Abel Tasman - Dia Tres

I thought I'd mix up the title at least a LITTLE bit for you all. I was beginning to feel a bit boring with those all the same. I did the same thing with my senior research in college. I remember I published it with some funky title in there, just because it was beginning to sound a little too academic and boring. Our third day in the park, we woke up and had to set out fairly early to make the tidal crossing at Awaroa Hut. The hike there was short, and we had to be there an hour or so on either side of noon, but we were going for the earlier time so we could get up past Totaranui, a big, busy campground accessible from the road, that day. I was surprised at how much development along the trail. We didn't feel like we were in particularly secluded surroundings much of the time. We passed quite a few places that looked like they were resorts and holiday homes, all along the path. It was a bit distracting, actually. It definitely took away from the scenery and the experience a bit. It didn't feel as wild as we had expected. We loved it nevertheless, but that was disappointing for us. The hike was mostly through bush, so we were very glad that we'd been able to spend time out in our kayak along the coast first. The kayaking was definitely the highlight of our trip. We found an excellent beach on which to have lunch, called Goat Bay. We took every chance we could get to hang out on the beaches, despite the sandflies, because they were our favorite part of the hiking! Soooo beautiful! We ate under the shade, leaning up against the boulders and looking out to sea. As we got up to leave, we even saw a little sea urchin shell placed carefully in a crevice in the rock. The shell was so pretty and delicate. We left it there to surprise someone else as well. We made it past Totaranui, where we filled our water bottles again (filtered water available - gotta take advantage!) and headed on. This was yet another place where we experienced much more civilization than you ever hope to see on a backcountry tramp. We walked along the road through the campground as quickly as possible, wanting to get back out to the stillness of the bush and the views out over the ocean. After another tidal crossing, we hiked back into the bush and along a beautiful tidal marsh. I have a thing for marshes. We have them here in Golden Bay too, and I just think they are so beautiful. Its something about the texture of the plants, I think. We made it as far as Anapai Bay campground. We were the first ones there and had our pick of the spots. We chose one off on its own with a spot for our tent and a sandy "balcony" surrounded by driftwood logs looking out over the ocean. We made out well on that one. Before setting up our tent, however, we did our requisite evening swim and basking time in the last rays of the sun to dry off before it sank behind the mountains. It wasn't actually strong enough to really dry us much by that point, but we liked to pretend. Not that we needed an excuse to luxuriate in that wonderful sunshine. As soon as the sun was behind the mountains, it started to get chilly, so we changed out of our swimsuits and into our thermals, jackets and long pants. This is one time in my life that I am grateful to be so short and therefore to have pants that are way too long for me and cover my feet. I could put my pants over my feet, put up the hood on my jacket and make myself almost entirely sandfly-proof. For some lucky reason, they weren't going for my face... We turned in early after dinner that night, tired out after all that tramping.