Abel Tasman National Park and Golden Bay

We continued west to Abel Tasman National Park. This park, with its golden beaches, deep green bush, and vibrant turquoise water, is undoubtedly a major natural attraction of New Zealand. The park itself is not accessible by car, so the only way to explore it is by boat or on foot through multi-day hiking trails along the coast from bay to bay through the bush.

New Zealanders are very business-minded when it comes to entertaining tourists. And Abel Tasman is a perfect example of that. You simply go to a tour operator in the towns near the park and book a tour. There is a selection of options including water taxi rides, hiking, kayaking, and overnight stays in huts or tents for multi-day tours, allowing you to create your own customized tour. And yes, it's not cheap, but well-organized and definitely worth it.

We decided to take a water taxi to a bay and then hike back for 4 hours, followed by a water taxi ride back to our accommodation in Marahau. It was still too cold for kayaking. The logistics of the tour operators were fascinating: the boat was transported on trailers pulled by tractors through the village, up the beach, and into the water until the boat was afloat. Other tractors were on the road with kayaks on trailers, taking them to the designated starting points. In the afternoon, the process was repeated in reverse. The number of tractors around town was almost equal to the number of campervans...

Even though it's quite a touristy place, in hindsight, it's definitely worth doing a tour there. The national park is spacious enough to accommodate the crowds, allowing visitors to enjoy the stunning nature and breathtaking views. And the weather gods were kind to us; throughout the day, the sky cleared up, and the sun was shining. The water taxi also took us on a little sightseeing trip, getting close to an island to see seals and the Split Apple Rock. The boat ride itself was thrilling, at least for us clueless ones, as the 250 horsepower outboard motor sent my cap flying off into the Pacific...

After spending 2 days in Marahau, we continued to Pohara Beach, a small town right on the beach, to explore the Golden Bay beyond the end of Abel Tasman Park. However, the weather forecast was not promising, so we rented a cabin at the campground for 3 days. And it turned out to be a good decision, as we experienced more than 30 hours of continuous rain. The clouds were so low at times that we couldn't even see the hills behind the town. So we spent our time organizing things like planning our travels and writing our blog. We also enjoyed a can of German cheap beer (not HansA, but Bit or Radeberger is considered cheap beer here). It was very convenient that there was a Spark phone booth with Wi-Fi access right in front of the campground. Since I have a Spark mobile card, I could go online there with my smartphone or notebook. And the convenience store right next door had benches and umbrellas outside. A perfect workspace!

After a day and a half in that small cabin, we finally got on the motorcycle again, despite the light drizzle, and took a tour up to the northern tip of the South Island, passing through Collingwood to Farewell Spit, a more than 10 km long sandbank that can only be accessed with a tour operator. We decided not to go, but we were lucky with the weather and could see the sandbank quite well. Although there was occasional drizzling, it was still a worthwhile tour to this rather remote corner. No comparison to the hustle and bustle of Marahau.