Day 11 • Abel Tasman National Park

A summer day comes to an end... In bright sunshine, we were able to board the so-called 'water taxi' this morning. It started at 9:00 a.m. and the boat took us from Kaiteriteri to Awaroa in the north. The boat dropped us off there at 11:00 a.m. and departed immediately. From then on, we were on our own, just like various other tourists. Usually, there are really good directions and signs everywhere, so even villagers like us shouldn't get lost. Well, anyone who knows my story from the tourist station in Boltenhagen surely knows that I would never find the way without help. My gut feeling says left... :-) After the first half kilometer, we couldn't go any further. A jetty with a chain barricade and a sign that said 'Danger - No Entry' blocked our path. On the way there, I was only briefly surprised that there were no footprints visible except those of a few birds. But then again, I'm not a forester or hunter. :-) So the only option was to go back and find the right path. We briefly calculated how long our water bottle would last. We had to complete our route in 4 hours in order to return with the reserved 'water taxi'. We found the right path and safely returned to Kaiteriteri. That much can be said. :-) The track was labeled 'reasonable fitness level', meaning that one shouldn't be completely unfit. Honestly, we found it quite challenging. But we wanted to move around. The first section led us from Awaroa to Onetahuti. In order to reach Tonga Quarry Bay, we had to overcome a small obstacle. It was high tide, so the next section could only be reached through the water. All other paths always led through the hinterland. So we put on our swimwear and off into the water. Our backpack with all documents, money, etc. was transported by Rüdi with arms outstretched over his head to the other shore. I had to swim because it was already too deep to walk. Some hikers sat down and had to wait for the low tide. We hope that they managed to catch the boat on time. After an hour lunch break, we hiked the remaining section from Tonga Quarry to Bark Bay and finally to Medlands Beach. Altogether, it was just under 10 km. So once again, a successful day. Tomorrow, we will cross from Picton to Wellington on the North Island and we will also get a new car.