One Hubcap Down, Three to Go
Trip Start
Jun 25, 2003
1
9
31
Trip End
Sep 2004
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Nelson, New Zealand
Tuesday, August 19, 2003
Finally after hearing so much about it in the rain-soaked North Island, we have finally arrived at the sunny South Island and have been enjoying every minute of it. This of course required us to get up very, very early to make the 4.15AM inter-island ferry (trying to save a few bucks which in US $s would be equivalent to about half a drink in NYC, but we are now backpackers after all, which has also caused us to to think the greatest thing ever is free soup, more on that later).
Though we have only been here a few days, we began by driving along the curviest road I've ever seen. Think Lomard St. in San Francisco stretched over a moutain and around a coast for 30 km, while dodging oncoming large vehicles and the occasional sheep. Jordan wants everyone to know that he did admirably as driver and only mauled one or two sheep and the rental still has 3 hubcaps remaining (well, really four if you count the one in the backseat). I was a perfect passenger and only started to become at bit nervous when Jordan mumbled something about the brakes not seeming to work right on the downhill bits.
After safely driving our way from the ferry terminal we arrived at our first stop, Nelson and then continued on for a two day sea kayak and walk trip in the very beautiful Abel Tasman National Park. We got very lucky and had two absolutely gorgeous days. The first day we donned our gear including skirts (yes, Jordan looked lovely) and headed out into the Tasman Bay to kayak up along the coast. Abel Tasman consists of gorgeous green hilly forests (or "bush" as the Kiwis call it) rolling into beautiful golden beaches which meet incredbily clear aquamarine calm water. Although we heard dolphins might be about, and despite Jordan's specially created dolphin-call, we didn't see any.
When most of our kayak group returned to the park entrance around 3PM, three of us stayed in one of the very gorgeous park bays to spend the night bunking on a boat before continuing to walk along the coast the next day. This was actually my first time spending the night on a boat and found I loved it - of course, having someone make us a huge dinner and give us all the wine we could drink constantly being poured in very large glasses, probably helped. After finishing the evening by staring at the most beautiful starry sky we've seen yet, and after listening to Jordan quietly hum "Southern Cross" by CSN (over and over), we crashed for the night. The next day, after being packed off with sandwich lunches, like mom sending us off to school, we continued hiking along the same path we had previously come by kayak. After a lovely day of more beautiful scenery and blue skies, we aqua-taxied back to the park entrance and drove our 3-hubcapped car along "Lombard St" into Nelson, where our hostel had free soup waiting for us. Yes, the highlight of the two days just might have been that free (!) scrumptious vegetable soup.
Now, we are off to do more hiking ("tramping" here in NZ) in Nelson Lakes and hopefully along one of New Zealand's hikes known as the "Great Walks," Heaphy Track.
Hope everyone is doing well, we'll talk to you soon.
Also, we hope those on the East Coast have recovered from the blackout, we are not sorry that we missed it.
P.S. There seems to have been a bit of confusion re: our last entry "Turangi 2 - Love is a Volcano" (by the way, if you want to know why this title email Jordan). Just to clear things up, to hike the Tongariro Crossing, we used "crampons" and "ice axes," not "tampons" and a "nice Lexus." Jordan thinks Paul needs to get his eyes checked.
