Top of the South - Getting There
Throughout all of our New Zealand excursions, it has been repeatedly recommended to us to visit Abel Tasman National Park. Situated at the top of the South Island, Abel Tasman is renowned for its golden, sandy beaches and beautiful, clear, turquoise waters. Sea kayaking around the coves that are inaccessible by land and tramping some of the best walks in the country make this area immensely popular.
Since it is Labour Weekend (Monday, 26 October off work, yay!), we decided to hire a car and head out. I left work at lunchtime Friday since it became clear that most potential clients had already done the same. Rus still had to finish up work (and also had to put in a few hours today; hence, why I am able to write this from our trip!). We packed, loaded up the car, and were on the road by nearly 5:00PM.
We thought it would be about a five hour drive and anticipated arriving around 10:00PM. We ran into a slight delay getting out of Christchurch (read: about 10 minutes), and drove through some more beautiful country. After about 90 minutes into the trip, we were in (for us) uncharted territory, but it was “more of the same” - more beautiful mountains, raging blue rivers, sheep country, and wet forests.
Eventually, we were getting hungry. It was getting late, and towns were few and far between. We stopped at a very small town cafe that was just closing for the night. Though we were unable to eat anything, mercifully, they still let us use their toilets! We endured until we came upon a small town called Murchinson. This was the largest town we had seen since leaving the outskirts of Christchurch. There was even a small supermarket (and by small, I mean, convenience store-size small)! We chose one of the two tavern/restaurants there and ordered meals that seemed to take forever to be served. Brett and I shared a lovely vegetable soup and what was called the Commercial Hamburger (”Commercial” was the name of the restaurant, an old inn). The Commercial Burger is a typical Kiwi hamburger (even found in fast food restaurants like McDonalds and Burger King) - which consists of a burger patty, cheese, sauteed onions, lettuce, tomato, “tomato sauce” (ketchup), fried egg, beets, pineapple, and bacon (shoulder bacon, more like a slice of ham). Yes, beets, egg, and pineapple. Brett and I also shared this, and it turned out to be a good thing since it was about eight inches tall and served with enough chips (french fries) for all three of us to share.
Once we were satiated, we were back on the road. It was 9:15PM, and we still had about two hours ahead of us. I had booked us into a holiday park in Kaiteriteri - right on the beach and right at the foot of Abel Tasman National Park. It was dark now, raining, and the roads were mostly empty. Rus was a champ and drove the whole way.
Finally, after jamming through a very decent collection of classic rock and 80s tunes, we arrived in Kaiteriteri around 11:30PM, and looked for the holiday park. When I say “looked”, it means that there was no stated address, and since the town is so small, we should be able to “look” and find it. Furthermore, when I booked the cabin, I told the receptionist that we would be arriving late, and she said, “No problem, if it’s after 7:30, we’ll just leave the cabin unlocked for you”. How’s that for down home service?! Sure enough, we found our cabin, Cabin #8, and stepped inside.
This cabin was basic, no-frills accommodation - a bunk bed, a double bed, a desk and four chairs - all built in. The room, self-contained, is about 12 x 12 - and pretty much perfect for our requirements. We were exhausted, so, without even showering, we set up our sleeping bags, brushed our teeth, and went to bed.
When we awoke the next morning, we were able to truly examine our spectacular surroundings…
