower volume traffic makes it more enticing. the big sell for this track is that it crosses a variety of landscapes before emerging on the wild west coast, originally settled during its short-lived gold rush but currently pretty sparsely occupied.

-spend at night in karamea, just south of the end of the heaphy, and arrange for a shuttle to the start of the wangapeka track, which cuts back east across the park. the transportation from here is a bit awkward, as the wangapeka track ends far from civilization, but we may be able to arrange for a shuttle from tapawera, where we're hoping to spend the night at a campground.

-catch a bus from tapawera to st. arnaud, the entry point to nelson lakes national park. here's where our plans become less settled. we may hike the travers-sabine circuit, but another option is to hike just the southbound portion and detour onto a trail heading south out of the park and eventually connect with the st. james walkway. we could also explore some of the many other trails in nelson lakes and extend our visit from a few days to a week or more. we have some ideas for the route after this, but i think this will keep us busy enough for a while (probably about a month). isn't this fun?

sorry about the lack of pictures - i'll try to get some shots before we leave nelson. hope you all are doing well - we'd love to hear what you're up to!

-rachel