nelson to takaka (abel tasman national park)

hello friends and family! we're now safely in takaka, having completed the inland track at abel tasman national park, which forced us back into shape over the 5 days that we spent hiking along it. here's how it went:

friday, nov 13

marahau to castle rock hut, 7 miles

this morning we hopped on the 7:45 bus to marahau to begin working off ice cream and pizza pounds that have been accumulating this last month. we said a sad goodbye to our cozy home in nelson with one last mug of tea and the morning paper before setting off to hike the inland track at abel tasman national park. the bus ride was short and mostly uneventful; fortunately, the vast majority of passengers departed at kaiteri for a catamaran cruise, relieving our concerns about a congested trail experience. so far the track, which briefly follows the coastal track before branching off inland, has been good to us out-of-shape trampers, giving us some lovely views to compensate for our aching calves. we arrived at castle rocks hut in the early afternoon and claimed a couple of mattresses on the top berth before being joined by 5 others coming from the opposite direction. this is our first experience with huts, and i must say it's wonderful not having to set up the tent.

saturday, nov 14

castle rocks hut to awapoto hut, 8 miles

progress was unexpectedly good today, allowing us to stop for the day shortly before 3 pm at the spacious and comfortable awapoto hut. this hut is also devoid of other hikers, which we were hoping for after sharing last night's hut with a fast-talking american woman who kept one-upping everyone else with stories of her travels in asia.

bryan and i shared a perfect moment on the front porch at sunset, eating bowls of oatmeal and watching the sun's rays wash all of the color out of the eastern hills. afterwards we lit a fire in the wood stove, spread out across the bunks, and wished for an equally enjoyable day of tramping tomorrow.

sunday, nov 15

awapoto hut to anapai bay, 11 miles

learned a valuable lesson about map-reading today when my failure to scrutinize the topo lines gave us a severely over-optimistic impression of the route ahead. though it was true that our descent to sea level from 700m meant plenty of downhill, i neglected to notice that we'd frequently be required to scramble down into valleys from which we also had to climb back out. the potential terribleness of the day was, however, mitigated by an excursion to what may be the most scenic spot so far, seal-friendly separation point on the coast track. the pathway ends 50m above the rocky spit, where a sign asks you to remove your packs for the steep and precarious climb down to sea level. the forceful wind threatened to blow us into the sea, but we kept our balance long enough to spot two seals and snap pictures of the dramatic rock formations. from separation point the track took us along the beach to our stunning waterfront campsite at anapai bay. we're dreading tomorrow's long and strenuous uphill battle but are glad to have made today's detour.

monday, nov 16

anapai bay to wainui hut

a terrible day on the trail - who picked this route, anyway? eight hours of unending uphill torment has left us exhausted and ticked off, though i'm extremely proud not to have smashed my walking stick against a tree in anger, as i've done on a number of regretful occasions in the past few months. not much to eat, as a possum rifled through our food bag last night and pawed at our english muffins, so tomorrow's lunch will be peanut butter...just peanut butter.

wainui hut, where we'll spend the night, is a tiny 4-bed shelter with a fireplace that lets off a lot of smoke but doesn't actually seem conducive to keeping a fire burning - hopefully it'll stay lit long enough to dry out my socks and shoes that i soaked in a river crossing just minutes before arriving at the hut.

tuesday, nov 17

wainui hut to takaka

we finished up our abel tasman trip via the wainui and rameka tracks down to takaka, the nearest town to the west. a few miles outside of town, we were picked up by a jehovah's witness from whom we received a witnessing tract before being dropped off at the information center. we paid what seems like a fortune for groceries compared to prices in nelson, but we know that it will only get worse as our restocking stops become farther from civilization. tomorrow morning we'll hop on the shuttle bus to start the heaphy track, beginning the track with the highest climb, a 900 m hike up to perry saddle. we've opted to stay in campsites instead of at the huts, purely as a cost-saving measure (they're about half the price), so we're hoping that the famous west coast rain holds off until saturday evening, when we plan to arrive in karamea.

pictures:

1) the beginning of the treacherous inland track, where it branches off of the easygoing coast track

2) a short rocky climb on our first day of hiking

3) climbing down to see the seals at separation point

4) cute little wainui hut (other notes in the hut book called it a "wee hut")

P.S. - sorry about the strange formatting - i have trouble with this blog sometimes and don't have time to fix it now.

-rachel