We left the city when the weather turned bad (we arrived in the rain and left in the rain) heading out of Wellington for the South Island at 2:30am. The ferry cost was $197.50 if we left at that God-awful time, otherwise we would have to pay the usual $240. We believed we would get some sleep in the line-up and on the ferry so we could keep driving as soon as we got off the ship. We were wrong. The line up was busy and we were worried we would miss the boat (they don't let you through the gates into the compound until half an hour before the sailing and they don't care if you sleep past sailing time) so we dozed fitfully from 11pm until 2am. The ship itself was a huge white box that looked a lot like a cargo carrier, rather than a people carrier. It looked like I chose the ghetto ship for our crossing! The boat was cold, the seating was awkward and the attendants mocked our freshly painted van, I wasn't feeling very charitable towards the Interislander Ferry company by the time I got off the ship 3 hours later. The crossing itself was uneventful, the weather was good so there was no noticeable rolling and they had power outlets so I could play solitaire on my computer while Iain tried to catch some sleep on the floor. The one really interesting aspect of the boat was the car deck - it had rail tracks built into it. The ferry port was right at the terminus of the rail lines and instead of transfering cargo containers onto trucks to cross Cook Straight they just loaded the rail cars directly onto the boat. It was a fascinating system and if it hadn't been 2:30 am I would have asked a lot more questions!
We made it off the boat safely and didn't say anything rude to the snickering crew as we drove away, but by the time was just peaking over the horizon we had to pull over and catch some real sleep.
When the sun rose fully it was too hot to stay snoozing in the van so we were driving again by 10:30am. We made it through Nelson and headed to the Abel Tasman park which was a beautiful drive. The last 15kms of road was rutted gravel and ended up being worth every bump! The destination was Totaranui Park, a huge Department of Conservation camp site with beautiful amenities a stunning white sand beach and entry onto the Abel Tasman Great Walk.
The two days we spent in Totaranui were very relaxed. We read in the shade, chasing it around the van until it was too hot, then we headed to the beach to explore the rocks, scavange mussels for dinner, and swim in a tidal river that acted as a conveyor pulling us from the cold ocean into the warmer fresh water of the small estuary next to the camp site.
Day three was a little busier, I was bound and determined to do some hiking to see how my fitness level was before attempting Stuart Island later in the month. Iain wanted to work on the van so I headed out on a short day walk to Separation Point to stretch my legs and see some of the Abel Tasman coastline.
The most wonderful aspect of the Abel Tasman coastline is the luxurious white sand beaches and clear turquoise water. I crossed two of these stunning beaches on my hike and if I hadn't known how cold the water was I could have walked out of New Zealand and onto the coast of Thailand. The landscape was undeniably tropical. The giant ferns and palm trees gave the forest a prehistoric feeling and with the buzz of the cicadas reaching deafening decibles I expected to see giant lizards creeping out of the bushes or sea monsters breaching in the empty coves. But, I didn't see any unusual wildlife, about two hours into my hike I saw the first of the many other hikers on the trail, when I got to the lightstation at Separation point I was waving to the boaters enjoying the sun on the flat water and snapping photos of the fur seals and Shags sunning on the rocks.
My hike lasted about 4 hours and when I made it back to the camp site I met Iain coming back from a snorkeling adventure. The clear water made for good underwater explorations. We didn't spend much more time in Totaranui, just enough to wash off the salt and plan our next destination...Farewell Spit. But that's another story!
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