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After an eventful last night in Wellington I was up at 5.30am after very little sleep, to get showered and have breakfast by 6.45am in order to take the short 10 minute walk from the Wellywood Backpackers where I was staying to the YHA hostel which is where the Kiwi Experience bus was picking us up from at 7am! We were picked up from outside the YHA by Bex who was to be my bus driver for the day, but we weren't picked up in a typical Kiwi bus, we were picked up in an ordinary bus, meaning we had to carry all our backpacks on board with us as there was no luggage space beneath the bus, so it was a tight squeeze, but we were only on it for about 10 minutes as we made our way to the ferry terminal! Bex was a very scatty bus driver, she was as nutty as a fruit cake and didn't shut up but she was pleasant enough and good at her job!
Once at the Wellington ferry terminal we were given a tag to put around our backpacks with the destination 'Picton' written on them! Then we given our ferry tickets and told to disembark the bus and head to the check in area at the ferry terminal where we checked in our bags and off they went on the conveyor belt onto the ferry! After this we boarded the ferry, and found a comfortable reclining leather seat for the duration of the journey, as it we were aboard for 3 hours in total! For the whole time we were on the ferry they played 'Come dine with me' on the TV, with back to back episodes, and all the contestants were from Ipswich! I sat and wrote my blogs for the duration of the crossing over the Cook Strait, which made the 3 hours fly by, I hadn't even realised that we were moving until 30 minutes into the ferry journey! We left the Wellington Ferry Terminal at 8.45am, and cruised over the Cook Straight which is the name of the section of water that divides the north and south island in New Zealand! In the journey we passed through the Queen Charlotte Sound! Picton was where the ferry was heading to, which is the gateway to the Marlborough Sounds! With secluded, picturesque coves and beaches, beautiful native bush and pleasant weather, the Marlborough Sounds are a New Zealand tourism jewel. Maori have lived here for generations and the area is the subject of much folklore and legend!
We arrived at Picton ferry terminal at about 11.45am, but due to the sheer numbers of people on board we didn't actually get off the ferry until at least 12.15pm, and then we had to head for the luggage collection point where we were waiting for about 10 minutes before our luggage was returned to us, then we boarded our new Kiwi bus which was waiting for us just outside the terminal, once everyone was aboard we set off towards Nelson which is was our last port of call for that day! Bex was still the driver of the bus, which gained a few more passengers who met us at the ferry terminal in Picton as they were going to be travelling around the south island with us!
From Picton, we headed out via the scenic Marlborough Valley, which is abundant in vineyards along the steep hillsides! The Marlborough region is world famous for its delicious Sauvignon Blanc variety of wines! We then passed through a small town called Havelock. Havelock's main claim to fame is that it is the 'Greenshell Mussel Capital of the World'. We then stopped for lunch at around 2pm after an hour on the bus on the South Island at the Pelorus Reserve. We stopped here for approximately half hour and as it was a gloriously sunny day, we all got an ice cream which were amazing value, they were NZ$3 for a double scoop of ice cream, but it wasn't any ordinary double scoop, the portions were humongous, so we all munched our way through these huge ice creams, I decided to go for orange flavour for my first scoop and cookies and cream for my second, and the cookies and cream flavour was to die for! From here we travelled directly into Nelson, which stands on the shores of Port Nelson, and is partly sheltered by its location at the head of Tasman Bay. Nelson has developed into one of the South Island's most diverse agricultural centres. The main products are fruits, hops, timber and a wide variety of vegetables. Nelson is also New Zealand's largest fishing port. The city itself is bright and cosmopolitan, and has an active arts and crafts community!
The hostel that the majority of the Kiwi bus stayed at the first night was a place called Fern Lodge, it was a short walk from the city centre, and like most cities in New Zealand, it was tiny, literally quarter of the size of Colchester...if that! We were sat in the bar while the hostel owners went through a few things with us about what to expect from our nights stay and then we checked in, I was put in a room with 5 other girls....so I weren't complaining!
