The perk of waking up early

We had a big day planned for today. Our ferry over to the North Island is tomorrow which meant we needed to be near Picton tonight. There was still a couple of things we wanted to do in the Abel Tasman area so we decided to get up early and get a good head start on the day. Our first stop was to Te Waikoropupu Springs which is a sacred place to the Maori people. We were the only ones there which made the place even more magical. We were so glad we arrived early because there was a beautiful mist layer over the water and you could see down through the crystal clear water to where the water was rising from. Every part of this loop walk felt mesmerising. The rivers and streams around spray out like roots through the forest and the water flows so incredibly fast but it hardly makes a sound. I could really see why the Maori people felt this was a sacred place. They've now also banned anyone from entering the waters or even touching it to respect the tradition of the people. It's definitely the most magical place we have been too and I genuinely felt moved by the atmosphere and feeling here. We made our way back to the van as another car pulled into the car park so it was even nicer to know we had spent the whole experience completely alone. We headed back on the road and drove to Waunui Falls, the other destination we wanted to visit before we leave the area. On route we stopped briefly at a view point and it was amazing to see Farewell Spit in all its entirety. We could just make out the cluster of trees where the lighthouse was where we had lunch yesterday. At the falls we were again the only car in the carpark when we began the walk. It was about an hour and half walk through the forest walking mainly alongside the river up to the waterfalls. With so many palm trees or cabbage trees as they are called here and greeny turquoise waters it did feel we were in a mini tropical paradise. The walk included crossing a swing bridge high above the river which offered some beautiful views of the waters below. We had a few friendly fantails follow us for quite a while trying to get any sandflies we were attracting. Eventually we made it to a very impressive waterfall at the end of the track. Typically as I was taking a photo of Nick I slipped and twisted one ankle which resulted in me falling down and hitting my knee into a rock. Luckily my phone didn't take too much damage in the fall but I grazed and cut my knee quite badly and the walk back was a little challenging. After a bit of first aid it was nice to stand and enjoy the waterfall before turning back. We passed many people on the return trip so again I'm glad we came early and got to experience it all alone. Back at the van and after a quick bite to eat we began the journey of driving towards Picton. I drove the first part towards Nelson and Nick did the second half. Luckily neither of us had headaches so the windy up and down roads didn't affect us too much this time. We had a break in Richmond by Nelson to stock up on some food. Nick's part of the journey took us down a very scenic road along the coast and in and out of the sounds of the top of the South Island. We were lucky enough to get one of 4 spaces available to freedom campers in a bay of one of these sounds. We're about 50 minutes from Picton so we have a little drive in the morning but we're in the closest free camping spot there is to the ferry. The view from the van is amazing and we arrived just as the sun was setting behind the hills. 2 minutes after we arrived another van turned up that had to leave because we'd taken the last spot. Funnily enough the van parked next to us is identical to ours so we both exchanged a lot of smiles when we pulled in and realised. Nick went to the toilet and when he'd been a while I went to see if he was okay to find him holding the toilet door open to let fantails fly in and out to get the bugs inside. At one point 3 were in there flying around catching all the flies. We ended our day with a walk over the rocks with the last of today's light. When we got back to the camper we discovered our house battery hasn't charged while driving as it should so we have no power for lights or our water pump. It'll be interesting trying to make drinks and wash up tomorrow with what little water we have.Read more