Happy New Year

• Teamroadtrip's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Riwaka

Trip Start Sep 20, 2006 Previous
Entry Trip End May 01, 2007 Next
Entry

  Riwaka, New Zealand
Monday, January 1, 2007

Well it is has been a little while since we updated our travel blog... so here is what we have been up to in the last couple of weeks.  Before Christmas James and I began our kayaking/tramping adventure into the Abel Tasman National Park.  The first day was a bit rainy, with periods of the sun trying to make its way out from behind the clouds. We were set up in a tandem FG sea kayak, given a few instructions and map, and made our way out to TePukatea Bay.  We camped for the night in the company of a few other paddlers and hikers. The next morning we awoke to cloudy/stormy conditions. We were told that kayaking would be okay as long as the winds were not to bad.  We packed everything up, loaded the boat and headed towards the high seas. There was little wind, but the swells were pretty large.  There were a few stretches of kayaking where we had to avoid a reef and several rocks. We got through the first one and the swells seem to have gotten a bit bigger and decided to head inland for a short break to wait out the weather and hope for a calmer paddle.  On the approach to the shore, James got out of the boat first and then I did only after being hit with a wave and getting soaked from the waist down...now, most of the time this wouldn't be to bad, but the air was a little chilly and the light breeze didn't make things better.  I saw a guide that I recognized from the day before and asked about the next stretch of paddling. He was planning on taking his clients and we conviently left at the same time they did.  We managed to get to the next large bay without any problems and made a dry landing, set up camp, and changed clothes. 
The next morning the sun was shinning and we set off on our first day of hiking. It wasn't a very stressful day of hiking, but we did have 2 tidal crossings to do, one by 8:30am and the other around 5pm.  Between the two we only had about 2.5 hours of hiking to accomplish. We took the day slow and stopped into Awaroa Lodge (Heidi and Cam use to manage it) for a light lunch and coffee. The sun was shinning for most of the day and our day was put on pause a few times as the ocean tides came in and out.  We took the time to work on wedding plans and other future ideas:)
At the second tidal crossing there was a group of yahoos that tried crossing before the tide was out. It was slightly amusing to watch them take one step and see less and less of them. I think at one point the water was up to there chest.  We took our time and waited until the water was well below the knee before crossing. Our destination for the night was Anapi Bay and the track took us through a drive in camp ground at Tataruni Bay. We were again amused at the level of camping these kiwis are capable of; solar showers, wind screens, satelite dishes, carvan after caravan, tents linked together, and if our camera battery was not almost dead, I would have taken a photo as proof to the ultimate car camping set up.
The next morning we were greeted with light showers and surging ocean waves pounding the beach. We decided to sleep in a bit and hope for the weather to clear. It never really did and we packed up our tent after attempting breakfast and carried on our journey. On the beach we saw our second seal during the trip and tried to follow it a bit, but the high tide and lack of track got in the way. Our camp for the night was an old homestead that they converted into a hut and camping area for trampers. It was nice to have filtered water and a shelter if we needed the protection. Ranger Grahm kept us company and told us stories of the area and the details of his job.  The park recently switched from long drop toilets to flushers and one of his jobs is to record a number on the inside of the door to determine how many visitors the toilet had within 24 hrs. The nearest to our tent had 50 that day. The weather finally cleared and the sky became blue as the sun was setting behind the hill. We had our only camp fire of our trip so far and attempted to sing Chrismas carols to those passing by.
The next morning the sun was shining for James' birthday and Christmas Eve. We made our way to the trail head and walked a bit before being picked up by two German tourists. Our destination was Ligre Bay (Camp Camp-A-Lot as we commonly called it) to meet up with the rest of the gang. Heidi had planned on picking us up, but decided that hitching on Christmas Eve with a Santa hat on would be pretty easy. We set up our tent in the sea of caravans, tents, picnic tables, sink, freezer, and water supply (hot and cold). We were definately living a luxurious camping experience.
After a warm shower at the relatives house we helped to get Christmas eve underway and bundle up for the cold night ahead. The next morning the 7 kids were excited to open presents and have a yummy breakfast of pancakes, berries, cream, and bacon. James played Santa Clause for the kids and handed out the presents to everyone. We went to the beach for a swim in the ocean and a bit of kayaking as well. The dinner was quite the feast with prawns, scallops, wild boar, turkey, salads, potatos, and a few other kinds of meat.  The whole day was  fun and amusing to see how the other side of the world celebrates bringing in the holidays.
Around midnight James got a little bit sick and I ended up cleaning up the projectile vomit throughout the tent with a head lamp and a bowl of soapy warm water. We think it was the mound of food (scallops specifically) in conjuction with a little bit of the drink that cause such a reaction. It was a long night and was eager to get things cleaned up with some day light.  He slowly got better and still can't think about certain sea food without feeling a bit sick.
We came back that night to the house and relaxed, unpacked, and a few loads of wash. We cleaned the strawbale accomodation for new guests and took it easy the next day.  Our adventures have been minimal the past couple of days and we are settling in quite nicely to life here in Riwaka. James is determined to train the chickens to lay eggs in the coop and not have to chase after them when they escape. We are working in the garden and did a bit of garlic harvesting, planting, and weeding yesterday. All in all we are quite happy here and enjoying the sunshine and warm weather.
It has been a good year for us both and we are looking forward the year ahead with the changes that are to come. James is going to law school (hopefully in Montana), we are getting married, and moving across the country. Life doesn't get much better than this.
We hope you all had a lovely Christmas and wish you the best this New Year!
Carol Lynn & James
 

Slideshow Share

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Hiking to Mt Arthor	James and baby Jack	James as Kayaking Santa	James at Ligre Bay... helping out
James the Santa	Kayaking Anchorage Bay	Merry Christmas from James	Mountain Biking in the Keiteriteri Forest
Onetahuti Bay sunrise, Abel Tasman NP	Our view at Christmas of Ligre Bay	Poppy in the garden	Pretty flower from the garden
TePuketa Kayak	View from the porch at Pah Rd	View from the Top of Mt Arthor

Previous Entry Next Entry