- Chapter 15

In order to fully enjoy the Abel Tasman National Park, we decided to book a water taxi. With so many different options to choose from, the selection was not easy. We got information from the i-Site and finally booked a trip for the next day.

The starting point was in Kaiteriteri. So we had to park the car there and get on the boat. We set off at 10:30 a.m. and, like all tourists, passed by the "Split Apple Rock". This is a round rock formation in the sea that is split in the middle. Then we visited a seal colony with many young pups from the water before heading to Awaroa Beach, where we disembarked from the boat.

Arriving in Awaroa, we took a little stroll on the beach and in the surrounding area before setting off on foot to Tonga Quarry. The hour and a half walk took us through the forest and along the beach. So the route we chose offered plenty of variety, such as wading through the sea to continue on the other side of the path.

When we reached our destination, Tonga Quarry Beach, a group of visitors was just being picked up. This meant that we had the entire sandy beach to ourselves. A whole one and a half hours. So we made ourselves comfortable on the beach with our towels and of course went swimming in the sea. It wasn't as cold as we had feared.

At 4:30 p.m., the Abel Tasman Shuttle finally picked us up again and took us back to the starting point. It was a successful day and we were happy with our decision to choose a combination of boat tour, hiking, and relaxing.

The following day, we wanted to visit Nelson before taking the ferry back to the North Island. We heard about a market that only takes place there on weekends. Luckily, we were there on a Saturday. However, since we arrived very late, we didn't have much time to look around. So we strolled through Nelson a bit before booking the fixed ferry appointment.

Since we booked very spontaneously, the popular departure times were no longer available. We decided to take the ferry at 6:30 p.m. This meant that we arrived in Wellington very late and had to find a campground. Therefore, we took a little more time the next day before heading to Mount Victoria in Wellington.

The viewpoint is very easy to reach by car. Unfortunately, we had a very cloudy day, but still had a better view of the city than expected. Just as the tourist buses arrived, we had taken all the pictures and continued on our way. Let's see what the next time will bring.