Tag 38 - Abel Tasman National Park for lazy people

21.01.2015

Actually, I can sleep in, but the street noise, which reaches me in the morning despite the room being quite far back, is so annoying that I wake up early. But I get up at 9:00 am, sit on the balcony in the sun for breakfast.

At 11:00 am I leave for Kaiteriteri. The road is extremely curvy and it takes me about 20 minutes to cover the 13 km. There is no problem finding a parking lot right at the entrance of the village, diagonally opposite the boat will depart. And finally, I see a beautiful beach! There are people lying in the sun and it feels like a real vacation. - Bam! And now it starts to rain. I could cry. Luckily, it's over after 10 minutes, but the dark clouds hanging behind the high hills don't promise anything good. Please not today!

Until my boat departs, I can watch the hustle and bustle on the beach for another hour. The excursion boats that arrive here fold a folding gangway from the bow that reaches the beach. Funny patent.

Beach in Kaiteriteri

I sit on the upper deck of my boat, tighten my hat so it doesn't fall off at the first gust of wind, and off we go. We pass the famous Split Apple Rock, an almost perfectly round rock that can be seen above the water and is practically split in half.

After 45 minutes, along the wooded coast with high hills and small dream bays, I arrive at my booked destination, Medlands Bay. Actually, it's two beaches, a small one, about 50m wide, and a larger one that you reach through the forest. Since it is so idyllic here and I walk a short distance uphill on the forest path and then need a jacket because it is simply cool in the dense forest, I turn around, take off my jacket and scarf, get out the sunscreen and my book, and now I sit in the warm sand for 3 hours, getting tanned. 

So today I didn't do what is generally expected from tourists here. I didn't go hiking and just sat in the sun, but today I simply felt like not having to check off anything, and I'm quite satisfied when the boat comes back at 5:00 pm to pick up the sheep. 

They check by name because you have to say exactly what you are doing on land during that time, and if a booked passenger is not at the scheduled departure point, they will search for him. 

Since it is low tide now, the boat cannot drive as far onto the beach as before, and the gangway starts in the water. So take off your sandals and go into the cold water. My rolled-up pants get wet up to the knees and dry quickly.

Meanwhile, it has become quite chilly and I am sitting on the boat with a long-sleeved t-shirt, fleece jacket, and hood. The light is much more photogenic than before, and I take pictures of some bays and hills. Later, I have to see all of this on the monitor to judge what's really good.

At 6:00 pm, the boat is back in Kaiteriteri, and although the landing place is different from where we started this afternoon because the water is so shallow, everyone still has to get into the water again. So my pants get wet again and I walk to the car a bit. Nice here.

I sit in the car and drive on behind Kaiteriteri. The road here consists only of hairpin turns and with the low sun and the smudged windshield, it's sometimes like flying blindly and I drive at a snail's pace. I follow one and another road to get a slightly better view of the coast of the Abel Tasman National Park, and I find a spot. 

Nice view from up here, also of a bay that is at least 100 m dried out due to the low tide. There are breathtaking houses around me. There are also wealthy people in New Zealand who live in the most beautiful places. The view from up here is actually priceless.

In Motueka, I quickly get some rolls and then sit on my balcony with cheese rolls and tomatoes, review my pictures, and write in my diary.

The first sunburn after 5 weeks on my right shoulder...

Distance today: 39km