Backpacking Part One: Nelson and Abel Tasman
✒️ Written by: Abbie
New Zealand's South Island has some incredible places on offer, but they are all very remote. Setting our eyes on all the sights was an absolute must, but how exactly to do so was a tricky problem that needed solving. After much research and deliberation, we decided to use the Intercity bus network to get us from A to B (then C to D to E, and so on...) and each purchased a Flexipass which we used right from Rotorua in the North Island down to the very South. After paying upfront for our Flexipasses with 60 hours of travel each, all we needed to do was book bus trips for no additional charge, and watch our remaining hours dwindle away.
After hopping round the North Island equipped with two huge suitcases and two rucksacks, we did not want to drag so much luggage around with us everywhere we went. Luckily, we were able to keep our suitcases at our family friends' house in Blenheim while we crammed everything we need for 11 days on the road in our two backpacks (which were relatively small by backpackers' standards).
Day 1 of our adventure wasn't too travel-heavy: just a two hour bus trip from Blenheim to Nelson. We arrived in Nelson in the early evening and got checked in to our first hostel, YHA Nelson. It was a lovely place, with helpful and friendly staff at the desk, a securely locked front door in the evening, good communal area, and plenty of (albeit small) bathrooms. The only problem was our dorm absolutely stank of sweaty feet. And much to my dismay, all the other residents of the 6 bed room were male. This being our first time staying in a hostel, we kind of braced ourselves and imagined the next week and a half being rather dire.
At the hostel reception with the help of the staff there, we booked a day trip for the following day to Abel Tasman National Park and got all sorted with the shuttle bus and water taxi times. Not quite ready to cook in a shared kitchen yet, we ate at an indie vegetarian restaurant and walked through a classic car gathering on the way. By the time we finished eating, even more cars had shown up at the gathering and we wandered round for a while, picking out our favourites and deciding which to buy one day. James was proud to see multiple 90s Mazda MX5s just like his own!
At a loss for what one does to pass the evening in a crowded hostel, we mooched around the city and enjoyed the arty, unique feel it has. We found an independent cinema and decided to watch Reminders of Him, which was a brilliant film. I was overjoyed to find that popcorn in NZ is both cheaper and tastier than in the UK—a true win for a popcorn fiend like me. Afterwards, we begrudgingly traipsed back to the hostel and had a rather sleepless night feeling the awkwardness of sharing a room with four sweaty strangers for the first time.
The next morning we woke up bright and early to catch the 7:15am shuttle bus right outside the hostel for Abel Tasman National Park. We grabbed our packups and hopped on the bus, arriving in Kaiteriteri on the fringe of the national park just in time to buy a coffee and some croissants before the 9am water taxi. The croissants and packups were definitely needed because in Abel Tasman—like many NZ national parks—there are no food shops, cafes, or drinkable water taps.
We found the correct water taxi and clambered on board just as it was getting ready to depart, excited to see what the national park would have on offer for us. The boat dropped us off on Medlands Beach in Bark Bay, but not before showing us the famous Split Apple Rock on the way and helping us spot a seal on the shoreline.
When we arrived at Medlands, we walked the plank down onto the beach and suddenly felt rather abandoned—watching the boat depart, leaving us alone (well, alone with many other tourists). And so, not wanting to waste a second we started our long trek down to Anchorage Bay where we would later be picked up again in the water taxi.
This is the route we took:
The weather was fantastic. It was warm enough to be comfortable in the shade while we hiked through valleys on our way down the coast. There was hardly a cloud in the sky. I was surprised (displeased) at how hilly the track was, having been told it was mainly flat. But we really couldn't complain as we reached headlands and lookouts where the ocean and forest met together, providing us with the most stunning views.
Like proper adventurers, we traversed the land and hopped over inlets with the help of these awesome swing bridges which dotted the coast. It's impossible not to feel like some kind of hobbit on a world-saving expedition when walking through remote wilderness and crossing perilous bouncing bridges with a destination we must arrive at, lest we become stranded here forever. (Bit of dramatisation there of course; I call it the Swing Bridge Effect.)
Just over half way through our walk, we reached Torrent Bay. Here there's two options: across the bay via a continuation of the Abel Tasman Coast Track, or around it via an area of waterfall named Cleopatra's Pool. We did the latter because the tide was too high and we couldn't take the shorter route. I'm glad we did though, because taking the detour to Cleopatra's Pool added a whole other experience to our day. We tucked into our lunch sitting on top of a huge boulder in the middle of the stream, watched a weka bird pecking around for any leftovers we may have left, then took a very cold dip in the pool.
After we dried off instantly in the sun and got back on the main path, we tackled the last leg of the 12km walk, checking our watches to make sure we would make it to Anchorage Bay in time for the water taxi home. We pressed on and, luckily, made it back with enough time for a swim in the ocean and a spot of sunbathing on the soft sand.
The boat arrived on time and pulled itself up onto the beach, where we walked back up the plank and onto the deck for another scenic trip along the coast of Abel Tasman. We were dropped back off at Kaiteriteri, where the shuttle bus waited to take us back to reality in Nelson. This national park is truly worth a visit, and we will definitely be back. Next time, we might even camp and hike for a few days.
When we got back to the hostel and showered off all the sweat, sand, and salt we'd collected, we tried to make the most of our short time in the awesome city of Nelson and found a cool Mexican pub and restaurant just round the corner from the hostel. We went to Woolworths for the next day's lunch, especially important considering we would be on a bus for 9 hours of the day. And so, we did our best to get a few more hours sleep than last night, and made sure our backpacks were still able to be zipped shut for another early start in the morning.
Next stop: Franz Josef