I was going to be staying in Nelson for four nights not through choice, but because originally I had wanted to just stay the one night, however I was recommended to stay for two as I had been told that it was a nice place, but when it came to booking my bus out of Nelson, it was fully booked after two nights, so I asked I could leave after the third night, to which I was told that there was no bus running as we were heading into Winter and the Kiwi Experience was lowering the number of days that its buses ran from 7 days to 5 days a week, so in the end I had to settle for 4 nights and even then I was put on a waitlist and wasn't guaranteed a seat until 8pm the night before departure! I booked into Fern Lodge for my first night as that is where we had been dropped off and was where the rest of the people I had met on the bus were staying, but as they were leaving the next day, I decided to go in search of a different hostel in the area that I could stay at for the forthcoming three nights, as although Fern Lodge was nice it was expensive for what it offered at NZ$27, and I wanted to find somewhere that had free wifi!
So at around 4pm once I had got my stuff sorted in the hostel I quickly called in at the information centre to find out what my options were regarding accommodation, I had a quick browse through, picked up a map and went in search of the hostels I had sort listed, the main thing I looked for was the free wifi but I also wanted it to be pretty central to the city! After not being able to find some of the hostels that I was looking for and also not being able to access some of the hostels reception areas that I visited because it was locked up, I found this hostel called Shortbread Cottage, and after ringing the bell to notify the owner that I was there, I booked in at that hostel for the next three nights, not knowing too much about it, apart from the fact it had free wifi! From here I left knowing I had somewhere to stay the next night and was satisfied after it was getting towards 6pm and the sun was setting and I struggled to find somewhere! So on my way back to Fern Lodge, I called in at the local supermarket which was Woolworths and stocked up on food supplies!
I was chatting to the girls in my room for a while before going on my net book, then I had my dinner at around 9pm, the kitchen was tiny and there was hardly room to move so it was a good job there were very few of us in there, but my pasta and sauce filled me up, and after a bit more chit chat, I had an early night! The next morning I was up at 9am to ensure that I was showered and checked out of Fern Lodge by 10am. From here I went straight to Shortbread Cottage which was a 10-15 minute walk away, with my outrageously heavy backpack on it was a 15 minute walk meaning I arrived at around 10.15am, and rung the bell once again to let the owner know I had arrived, he came straight out of his living quarters, as the hostel was basically in his house, he just lived in a separate part of the house, and he greeted me, I put my bags down and was firstly told to take my shoes off as I entered the building and put them on the rack, which made we think that the hostel was going to be very clean...and it was! From here I was shown around the hostel, firstly I was told about the free tea and coffee, then I was shown the TV lounge area, which had a log fire which meant it was so warm and cosy at night, after being shown the bathrooms I was shown to my room, the bed was being made up so I couldn't chuck my stuff in there at that moment so I went and made myself some breakfast, which was corn flakes as ever but I could have sugar on them which felt like luxury and with a cup of tea! It was like heaven as I sat and ate it, in a real nice environment at the hostel, it was a very small hostel but if felt so homely and provided me with everything I could possibly need! After breakfast I quickly made use of the free wifi which was such a bonus to check my emails, then my room was ready for me to move into so I took my backpack to my room and got it all organised as I was going to be here a couple of nights I could afford to unpack a little! Then on my pillow I saw a shortbread biscuit which was wrapped up, and staring at me saying eat me but I resisted until later and had it after my dinner, I was so shocked that we were given free shortbread, but I suppose the name gave it away really!
It was about midday by the time I got out of the hostel to check out what Nelson had to offer, but firstly I took a stroll along the Maitai River, before finding the entrance in the mountainside that had a guided path up to the top which is where the geographical centre of New Zealand lays, so after getting the obligatory photo to show I have been to the centre of New Zealand I ate my lunch at a nearby seat before making my way down the hillside, and venturing off through the neighbourhood at the bottom of the mountains and into some Japanese gardens which were situated nearby, these were pretty cool, especially seeing the variety of fish swimming in the little stream located within the gardens which were fairly small! I made my way back to the hostel from here; it took about an hour to walk back as I passed through the city centre to get to my hostel at around 5pm! I decided to go on my net book before making dinner which again was pasta and sauce after which I settled down in front of the log fire, whilst watching TV and surfing the net on my net book with a nice warm cup of tea and a lovely shortbread biscuit....and it was moments like this that made me love travelling so much, the hostel was perfect for a lazy night in! I didn't get to bed until around midnight as I was so cosy on the sofas, so had to be careful not to wake anyone as I tried to find my way round the dorm in the dark!
