Homeward Bound

We needed to be on the road to Christchurch by 11:30 a.m. to get to the airport in time. After breakfast. we stopped in town to shop for some gifts for back home – and picked up a few things for ourselves as well – and then we were on our way.

The 2.5 hour drive to Christchurch was uneventful. Well, almost. There was one last magical little moment to end our vacation.

A few days before, when we were still on the West coast, we had stopped for dinner at the picturesque little restaurant, the Bay House, outside of Westport. I had ordered a glass of Riesling. They had been out of the kind I ordered so they had upgraded me to another kind, from the Greystone Vineyard. It was delightful – probably the best wine I had ever tasted (and most who know me, know that I am not an avid wine drinker). We had kept saying that we would look up the vineyard to find it, but we had kept forgetting and we passed through wine country already and never saw it.

About 30 minutes North of Christchurch I suddenly remembered that I forget to look up the vineyard – and I despaired to Dave that sadly it was too late. Then literally, a minute later, there was the sign to the Greystone Winery. It was a complete and wonderful coincidence – especially for it to be so far out of wine country and a tiny little place right on the road toward the airport. If I hadn’t just mentioned it, we would likely have not even noticed the sign.

So we pulled in and I found my wine. We bought a bottle (only enough room for one to take home) and stood there and lamented that we couldn't purchase and transport more. Just another reason to return to New Zealand I suppose.

Happy to have found a bottle of the Greystone wine!

From that point on, we were in travel mode. We arrived at the airport with no problem, plenty of time. We had a really nice airport lunch of Thai noodles and a last bottle of my favorite New Zealand cider. And we arrived at the gate for our short flight to Auckland with plenty of time to spare.

The first flight was short and sweet, as was the transfer to our long flight across the ocean. The 12 hours were a lot easier this time. We had dinner, watched two movies and then fell sound asleep – despite some pretty bad turbulence out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

We were dazed, exhausted and confused in the San Francisco airport, but again (knock on wood) everything went smoothly. We’re now on our flight across the U.S. back to D.C. Dave is looking down on our beloved Rocky Mountains and has already pointed out some of our favorite places – Crested Butte, Aspen, Vail – and he thinks he may have even seen our favorite mountain, Sneffles.  The good news is that we will be returning to all of those places in just a few short months. It’s always good to make sure your next vacation is planned before your current one is over.

(Dave just identified Leadville and our first 14er, Mt. Elbert. Nothing like seeing our favorite places in Colorado from up high. We’ll be back soon!)

So we arrive home at 9 p.m. Monday night. But we left New Zealand 24 hours ago at 4:30 p.m. Monday night. My head is confused. Somehow we’ll have to figure out how to tackle being back at work tomorrow. It’ll take awhile to recover and adjust back to life, that is for certain.

I’m off to nap. But I’ll be back with some final thoughts in the next few days to wrap up our amazing New Zealand adventure. 

One Last Sunset

The vacation was winding down. Our first step was to pack up and leave Abel Tasman. The trip out was a lot easier than the trip in. At 11 a.m., as scheduled, the water taxi arrived and the lodge porter trekked our bags down to the beach and up onto the boat. The weather was cold and rainy, to match our moods – so we bundled up in rain jackets and boarded the indoor section of the boat. The ride back to our car was a little over an hour. By the end, the sun was shining through a bit, so we went out on the deck to take in the wind, ocean and sun one last time.

Today we had about five hours of driving to reach the city of Kaikoura. We got back to our car and left Kaiteriteri to go find lunch. This afternoon, we had time to go to Jellyfish, a restaurant in a small beach town along the way that I had wanted to try. We sat at a table outside on the docks overlooking where a river met the sea and watched the locals enjoying a partly sunny Sunday on the water. Dave had a spicy Thai salad and I had a lamb burger and a three-berry cider.

From there we had a lot of driving ahead of us, and unfortunately not as much time as we would have liked to explore. We just kept telling each other that it left more to see next time. We drove back along the Northern edge of the island and back down through the Marlborough Sounds and wine country. Once we hit the east coast we started the almost three-hour drive south along the shoreline.

As we got closer to Kaikoura, the eastern Seward Kaikoura Mountain Range came into view and provided some great scenery. We had missed the mountains over the past few days on the beach.

Spinning in the black powdery sand along the side of the road.

The mountains were coming back into view along the East Coast.

I scouted the rocks on the coastline as Dave drove. Suddenly, I spotted a seal or two, or three or four….Dave stopped the car so we could check them out. Once your eyes grew accustomed to the seals, you suddenly noticed that there were dozens and dozens of them sprawled all over the rocks. Even better, dozens of baby seal pups playing in the surf. I sat and watched them while Dave climbed down to their level and worked his magic with his camera.

Watching the seals from above.

We reached the Nikau Lodge in Kaikoura at about 7:30 p.m. as planned. It was a lovely, large, old home that the couple had covered into a B&B. It sat up high over the small town with gorgeous views of the beaches and mountains. We chatted with the owners and played fetch in the yard with Jack, the precocious little dog.

