Nelson- Abel Tasman 3/11/13

Today we got a late-ish start, after finding a breakfast in Richmond, near Nelson. We headed to a great hiking, kayaking, boating area: Abel Tasman National Park. There are five sections that you can combine tramping with boating or kayaking. We were too late (noon) to catch more than one section, so we took a water taxi up to a drop off beach (1 hour), hiked for 2 hours, then had a pick up at another beach back to the car. They have quite a good system to help hikers have access traveling one way. The boats pull up to the sand and drop a ramp. You have to pay attention to the tides (they rise and fall 6 meters) as some hikes become inaccessible at high tide.

Saw seals and beautiful coastline with clear aquamarine water and gorgeous beaches.
The hike was more jungle-like, but when you came to the coast, it was fantastic. We were at low tide, so we took off our boots and walked across the bays through shallow rivers where cormorants were diving for fish-very cool. The weather here is again unseasonably warm and dry...perfect sunny hiking, but many streams and waterfalls dry.

We boated back to Kaiteriteri Beach then drove south again toward Nelson in quest of a pub. Tiny towns, no pubs, but finally found one in an itsy town that was a classic. The owner was British, lots of local brews on tap, atmosphere, darts and billiards, good food... We spent several hours there and had lots of laughs. The day stays light until 8:30, so you get a long wonderful day.

Got lost (again) getting back to the motel, but more laughs. On our way tomorrow to the far north of the island for beaches, springs, and funky towns.