Abel Tasman National Park - Wainui Bay

We had left the Christmas party and planned to go straight to Abel Tasman. We drove up the hills, past Hawkes Lookout, which we had visited before. Just when we started to descend into the valley on the other side, the road was blocked by police and firefighters. An abandoned van was leaking diesel and made the road slick, right in a hairpin bend. Poor guys, being called out on Christmas day. A small lookout point overlooked the action on one side, and the wide valley on the other side.

We parked late in the parking lot at the start of next day's hike. Other campgrounds in the area were more like resorts, and charged like it too. A rough, dirt road led to the parking lot, and we figured we could stay there. But unfortunately, a ranger knocked the following morning. Oops! We were lucky to get away with just a warning.

We had planned the day to do the hike at low tide. An exposed mudflat was dotted with small holes, dug by crabs. Most of the hike was along the beach, and accasionally we had to hop over big boulders covered in small mussles. They would flood at high tide. We had to climb up to highground a few times, but then slowly decended through a forest again. At the end of the hike, a large headland marked where a large Maori settlement had stood. It was called "Taupo Pa" and was already influenced by Europeans in 1844. The clearings of the village were still visible. We spotted shags for the first time. They look a little like penguins but they fly.Read more