The Whale Room at the B&B.

The view from the B&B.

Kitchen and living room area.

It was our last night in New Zealand. Our dinner reservations were at the Green Dolphin for 8:30 p.m. It was highly recommended as the best restaurant in town, with great views over the mountains from the Kaikoura peninsula. It was a small place with lots of windows. We had a table with a front row view of the deep fiery rose sunset that blanketed the mountains. 

We had a perfect evening together. Wine, delicious food and reminiscing of our amazing vacation. We shared locally famous green-lipped mussels and breads with dips as a starter. Dave had the fresh fish on roasted new potatoes and steamed veggies. I had the buttery (also locally famous) crayfish. We talked ourselves out of dessert, but had coffee to wrap up the evening.

As the sun set the mountains ablaze with color we said our goodbyes to our journey. Sometimes after a long vacation, you are ready for home. But sometimes you want to keep going. Dave and I were just hitting our stride. There were so many places in this beautiful country to explore and neither of us felt finished yet. We fell asleep later that night with the windows open and the distant sounds of the ocean washing away our anticipation of the next day’s long trip home. I fought the end of the day because I didn't want the next day to steal everything away. But soon I was asleep. No matter how hard you try, time doesn't stand still and vacations never seem to last forever. 

Our last New Zealand sunset.

Beach Hiking

Saturday we woke up to another day of blue skies in Abel Tasman. The day before we had explored the coast to the South by boat – today our plan was to explore the coast North by foot. When it wasn't being beaten up by a storm, the track along the Abel Tasman coast was actually quite civilized. It was hard-pack dirt, well maintained and meandered gently along the beaches and the bush.

Our get-up-and-go was not get-up-and-going as it had been earlier in our vacation, so we decided to take it easy in the morning and relax until the 12:15 water taxi North. We had a leisurely breakfast at 9 a.m. and then read for a few hours.

The morning view from Awaroa Bay.

The boat arrived and this time it was a tame ride. No rolling waves or ramps waist deep in the ocean. We just walked on board and took the taxi to its Northern-most drop off point on the coast line about 20 minutes away.

Much more relaxing water taxi ride this time.

The beach North of us was reachable by cars, so there were a lot more people there. But remember, it’s New Zealand. So when you read things about a place being “crowded” it’s a relative term. From our perspective, it was still nice and quiet.

We found the track and hiked about 2.5 km North to a secluded beach that we had all to ourselves. We sat on a piece of driftwood and ate yummy sandwiches that the hotel prepared for us. Then I napped on the sand for about an hour while Dave did a close-up photo shoot with some native birds.

Hiking North along the coast.

By then it was almost 3 p.m. and we needed to start the long hike back to the hotel. We had to make sure to time it correctly because the only way to reach the lodge was to cross the Awaroa Inlet within two hours either side of low tide.

The hike back was about 8.5 km. It wasn't difficult but it wasn't easy. There were a few long hauls up and over from one bay to the next. The beaches were golden, the skies were blue and the walking was relaxing.

View from one of the high points on the way South.

We reached the inlet slightly past low tide. It was a large expanse of soaking wet sand, small running rivers of fresh water heading out to sea and countless birds feasting on the crabs that had come up for air. It was fun wading through the water and mucking through the wet sand. We stayed and played awhile.

Goat Bay on the hike South.

Crossing the Awaroa Inlet during low tide. 

Crossing the Awaroa Inlet. 

Dinner for the birds at low tide.

It took another 30 minutes or so from there to walk back to the lodge and we were ready to be back. For the past hour we had been craving adult beverages and food – so when we arrived we went straight for the bar to get my new favorite drink (sadly not available in the U.S.) Isaac’s Cider. We sat outside in the café and enjoyed the rewards of the day’s hike.

We got back to the room and split a bottle of Pino Gris that had been given to us at the hotel in Te Anau. It needed to be consumed before the trip home. We were kicking off our last night in Awaroa with style.

Dinner was lovely at the lodge restaurant. We treated ourselves to clams in coconut cream sauce along with breads and dip. For the main course, I had beef fillet on kumara cake and Dave had the fresh fish on prawn risotto. For dessert we had coffee and split a wonderful cheese platter with fruit, crackers and fig chutney. 

We were stuffed and rolled home. It was a really nice evening and a great way to wrap up our three days in paradise. Our vacation and our legs were slowing down.  There was no way we could strap those hiking boots on again anytime soon. We wanted to stay forever, but our bodies were telling us that it was time for home. 

Content in Paradise

What a difference a day makes. This morning, after a deep, decadent sleep, we woke up to paradise. The skies were blue and the birds were singing. This was the post card Abel Tasman.  

We dressed in the only clothes that made it in our overnight packs and headed to a late breakfast at 9:30. We were scheduled to meet our all-day kayaking tour shortly. Dave had pancakes and bacon. I had granola, yogurt, fruit and a fried egg. We befriended the waiter who told us to be sure to visit him at the pizza and beer café down on the hiking track later.

