Abel Tasman National Park

 From Nelson I took a multi day hike in Abel Tasman Park. 3 nights.

On the first day I met this Korean guy, Kim, who was  spending only one night but came completely unprepared even for that. First of all, he didn't have a backpack. Instead he had a plastic shopping bag with a litre of chocolate milk (not water) and uncooked chicken and a bag of cookies. Second of all, he didn't have a sleeping bag, only the jacket on his back.

Let me explain something. It's winter. While the days are warm and pleasant, the nights drop to the freezing temperature. Enough to leave frost on the ground.

He was a pleasant guy though, and great to walk with (also I felt sorry for him just a little) so he was my walking buddy on day one. I shared my one flashlight with him as we walked in complete darkness (we underestimated how long it will take us to get to the hut if we took 2 side trips - one to see Cleopatra's pool and the other to see some sort of a waterfall. That second trip took us a while because most of the trail involved having to practically climb the hillside. I had to ditch my backpack because I just couldn't climb with it).

I shared my can of chicken with him (the precooked and seasoned kind you can just open and put on a piece of bread and voila - dinner) because the hut - being just a hut didn't have any cooking facilities unless you bring your own. I gave him the empty cans after and we mixed his chicken with the remaining sauce in the cans and cooked it on top of the fireplace.

I didn't share my sleeping bag, because that's just awkward. Also, if I did I would freeze to death. The huts are just wooden shelters. There is a fireplace in the main room or the "kitchen" and the rooms are just 2 platforms where you can use the provided cot to unroll your sleeping bag on.

I don't know how he survived the night. I was wearing 2 socks, 2 pairs of pants, a sweater, bundled inside my sleeping bag with my wintercoat and hoodie serving as extra insulating "blankets". He just sorta tucked his freezing hands into his armpits and tried to sleep in a doughnut shape - much like my dog does sometimes.

To be fair I did offer to unzip my sleeping bag to make one blanket we could share instead of the wonderful warm one-person-pocket it is. Maybe it is his pride or whatever, but he turned the offer down.

The second night was much much better. In the second hut we only had 4 people staying.  So we arranged the cots around the fireplace and slept in the "kitchen" in our shorts and t-shirts.
That's how hot it was.

This was also the night I learned a little bit more about the good camping. A couple of guys traveling by kayak together told me that its better to buy the gas cooker. Why? because after the walk, it gives you something to do in the time between arrival and bedtime Another guy had red wine in one of those collapsible bottle things. He also had blue cheese. "Happy wife, happy life" he tells me.  And while there was no wife around, sometimes it's worth to bring the little extra luxuries for yourself.

One of the guys made us some redbush tea with milk and manuka honey. I don't know if I was just so happy to have something warm at the end of my 30 km walk or I was just too tired to find a fault with it - but it was delicious!

That day I also met an Israeli fellow traveler who shared her chocolate with me (and I shared me nutella at breakfast) , and it was nice to catch up in my own language and admire together the aforementioned guys as they got geared up.

The last night I was completely alone. I had to make my own fire and chop some wood. The hut I was staying in the last night was some historical house and I got creeped out being alone. Suddenly I regretted ever watching paranormal activity as I wondered if any of the family had died there.  I ended up reading the entire evening.

Thank goodness for the black-lit screens of tablets.

Abel Tasman is amazing. My photos don't do it justice - at all. It's like a piece of paradise. It is postcard beautiful. It is so beautiful that you'd think it was special effects for AVATAR. The sea is so blue and the beaches are gorgeous. The entire track goes all the way up to the hills and includes beach walks and low tide crossing (one of the crossings involved a river, knee deep). It was such a beautiful unique experience to have.

One of Khaleesi's dragons?

Cleoptra's pool

Crossing a swing bridge at night

Crossing at low tide

Pukeko

The water taxi

That bird, at the top right corner, looks a lot like a penguin.

Nelson

I came to Nelson right after Kaikoura, and the difference couldn't be a more welcome surprise.
When I was in Kaikoura, I was wearing my hoodie, my winter coat and walking very fast and still the wind was freezing. In Nelson, I got to take off my coat, my hoodie and walk in short sleeves again (at least in the daytime). Even in wintertime Nelson is sunny and warm. In fact, if I am not mistaken, Nelson gets the most sunny days out of all New Zealand's cities.
It is small, but it has everything - mountain biking trails, beaches... And the town center itself was pretty pleasant. I don't think it's just the warm weather, but I really loved being in Nelson.

Coromandel town

The view outside my window. That stupid cow kept waking me up every morning before sunrise (whereupon I went promptly back to sleep.)

Bay of Islands

Fur seals sun bathing in the winter sun.

Hobbiton

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit...

Would you look at that, I am hobbit sized!

Greeting the new year in Picton

So how does one celebrates new year's in the southern hemisphere? 

For me, it was strolling barefoot along the beach to the light of the last sunset of the year. 

Eating Potato wedges and listening to unknown but passably good band with a group of Germans. 

Drinking bubbly Rose  and munching on apples with honey on the stairs while watching fireworks over the water. 

Small, calm and charming. 

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and couldn't take any photos. I was staying in Blenheim at the time which is the capital of Boring. So me and a new found friend decided to hitchhike to Picton for New Years. I just came out from the shower when she called me that a group from her hostel is driving to Picton and that they'll pick me up from the train station in 15 mins. Well in my hurry I forgot my camera, being focused as I was not to forgot other essential stuff like paper cups for the wine (very classy).

Fortunately Polina brought her camera and the photos on this post are hers. 

Used with permission.