Out to Abel Tasman

After a good night sleep, I got on the road heading towards Abel Tasman National Park. People talk so much about this place so I wanted to try and get as much time in as possible before I have to leave. On my way, I passed these fields of things that I thought were grape vines but they hung upside down so I had to pull over and take a closer look. They were actually large fields of Hops! So cool to see them all over the place, as we don’t get to see them back home (well at least I don’t).

My drive to Abel Tasman was pretty uneventful and boring, although I did book a room on a boat for a night out in the Tasman Bay/Sea. I think I am making a point to at least get myself into every body of water on coasts as I can, even if it means just to my knees (some of this water is unbearably cold!!) So I am looking forward to that. Tonight I booked into a holiday park and am right across from the Tasman Bay which is beautiful! The sand is quite course, but it is of a golden color. The tide was going out by the time I made it to the beach, so the water was shallow for about 50 yards or so, but that was OK with me. No need to rush into cold water if I don’t need to. And to my surprise, this water was really nice!!! Not freezing cold and not too warm, just right, after you got through the initial cool chill. (Yes I said it wasn’t cold, but most ocean water takes some getting used to). You couldn’t see the bottom because it was stirred up so much from so many people being in it, but the sand was nice and soft under my feet, and I am sure that the ocean water was doing wonders for all of the bites on my feet.

I went back to my camping area and got ready to grab a bite to eat. I brought my laptop with me so that I could at least write down things that I have been doing so that I don’t forget. I ordered my dinner of fish and chips and asked 2 guys if they minded if I sat at a table with one of them. They didn’t mind so I joined them and started to update my adventures. I overheard their conversation about the pros and cons to traveling with someone and alone. So of course I had to politely invite myself into their conversation. They were great company that evening. Terry was from England and Wade is from Toronto. They both live in Christchurch now as they are doing contract work there. Wade and I had a bunch to talk about since he was familiar with and liked the sports that I do as well. After a pitcher (or jug as they call it here) we all called it a night and parted ways. It would have been nice to exchange information with Wade but nothing I can do now lol, plus he was a bit young for this lady.