We were all covered in the strongest possible sunscreen and we started the 300m walk down to the beach. Halfway down the trail we found Kate, our kayaking guide, who was on her way to the resort to gather us. She was a cheery, native, New Zealander who told us we had a good-sized group today. There would be four kayaks, including hers. We could live with that.

We arrived on the beach. The peaceful, beautiful Awaroa Beach. The same beach that wouldn't welcome boats the day before. Now, it was a gentle, small bay, with a few people and four kayaks awaiting our arrival.

Gearing up for the day ahead.

After short introductions and a brief kayaking refresh, we were in our bright yellow boats and ready to paddle out for a full day of frolicking with seals in paradise.

Abel Tasman is an unusual national park. It is a short coastline at the Northern end of the South Island. It traces the coast above Nelson. It’s the smallest national park, but the most visited. Probably because of its golden sand beaches, turquoise blue waters, seals, sunshine and palm trees . There are no roads to reach it. You can either stay in a city to the North or South, hike through it, or be lucky enough to stay in a wilderness lodge tucked into its depths.

We kayaked along the coastline South from the lodge for about two hours. Hugging the rocks and checking out mama and daddy seals sunbathing and the baby seals anxious to learn how to swim (that comes next month for them).  Before low tide stole it away, we glided into Shag Harbor – a really special little inlet that was only a foot or two deep and only reachable when the water was high enough. It was tucked back into the rocks. Tropical bush leaning over the edges of the rocks into the water. A private spot in a busy national park.

Known as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Rock.

Heading into Shag Harbor.

Hanging out in Shag Harbor.

Leaving Shag Harbor, heading back out into the Tasman Sea.

After Shag Harbor, we paddled over to a small secluded beach. For the next hour we ate sandwiches, drank French press coffee and orange juice and enjoyed carrot cake. I collected shells. Dave went swimming in the ice-cold Tasman Sea. We chatted a lot with Kate and learned her six-year history as a kayak guide in Abel Tasman.

Dave swimming in the icy ocean.

Kayaks, resting during lunch.

When we finished lunch we paddled over to Tonga Island to pop in to a seal colony. Along the way, we saw some shy penguins diving and floating in the blue waters. They didn't appear long enough for photos, but they gave us glimpses of their sleek little bodies gliding through the waves.

The trip lasted five hours. It was a great workout, incredible views, beautiful sun, bright yellow boats and lots of smiles. Picture perfect.

Birds hanging out on the rocks around Tonga Island.

Enjoying a day of kayaking.

We ended the journey on the same beach that the boat dropped us off on the day before. Believe it or not, it’s actually a little slice of paradise. You could have never convinced us of that the day before. The sand was golden, the sea calm and blue to match the sky. We said goodbye to Kate and the other paddlers and we started our hike down the beach toward the trail.

What a difference a day makes. Tonga Island in the distance.

Once the water taxis took the other people away, we lingered for awhile, completely alone on this amazing beach. We waded in the surf and checked out the colorful sea life. Sand dollars, shells, crabs and angry sea gulls. We spent about an hour dragging our toes through the deliciously soft, warm sand. Then, like déjà vu (only the complete opposite) we put our shoes on in the same spot we did the day before. This time, we were dry and warm. And then we walked the hour back to the lodge. This time, with sun sparkling through the palm trees, and no thunder quickening our steps.

This is the same place we trudged through mayhem the day before.

The view from the trail back down onto the beach.

Sunshine sparkling through the palms.

It was about 6 p.m. and we emerged from the bush to the small Awaroa Lodge pizzeria and beer café where we found our waiter from breakfast that morning. We sat there under the sail canopies and enjoyed – you guessed it – pizza and beer on a wooden bench, with Eastern European techno and breezy palms and noisy birds. It was one of those extremely content moments in your life that you never forget.

The Awaroa Lodge through the bush on the Abel Tasman Track.

The way down to the lodge from the track.

Pizza and beer.

Contentment.

Dinner.

Awaroa Lodge's organic gardens.

After sharing a pizza and the ubiquitous sand fly bites, we worked our way back to our room and showered off the sand and sunscreen from the day. Hurried into clean clothes from our luggage (which had been delivered while we were out kayaking, as promised) and headed out to the Awaroa Lodge lounge area. For the past hour, Dave and I just shared a bottle of wine watching the sun go down. Dave was reading about New Zealand National Parks (planning the next trip here) while I was writing the blog about yesterday’s adventure. We just topped off with coffee and carrot cake and moved inside to the leather couches to read and finish today’s blog. A little surfer jam Jack Johnson on the overhead speakers, white wine is relaxing our senses and the warmth of today’s sun is still wrapping us in ease. 

Yesterday’s turmoil was replaced by a day of pure contentment. I couldn't image a more relaxed state of mind. And the good news is, we get to do it all again tomorrow.

Lounging with wine, carrot cake and coffee.

Our front porch. Just charge everything to room 13.