Wellington, Nelson, and the Abel Tasman, New Zealand

From Fiji, I flew into Wellington. The city seems modern and fun (and as windy as its reputation), but I only spent the night there, leaving the next morning on the ferry to the South Island. First off, I was really impressed by the infrastructure in New Zealand - great public transportation, the price tags in the supermarkets are electronic, and everything is clean and sleek. People in New Zealand are called Kiwis, just so you aren't confused when I mention them, thinking that I'm speaking to birds or fruit.

The ferry is almost as good an attraction as it is a method of transportation because it sails through some scenic sounds as it makes its way to Picton. Check it out:

Once on the South Island, I went straight to Nelson, which served as my base for my hike, or "tramp", as the Kiwis say, on the Abel Tasman Coastal Track. A kooky bus driver took us out there at 7:30, telling his bitter tales of changes to the countryside in recent years over the intercom. A few fours later, I was tramping through the beginning bits of the park. I ended up walking with a cool Danish guy for the first day and talking politics and the like passed the time in between the awesome views and beaches along the way. The water was an aqua blue and the coastline quite dramatic. And so much changes with the tides! Look at these pictures taken in about the same place 8 hours apart:

Walking along, the landscape along the path kept alternating between lush temperate rainforest and semi-arid coastal environments, as if it couldn't make up its mind between the two. The first night, I stayed at one of the huts the Kiwi Department of Conservation set up along the way (that way I didn't have to carry a tent). They fit 10 people side by side on twin mattresses on top of giant bunks. Hardly luxury, but I survived. The next day's walk was nearly twice as long but had better views and better beaches to enjoy. I stayed at another hut, this one blessedly less crowded. All in all, I walked 26 miles and the unique landscape and spectacular views made it totally worth it. After another night, I was picked up by an "Aqua Taxi" that took me back into town, stopping for pictures of coves, penguins, and seals. Here are a few more photos:

I went back to Nelson, a great little town full of microbreweries and apple orchards. Only two blocks away from the hostel is a little place called the Sprig and Fern that serves 2L bottles of beer for $6. Next I'm off to the glaciers!

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The boring details, a reference:

I flew Nadi (NAN) to Auckland (AKL) on Air Pacific ($195). Then, I had to change terminals to the domestic terminal upon arrival at Auckland, about a 15 minute walk, following a blue and white line. There is also a white shuttle bus. I flew down to Wellington on Pacific Blue, the budget airline in Oz and NZ ($36), but the flight was really pretty good (I lucked out with an emergency exit seat). Wellington has a very frequent airport transfer service ($4 one way) that drops off downtown, among other locations. There are three hostels within a few blocks of the first stop in the city, YHA Wellington, The Base Wellington, and the Cambridge Hotel. I stayed at Cambridge and was impressed with the place for its awesome bathrooms and neat dorm. The supermarket is only two blocks away as well. The next morning, I went to the YHA just down the street across from the supermarket at 7:00 to take the transfer ($2) to the ferry terminal, buy tickets at the YHA reception. You can check bags at the ferry terminal and getting aboard is quite painless. The ferry ($28) arrives at 11:35 and I waited for an hour before the 12:45 nakedbus to Nelson departed from right outside the Picton ferry terminal ($5 to Nelson, intercity also runs this route). Naked bus will drop you off at a close point to your hostel upon request. I stayed at Paradiso Backpackers, which is a nice place with free evening soup and breakfast. The bus to Marahau the next morning (Intercity, $11) starts picking people up at Paradiso at 7:15 and makes its rounds to many places of accommodation around the city. The bus drops off most people a little bit away from Marahau for the boat trip start point. There is a pause to buy your ticket back to Marahau if you still need to, which I did ($24). The stand in Marahau is a few blocks away from the bus drop off point. The bus continues to Marahau and drops you off right at the trail head. If you plan to stay in the huts, makes sure you book far in advance (at least 1 month). Don't expect much either, but it will cost about $17 per night. There are many tidal crossings at Abel Tasman so take care to consult the map and the time chart. I stayed at Anchorage the first night, though I could have easily made it to Bark Bay. The second night, I stayed at Awaroa, which seems to be a pretty good stopping point. There is an expensive, but nice, hotel/cafe/restaurant close by as well. Also, it seems as though if it isn't during the highest part of the high season, there is a lot of flexibility with which bus and taxi you can take, despite what your ticket says.