Our travels in New Zealand started in Christchurch on the South Island. January in New Zealand is the heart of summer but we were here in the worst summer for more than a decade! The weather was wet, windy and cold. From Christchurch we travelled across the country to Aoraki/Mount Cook, south to Queenstown, Te Anau and Milford Sound, before heading north to Wanaka. From here we traveled up the west coast through Fox Glacier and Punakaiki, before heading to Abel Tasman and the Marlborough wine region in the northernmost portion of the South Island.
After two days of solid rain as we drove the West Coast things improved once we arrived in the Abel Tasman. With better weather the outdoor camping life became more enjoyable. The Abel Tasman National Park is well known for two main things, kayaking along the coastline and hiking the Abel Tasman Track. We planned to do both, as long as the weather behaved itself.
Our first day dawned with blue skies and sunshine so we went ahead with our kayaking trip along the coastline. We started in Kaiteriteri for a three hour paddle to Split Apple Rock with Kaiteriteri Kayaks. We were in double sea kayaks complete with spray skirts. After some initial instruction we were off.
It was really difficult on the way out as the wind was blowing hard against us. The coastline viewed from the water is stunning, lots of golden sand beaches and coves. Once at Split Apple Rock we had thirty minutes at a beautiful beach complete with hot drinks and cookies. The return trip was much easier as the wind was with us. This was the first time the boys had been in proper sea kayaks with spray decks and they did really well.
On another day we booked a cruise/walk option with the Abel Tasman Sea Shuttle. A boat ferried us along the coastline of the Abel Tasman National Park until we reached Medlands Beach. Here we disembarked ready for our “tramp” along the Abel Tasman Track. It was dull and cloudy today but at least it wasn’t raining, yet…! We didn’t have time to hike the whole track but we were hiking a section from Medlands Beach to Anchorage Beach, an 11.5km stretch. The Abel Tasman Track is arguably one of New Zealand’s most beautiful Great Walks, 51km in all.
About two hours into our walk we approached Torrent Bay. A portion of Torrent Bay is an estuary that is covered with water during high tide and almost completely dry during low tide. We arrived during high tide so unfortunately we had to take the longer route all around the bay! As you can imagine the boys were delighted. Firstly we stopped for our picnic lunch, eaten in the drizzle on the beach.
For most of the time we were hiking through a temperate rainforest. The woods were damp, cool and very peaceful. Occasionally, we would have amazing views of the beaches and coastline below. Although pleasant, it did get monotonous after a while. As the day progressed the rain began but at least it wasn’t pouring down, more just drizzly and damp.
Our walk along the Abel Tasman Track concluded at Anchorage Beach, where we were picked up once again by the Abel Tasman Sea Shuttle and transported back to Kaiteriteri. We did the 11.5 km with a short detour to the Champagne Pools in just 3 hours. We were pushing the pace today!
From here we headed east to our final stop on the South Island, the Marlborough region.
WHERE WE STAYED
We stayed at the Mouteka Top 10 Holiday Park. We had a large site complete with picnic table. The boys loved it here. It was very set up for children with a heated swimming pool, large jumping pillow, playground and go-karts. It was still New Zealand school holidays so there were plenty of children for the boys to play with. We added an extra day here to recharge our batteries and just enjoy camp life which really suited the boys. Several games of both rugby and cricket were had with various other children.
