Flying Across Borders: Day 58: Abel Tasman Coastal Track to Hokitika

The Abel Tasman National Park is the smallest in New Zealand yet the Abel Tasman Coastal Track is 60km along the northwestern coast of the south island. It is a beautiful track that weaves through beautiful forest and beaches. Due to our lack of lightweight hiking/camping gear we only spent one night and two days on the track. Thankfully we had acquired a new travelling mate who had a tent big enough for the three of us so we did not have to bring our sad broken and not compact tent. And just to be clear when I say big enough for the three of us, picture three grown adults, including two tall Germans, squishing into a "3" man tent along with our bags. All I can say is that it was an entertaining night. Between the three of us we were able to pack all our gear and hike to the Totaranui Campsite. We started at the Wainui Car Park, hiked up to Gibb's Hill and on to our campsite. A much shorter hike than we had expected but it gave us plenty of time to enjoy the campsite and make some new friends. AND have my one and only camp fire of my whole trip. It was amazing. Fire bans are seriously the worst when you are camping for months. Camping just does not feel complete without a fire at night to sit around and enjoy.

Our day ended with an absolutely stunning sunset. Seriously. The last leg of the hike took so long because we were all in absolute awe of the beauty of the sunset (and because my blisters were back with a vengeance but I thankfully discovered walking barefoot does wonders to solve that problem). We were on our way to our next campsite and unexpectedly met a woman on the road at a "bridge" trapped in a flooded river with sand filing up under her car. Meaning we had no way to pass until her car was moved. The "bridge" was no bridge at all. It was called a bridge however it was in fact a small ditch that was covered in concrete to create a road for passing. It was obvious that this happened often but not obvious why on earth they did not just build a bridge there. After spending roughly an hour trying to push, pull and literally dig this car out, even stealing boards from neighbors fences to shove under the tires for traction, all the while avoiding the eels flowing down the river that formed over the road, getting drenched and cold, we gave up. There was no hope for this car unless someone came from the opposite side of the road to pull the car out. And then came the French!...well a French couple, with a sturdy camper van equipped with a hitch. Our knights in shining armor! With a lot of team work and some friendly Frenchman's engine power we freed the car and could finally be on our way. After plunging our way through the river we drove a couple hours to a campsite very well off the beaten path. The drive there felt as though it would never end. Winding and weaving down unsealed, crumbling roads we felt as though we may never get to the campsite and may also be slightly lost, but we kept on truckin'. The dark, mountainous gravel road, torrential rain for days, hunger and late night driving does not bode well for an enjoyable drive. FINALLY we arrived at the Cobb River Campsite. I thought we would never get there and never have I ever been so nervous driving anywhere. We slept...very poorly, due to discomfort and extreme coldness and poor choice to all sleep in the car instead of setting up our tents, and woke up to find that we had made our way down into a very beautiful valley. We appreciated the beauty for a short while and decided to make our way back up out of the valley. I will say the roads were not nearly as bad in the daylight. However, they were still awful and soo narrow. If you met a vehicle someone had to back up in order to find a wider part of the road. Only slightly terrifying.

The following days were filled with "on the road housekeeping", hanging out in Takaka, Uruwhenua Reserve site where we had incredibly beautiful star filled skies to stare at for hours.

Te Waikoropupu Springs are the largest freshwater springs in New Zealand and are recorded as being some of the clearest water measured in the world. The following is from some of the information boards they had at the springs.

Te Waikoropupu Wai Ora (Water of Life)

"Life cannot survive without wai (water). For Manawhenua Ki Mohua, water is the source of all life and the waterways carry the lifeblood of the land. The waters of Te Waikoropupu represent the lifeblood of Papatuanuku (Earth Mother) and the tears of Ranginui (Sky Father). Wai Ora is the purest form of fresh water. It gives and sustains life, can rejuvenate damaged mauri (life force) and counteract evil. The waters of Te Waikoropupu were used by tupuna (ancestors) for cleansing and spiritual healing."