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.