Archive for February, 2003
Doin’ OK on the AT (that’s the Abel Tasman, not the Appalachian Trail). I think I did about 22 km (15 miles) or so today. I kept myself busy for sure. Had a late start so that I could cross the Awaroa Inlet at the low tide. From there I cruised along from bay to bay and the time somehow passed along. I stopped for about an hour in the afternoon to lay in the sun on the beach. Hey, I am doing a coastal walk, so why not? The sun was really hot today and I would have loved to go for a swim but the water is just too cold!
When I got to the hut there was no one else camping! What a treat, I’ve got this big ol’ campsite to myself. I spent the evening talking with 2 American couples staying in the hut. I was glad to have company after last night in the ‘couples’ campsite where no one spoke to me at all. Occasionally I meet a cool couple, but most times they cling to each other and don’t speak to anyone else, especially not a single girl. Tonight’s company was good. Both couples are here on short holiday and it’s fascinating to me to hear what they talk about – Walmart’s prices vs. REI, property values in Tahoe, the price of salmon – it all seems so foreign to me. I have been away a long time.
Crossing one of the tidal inlets
Beaches of the Abel Tasman
Te Mata O Te Moana – The Edge of the Sea
February 28th, 2003
Not a bad day today at all. It’s only my first day on the Abel Tasman, and I’ve already done half of it!! In the book this (coastal route only) is listed as a 5-day tramp. Took me 7 hours to get here from Marahau (25 km). An early start in the morning kept me away from the crowds for a few hours, but eventually I caught up to many others, and it was a series of’Hello, Hello, Hi, Hello, Hi. Hi, Hello’s for most of the afternoon as everyone came through. I knew there would be masses so it didn’t really bother me, and I took great pleasure in passing people with daypacks about 1/10 the size of my pack, as usual.
I’ve still got another day of coastal walk to go, but so far this track doesn’t impress me too much as far as the scenery goes. It is beautiful, but I think I’ve been on walks in New Zealand which were more dramatic and spectacular, like the beach walk on the Heaphy or the seal colony at the end of the Hollyford. At least now when I tell people I’ve been tramping in NZ and they ask oh, did you do the Milford and the Abel Tasman (as they always do), I can at least say YES, I’ve’done’ the Abel Tasman. Otherwise I haven’t actually been tramping in New Zealand, according to them anyway.
Princess of Tides…Today I had to plan my day around the low tide twice and tomorrow I’ll have to do it once more. Basically means I can start late, probably around 10am, because I can’t cross the Awaroa Inlet until 12:45pm. No big deal, just means I’ll be finishing a bit later, and it’s still light here until after 9pm so I have plenty of time.
One funny comment I got today was from an old man who called me a’land skier’ because I hike with two poles. Never heard that before!
Love those trees
Beaches of the Abel Tasman Track
February 27th, 2003
Got out of Nelson today, and made it here in 4 hitches – a German woman, then a Kiwi guy, then a Kiwi woman, and lastly a female police officer!! That was my first time getting a ride with the Fuzz in New Zealand. She was really a cool lady. She even let me sit in the front seat! I told her how in New York State once I got picked up by a cop who lectured me about how hitching is illegal and then proceeded to give me a ride but made me sit in the back, and she thought it was really funny that hitching was illegal in New York.
Actually both Kiwi women today told me how they wished they were travelling around like me. Sort-of gave me some perspective and made me appreciate my circumstance again. I am really fortunate to be here and to be healthy and to be travelling the world. (mantra: repeat 5x daily)
On the way here I stopped in Motueka to buy my tramping grub for the next 5 days. Tomorrow I head out on the Abel Tasman Track, the most visited trail in all of New Zealand, so no, I’m not expecting any kind of Zen with nature and the true wild, but I’ve got to see what the hype is about. I plan to travel north on the coastal route and then return south via the inland track – that’s a different spin than the normal costal-only deal. There are loads of people in the campground here, so my only hope at avoiding the masses is to get an EARLY start.
February 26th, 2003
stay loose. learn to watch snails. plant impossible gardens. invite someone dangerous to tea. make little signs that say yes! and post them all over your house. make friends with freedom and uncertainty. look forward to dreams. cry during movies. swing as high as you can on a swingset, by moonlight. cultivate moods. refuse to be responsible. do it for love. take lots of maps. give money away. do it now. the money will follow. believe in magic. laugh a lot. celebrate every gorgeous moment. take moonbaths. have wild imaginings, transformative dreams, and perfect calm. draw on the walls. read every day. imagine yourself magic. giggle with children. listen to old people. open up. dive in. be free. bless yourself. drive away fear. play with everything. entertain your inner child. you are innocent. build a fort with blankets. get wet. hug trees.
write love letters.
(from a poster
in the Tramper’s Rest Hostel
in Nelson)
The sign says it all
February 25th, 2003
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