Boxing Day

Even if Calsberg did coastal paths, I don't think they could make one better than the Abel Tasman path.

The morning started with a blaze of sunshine turning the van into an oven by about 7am.  But that didn't matter as I needed to be up and about anyway.  After a short minibus ride to Kaiteriteri it was then time to get on the water shuttle and head up the coast to the start of my walk.  My plan was to walk about 10 miles of the coastal track, from Tonga Bay to Anchorage.  Unfortunately, due to a small mix-up in the time of my water shuttle, and the boat I was eventually on landing late....I was left with only 5 hours to do the walk.

Now you'd think 10 miles in 5 hours would be easy - that's only 2 mile an hour, after all.  And coastal paths are flat, right?  I mean, they just follow the coast.  Well - I have two answers to that.  Firstly, this coastal path was anything but flat - you'd climb up to a height, get some glorious views, and then drop right back down again to a perfect sandy beach with lapping waves.....    And therein lies the second answer:  I kept stopping to take photos and drink in the views.  No, I didn't paddle or swim, but I did have to walk fast to make up for all the time I spent stopped.

And just to prove I'm not making this up, here is a very small selection of the fabulous beaches, paths and coastlines I was walking.  If you're not jealous.....you really should be!

The beauty of this coastal walk is that every time you go around a corner, you see something different and something new.  Whether it's a waterfall, a glimpse of the sea, a stunning specimen of tree or fern....  I had been walking along thinking that my normal walking partners (dad, or the rest of the band) would absolutely love this walk.  Then the next corner revealed something new.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, Lynn, but I have a suspicion you'd have trouble crossing a long, high, swing bridge marked "Max 5 people at any time"?  And for the avoidance of doubt, the centre of the bridge was very swingy indeed!

After a few hours forced march, I had caught up on time enough to take one of the advertised side trips up to see Cleopatra's Pool.  I was imagining milky white water with a still, glassy surface, but thought in any case it would be worth a visit.  And it was.

For one thing, as I was walking up the track I saw either a cormorant or a shag (Dad will have to confirm which it is - the guides here seem to use both names interchangeably) sunning itself in the middle of the river.  He wasn't there for long so I was lucky to see him.

Cleopatra's pool when I got there, was actually a natural pool in the stream - Kim would have been swimming in a trice, it looked very inviting.  But definitely not milky white, so I'm not quite sure why it's called Cleopatra's pool.

One last photo - although I took about 60 in total so it has been very difficult to narrow down which ones to post....   This is the very definition of a coastal path.  The blue / green colour you can see on the left of the frame behind the trees.....that's the sea.  In sections, this path literally walks you along the edge of the land with a near vertical drop into the Tasman Sea.  Absolutely spectacular!