The next morning I woke at around 10am, and had my breakfast and got showered before I was allowed to do my laundry which I was in dire need to do! It took about one hour for it to wash so I went on the internet whilst I waited, then when it had finished I hung it up on the washing line outside as it was a lovely day! Then I went out for the day, I had decided to do one of the many walks on offer in the local area today, the name of the walk was the Dun Mountains Walkway, and it was meant to be a loop track but after getting lost multiple times, I lost the track and decided to go back on myself but it still a cool walk into the forests and trees that made up Nelsons backdrop! From here I made my way to the supermarket, so I could decide what I wanted for dinner, I chose to get potatoes that I could make into wedges as well as Frankfurters and corn on the cob! I also had to consider what I was going to take with me to the Abel Tasman National Park the next day as I was taking a trip there so I brought some jam and some bread and made some jam sandwiches, even though I had never even liked jam except from in cakes, but it was the cheapest sandwich filling so that's what I had to settle for, and after a few days I was actually addicted to jam sandwiches!
Once back at the hostel it was starting to get dark so I brought my washing in from off of the line but it wasn't quite dry so I put it in the tumble dryer for a while until it was lovely and warm, then I put all my clean washing into my backpack! By this time I was starting to get hungry so got my dinner on the go, I was being quite adventurous tonight compared to the usual dinner and after a little blip in working out how to get the oven on (I weren't the only one that didn't know how as it was a little tricky to work) I put my potatoes into the oven which had been chopped up into wedges, then waited a while before putting a herb flavour over them which came out of a packet! I made my sandwiches for the next day whilst I waited for them to cook, then I got the water boiling for my sausages and corn on the cob, before it all came together and my dinner was ready and it was gorgeous and made a right change to pasta! After this I had a lot of washing up to get through, before I went on the internet briefly before getting an early night as I had to be up early the next morning for Abel Tasman!
I actually awoke at 5.30am that Sunday as the bus that was taking me to the Abel Tasman National Park was picking me up from outside my hostel at 6.30am! But the driver actually got there early and came into the hostel kitchen to find me! Once aboard we had a few other hostel pickups where we gained more passengers but the bus was still less than half full, then we made the hour and a half journey from Nelson to Abel Tasman, which is New Zealand's smallest National Park however there most visited! We made a couple of stops along the way there meaning we arrived at the check in desk at around 8.30am! The trip that I was doing was with a company called Kaiteriteri Kayaks, so I think I was right to assume that the trip I was doing included some kayaking, even if it were a small amount! But upon checking in I found this was not to be the case, as my ticket that I had brought didn't not include any kayaking just transport to and from the Park of water taxis and the bus back to and from Nelson, as well as access to the Park! I would have been disappointed however we were told that we had not come on a good day weather wise as were expecting a storm anytime, and so the people that did have kayaking included in their pass didn't get as much time on the water as they should have done as the conditions were terrible for kayaking! We had a short wait upon checking in before we were allowed to board the water taxi at 9am; we were driven to the water's edge whilst attached to a tractor and then released into the water where we sped away as the water taxi was just a very large speed boat which could hold around about 15 people!
The name of the trip that I was doing was called Seals and Sand, we travelled from Kaiteriteri to Onetahuti on the water taxi, cruising past radiant beaches, stunning bays and deserted coves along the way! We stopped for wildlife, stories and must have photos along the way of this wonderful area! Along the way we passed Tonga Island Marine Reserve, home of the New Zealand fur seal and there were many chilling out and being lazy on the rocks as seals so, there were even some pups which looked so cute! Although the storm was holding off for our journey to Onetahuti, the sky was very overcast and cloudy and the conditions in the sea were very choppy meaning whilst travelling along we were constantly going up steep waves and then floating mid air before crashing into the sea, which made us all feel really sick! Upon arriving at Onetahuti, I got changed out of my flip flops and swim shorts which hadn't got any use out of them because of the freezing conditions and into warmer jeans and trainers which were also more suitable for walking in, I also put on a rain jacket to keep me dry!
