Marahau

We've just completed a quick 5 day stay in Marahau near Abel Tasman Park. Stayed in a place we originally stayed in about 5 years ago during our first trip to New Zealand. They're Ocean View Chalets and are cozy 1 bedroom, self-contained cottages perched on a hillside with nice panoramic views of the sea.

Here's a photo of ours.


The Park has numerous "Great Walks" as they're called in New Zealand, including the Coastal Route that runs for about 50 kilometers from the south entrance where we are now around the coast to Golden Bay where we were the previous 2 weeks. We did little bits of it along the way - covered maybe 2/3rds of the whole thing, including some side trips along the "Inland Track" which is where we were today. While the Coastal Track is more of a long stroll, and is technically categorized as a Walking Track, the Inland Track is a real Tramping Track (as they call them here). The trail isn't as well maintained, entails a lot more hill climbing, requires boots instead of running shoes or sandals, and generally is a lot more arduous than the walks. The one we did today ascended about 700 meters, or 2200 ft - pretty mellow by Columbia Gorge standards but I can tell you it really took it out of us - we're pretty pooped tonight and will probably be a bit sore tomorrow. We were at it for about 6 hours all total, with about 30-40 minutes of sitting time for lunch & breaks.


Here are some views as we headed up the trail.


Looking back at Marahau


Looking down on the Anchorage - one of the stops along the water taxi route. Note all of the boats in the harbor for the holiday weekend

We celebrated New Year's a day earlier than all of you in the US - thanks to the magic of the international date line. Rita took the photo above to show you what New Years Eve looked like from the other side of the earth.

Heading for Hanmer Springs tomorrow morning for a couple of nights - maybe to soak our aching legs in the thermal baths while we're at it. Then on to the Banks Peninsula near Christchurch, where we'll be staying on a working cattle, sheep and deer farm.

One final shot from the hike today. This is a picture of the south end of a north-bound goat (big one) that we flushed out while on the trail. He was in the brush just to the right of the track, and obscured by the vegetation, until we were right next to him when he decided to bolt. Recalibrated our startle reflex it's safe to say...and resulted in the "going away" shot you see here.