Abel Tasman

It’s a perfect day for a hike in the woods! Sunny, with a forecast high of 77. It is warmer in Nelson than in Wellington, though they are at nearly the same latitude and elevation, and less than 75 miles apart.

We started off early with a bus trip to Abel Tasman National Park, about an hour’s drive from Nelson. The park is name after the Dutch explorer who was the first European to “discover” New Zealand in 1642. Poor Abel thought he was on the west coast of South America, and had an unfortunate run-in with the native Maori, but he gets a park named after him anyway.

Medlands Bay

At Kaiteriteri, the “gateway” to the park, we met a local guide (Karin, a former teacher who immigrated from Germany), and walked up the gangplank onto a motorized catamaran for a 45 minute boat ride to Medlands Bay. We then hiked 6 kilometers of very well-trod, hard-packed trail back to Torrent Bay.

A friendly weka wasn’t afraid to come close

It was a good hike, including encounters with cicada, tui birds, weka bird, many ferns, and many, many other hikers. We would have liked to move at a pace a bit faster than we did, but the group stayed together amazingly well.

Upon arrival at Torrent Bay Lodge, we were served a wonderful seafood lunch on the patio overlooking the Bay. Original plans were that we might be able to swim or kayak, but the tide was out, the sun was hot, and the wind was strong. So, we did a little wading and then relaxed in the lodge.

Because of the topography of the ocean floor around here, the tidal range is rather extreme — 15 to 20 feet in many places. That means that Torrent Bay almost disappears at low tide, becoming a very wide beach leading to shallows that extend far beyond the shore. At high tide, boats can come almost up to the lodge.

Torrent Bay Lodge is down there

Because the tide was low, the motor catamaran was unable to reach us. Instead, a smaller outboard was sent to pick us up. Even at that, we had to wade into water just above knee deep to get onto the boat. We barely all fit aboard, but were taken a short distance to another bay. We again got our feet wet going ashore. But a half hour later, when the catamaran arrived with a long gangplank and the tide rising once again, we walked aboard dry shod!

Low tide at Torrent Bay

After such a huge lunch, most of us didn’t feel the need for dinner. So on the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a large supermarket to buy snacks, wine, and beer. We all did our own thing, but supermarkets are always fascinating, anywhere in the world.

Back at the hotel, we were fortunate, once again, to have a washing machine in our room. We were able to get the salt washed out of our clothes from this day, and catch up on other laundry, so that we are packed clean for the next leg of the journey.