Then from Onetahuti we started our walk along one of the best chunks of the coastal track in the Abel Tasman National Park through native bush, across the Fall River swing bridge and into Torrent Bay where we were being picked up from on the water taxi as this was the only method of transport within the park as there were no roads, even for the few local residents that only live there because it was their home before the area was made into a National Park, the houses have been known to reach NZ$4 million from memory, just because of their location but they have only recently reached this value after a surge in price in recent years! The walk took about 3 and a half hours to get from Onetahuti to Torrent Bay and it was very demanding, being uphill the majority of the way, we did stop every so often for a good photo, and also at Bark Bay where we stopped for lunch for half hour, so I got to have me jam sarnies at this point which I had prepared the night before! It was a great walk along the coastline, especially as the storm and rain had held off the whole way, but when we reached Torrent Bay at around 2.45pm we were sitting down waiting for the Water Taxi to come and pick us up at 3.15pm when the heavens opened as the anticipated storm had arrived, this made us dart for cover, until about 3.10pm when we made our way out to where the sea had gone out to, as this is where the Water Taxi was going to pick us up from, so we all walked along the sand trying to avoid the puddles of water that had been left behind when the tide had gone out, being blasted by the rain storm every step that we took! When we reached the edge of the sea, we all waited on the rocks for the Water Taxi to turn up, 3.15pm had been and gone which is the time the driver wanted us to be there for and he was very strict and adamant that we were here at this time when he dropped us off earlier that day, so it was very surprising that he hadn't arrived on time, time kept passing by very slowly with us getting wet the entire time, which made us cold especially when big gusts of wind caught us, until around 4pm (when we were all very restless as the Water Taxi was 45 minutes late) when the Water Taxi arrived much to our relief after many sightings of boats that passed us by in the sea not to pick us up! After a right kerfuffle, with everyone clambering to get out of the rain onto this Water Taxi we all squeezed in, meaning that it was well over its designed capacity so it was a tight fit! Getting onto the Water Taxi wasn't without disaster though, as the Taxi stopped about 5 meters out into the sea and the driver insisted that we had to walk through the sea to board the Taxi, this meant taking off my shoes and socks and rolling up my jeans and holding all my belongings up in the air so they didn't go for a dip in the sea despite being wet already, then about half way towards the Taxi, my jeans unrolled themselves and got soaking wet in the sea, as my hands were full I couldn't pull them up so I made the rest of the journey to the Taxi with my jeans in the water, this meant upon boarding I was dripping wet from head to foot, along with everyone else who was crammed on board!
We were given a sufficient reason as to why the Taxi was late however as we were told someone had got stranded out at sea in the storm so they had to go and help these people! This satisfied even the most annoyed people amongst us! The journey back to Kaiteriteri was not a smooth one however, the storm was now at its greatest, and the whole way back we were being chased by this monstrous wave in the most extreme conditions, I was sat at the back of the taxi and was being rained on constantly, I was already soaking by this point, so really couldn't care less anymore which is how everyone else felt, it really couldn't get any worse! Again we slammed into the sea the whole way back making us feel really sick, but the conditions really were appalling, making the lifejackets feel really worthwhile! Once back at Kaiteriteri we were all so relieved to be on dry land, the tractor travelled along the sand to pick us up and then took us the short journey along the road to where the Water Taxis base was, here I got changed out of my sodden wet jeans and into my swim shorts before we boarded the bus back to Nelson at around 4pm, the bus home was full to capacity, and it didn't help when it broke down for 5 minutes at the front of some road works but thankfully and miraculously the vehicle came back to life after mild panic from the drivers and we arrived back at our various hostels at around 6pm, on the way back we did pick up a 60ish year old woman hitchhiker who was stuck in the rain, but there was no space for her aboard the bus so the driver put her in the luggage compartment which she was only too pleased about until there was space on the bus when people got off!
I had never been so relieved to be back at my hostel after such a long day, I did enjoy my trip to Abel Tasman and am glad I went but it would have been so much more enjoyable had the weather been favourable towards us! It was so good to be in front of the log fire in the warmth to dry off; I even hung my clothes around the fire in order for them to dry off! After really enjoying a nice cup of tea and a shortbread biscuit which as always was lying on my pillow when I returned, I had to pack my bag ready to leave Nelson in the morning! I also phoned up the Kiwi office just to confirm that I was off of the waitlist and on the bus to Westport in the morning which I was much to my relief! Then I made my dinner which I couldn't have enjoyed more, it was the same as the previous night, meaning I had avoided pasta two nights in a row! I went on Skype to the family once more that night as I knew it would be the last time possible until Queenstown with the use of free wifi! After this I got my future hostels booked up and made use of the free wifi for the last time before settling down to bed at around 11pm...absolutely knackered after an exhausting day and one that will never be forgotten, we had such bad weather and got caught in the storm which made it so much more memorable and more of an unforgettable experience! It was unsurprisingly very easy to get to sleep that night no matter how much noise was being made!
Love Toby xxx
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