We have been in New Zealand 12 days already. Several words come to mind to describe this country in my early impressions;

CHEERFUL – the people here! Wow!  They are all so happy and nice. Something in the water?  Or maybe they realize how good they’ve got it in this beautiful country.

PATRIOTIC – everyone we talk to loves their

Vineyards

country and wants to tell you all the things you shouldn’t miss while you are here. They actually seem to like tourists.

COURTEOUS – the roads in New Zealand aren’t freeways. And they do drive fast and on the left. But everyone is so courteous. They don’t use their horn, they allow others to pass when it’s safe. Also everywhere there are these one lane bridges. Everyone waits their turn. And it works. It just

Blues and greens

works.

FUNNY – New Zealanders love to give things nicknames and it’s fun to listen to them talk.  Of course they call themselves Kiwis; their flip flops are jandles; sunglasses are sunnies; breakfast is brekkie.  Clothes are togs, the corner market is the dairy, caravan is a camper and wop-wop is out in the boonies. Ta means thanks, stoked is excited and choka means overflowing.  And the one I like the best is “tiki-tour”  that’s what we are on – a tour without any real destination.

Interesting finds while tramping

OUTDOORSY – Trekking (or tramping as it is also called) is a national pastime and everyone young and old is out tramping about on the trails everywhere we go. Being on the water is also a national pastime (this is an island after all) and people are on the beach, in the water and on the

The trails

water in kayaks, paddle boards, dinghies, sailboats, ski boats, water taxis, cruisers, yachts, ferries and cruise ships. Boats are everywhere.

CLEAN – the water is the clearest and cleanest I have seen anywhere in the entire world. There is not a speck of litter ANYWHERE! The beaches are pristine as are the woods and trails and roads. And everywhere there are clean and efficient FREE public FLUSH toilets WITH TOILET PAPER!!!!

Bathrooms

GORGEOUS – we have spent most of our time so far enjoying the stunning scenery of the South Island and have been blessed with sunshine the past seven days. As we begin to journey farther south tomorrow I’m anticipating cooler and wetter weather. But even with the rain comes more waterfalls and beautiful rivers.

COLOR – the multiple hues of green are amazing.

Beautiful

Who knew there could be so many shades of green. And the turquoise of the water is such a surprise.

EXPENSIVE – alas it’s not perfect. New Zealand is expensive. Gas is around $5.50 US per gallon. Groceries are very expensive, but not as expensive as eating out. Our Airbnb’s have been reasonable, but tomorrow we pick up our camper van. It will average about $100 a day (plus gas – yikes!).

So starting tomorrow we are off in our caravan, wearing our sunnies and jandles, headed to the wop-wop on our tiki-tour.  And we’re stoked!

I’m finding one of the most enjoyable parts of our grand adventure is the feeling of accomplishment in both physical endurance as well as in logistical planning. Our just-completed three-day hike on the Abel Tasman Track in the most northerly section of New Zealand’s South Island ticked both those boxes.

The view and the water color was spectacular

New Zealand was high on the destination list as we began our world tour planning three years ago. Hiking the Abel Tasman Track became part of the discussion about a year ago. So

New Zealand’s famous silver fern. Silver on the bottom.

early on day one of our hike we stopped and just breathed it all in. Look where we are!  We aren’t just talking about it, we are doing it! It’s such a remarkable, joyful, invigorating and even spiritual feeling. Accomplishing goals is my drug of choice.

Parts of the trail was through lush green jungle-like forests

Our journey was made especially lovely through the help of the Abel Tasman Guides out of Nelson, New Zealand. We knew we did not want to have a guide

So many birds we have never seen before!

lead us on our hike, but we also knew the logistical needs of sleeping and eating on the trek were going to be a challenge.  We are not traveling with camping gear and so that is where the Abel Tasman Guides come to the rescue.

We were picked up at our Nelson hotel and transported to Marahau where we parted with our largest pack and kept just a daypack.  Our large pack would be transported ahead for us.  We then boarded the Abel Tasman Aqua Taxi for the ride to the beginning of our hike.

It was cloudy and drizzly and the sea was quit rough as the boat not only brought us to our destination

Our journey begins

safely, but included several side tours into inlets and bays with our skipper describing the history, geology and flora

Split Apple Rock as seen from the Abel Tasman Water Taxi

and fauna of the area. We reached our destination of Totaranui after about two hours. Here is where our

The views!!

hike would begin. And by the grace of the Maori – the sun came out!

The first day was only about 6 miles and it provided us some of the most amazing scenery I’ve ever seen

At the estuary

in my life. We had been advised to take our time, because we needed to cross an estuary at low tide, which wasn’t until 4:00pm.

We arrived at the estuary just before 4:00 and the

A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

unusually high tide combined with recent flooding from previous days had the water running much higher than usual. We

Oyster catcher

watched other hikers ford the stream with water up to their chest and waist. We waited about thirty minutes and then decided to give it a go. I didn’t mind getting my shorts wet because I had another pair but I really wanted to keep my shirt dry so I decided to wade across in my bra and shorts. It makes for a good story and the reality is we only got wet up to our upper thighs.

Day one was finished as we arrived at the Awaroa Glamping site. Owner Mike greeted us with beer, wine and a smile. We were his only guests that night and he made us a delicious dinner of edamame, coleslaw and three kinds of pizza in his outdoor pizza oven. We had hot showers and then slept in a tent with a double bed inside. I slept like a rock.

Day two Mike made us breakfast before escorting us back to the trail where we said our farewells and began our trek. This was our longest day and the weather made life grand. Sunshine and blue skies prevailed as we tramped along admiring the interesting plants and birds and spectacular

Tree feens look like palm trees but are actually ferns.

turquoise water.  When we arrived at the next tidal crossing the water was again very high. But here we had the option of adding an hour to our day by

Inside a dead tree fern

going around and over a headland to avoid wading. We opted to go around. Our total distance on day two was 17 miles.

Glamping tonight was at Anchorage where huge multi-

Glamping night two

room tents were set up for us as well as several other trekkers. Dinner tonight was enjoyed with several other couples; a young American couple from California, a young French couple on their honeymoon, a “seasoned” fabulous American couple(just like us!) from Durango,

Salmon dinner at Anchorage.

Colorado traveling with their friends, two “seasoned” fabulous New Zealand couples. We all hit it off

Dinner together night two

and dined on salmon, salad, potatoes and chocolate brownies, prepared by Chris and the Abel Tasman Guide service.

Day three allowed us to get a bit later start after breakfast as we headed out for a ten-mile final trek. We once again ogled the views, never seeming to tire of it. We ate our lunch and napped for an hour on the golden sand beach at

A bit of a rest.

Apple Tree Bay before arriving at our final destination back at Marahau. Here we joined our new friends for celebratory beers before the two-hour bus ride back to Nelson.

The end of the journey

We could not have enjoyed it any more than we did-  such a blessing to be here and to accomplish a 32 mile trek and come out smiling on the other end.

And our time in New Zealand has barely just begun! We have more than five weeks to go!

Cheers Mate!

Chapter Six continues…

Fabulous!