Abel Tasman NP and Marlborough Sounds

Summer has arrived in New Zealand for almost three weeks now! It's so beautiful! Finally, we don't have to get in the car and go to bed at 8pm because it's too cold to be outside. Our trip has taken on a whole different quality because of this.

After our wonderful time at Mt. Cook, we drove northwards quite quickly. First, we went northwest to Abel Tasman National Park on Golden Bay. Several weeks ago, many whales were stranded and died in this bay, at the northernmost part. However, that specific portion of the beach was closed off. In Abel Tasman NP, we hiked a section of the multi-day coastal track and took an extended break at one of the many beautiful beaches. Along this path, we noticed once again, as we have many times before, that New Zealand's nature often smells strongly of honey. We have now discovered that it comes from a plant that resembles our heather, only larger.

Our last stop here on the South Island was the Marlborough Sound. We both reached a strange point in our mood. We couldn't really get excited about anything anymore and were feeling quite unmotivated. In this situation, we met two very nice German women at a small campground in the Marlborough Sound. We spent two days chatting, lounging, and reading with them. The two of them confirmed that every traveler goes through a phase of disinterest at some point - sometimes you are just so full of impressions that you can't absorb anything anymore.

We extended this period of idleness a bit longer and drove another 1.5 hours further into the Sound, mostly on a very winding gravel road. At the end of the road, we reached a large secluded bay with two or three farms, one of which had a great campground right on the beach. The place was almost empty and so was the beach. It was a beautiful place! Here, there was nothing but nature, tranquility, and peace. But every day, there was a bit of excitement in the beautiful boredom: On the first day, a woman broke her arm and was picked up by a helicopter that landed right next to our car. On the next day, we had to collect our trash from within a radius of 10 meters immediately after waking up because Wekas (chicken-like, flightless birds) had discovered our trash bag under the car. On the third day, a jeep and a truck got stuck on the beach while trying to launch motorboats. But before the tide came in, they were free again.

Unfortunately, we couldn't extend our three days in the bay because our food supplies were completely depleted. Apart from tea, spices, and a bit of mustard, we had nothing edible left.

Right now, we are on the ferry to the North Island enjoying the beautiful weather. There are still some spots here that we want to visit in the next few weeks.

Until then, best wishes to all loyal readers.