Motueka and the Abel Tasman National Park

Hey all. Whew! It feels like alot has happened in the past week and a half. I'm living in Motueka (aka, "Mot") right now, which is about 45 minutes from Nelson, and 15 minutes from Kaiteriteri Beach (where I work). I found a flat to live in when I arrived in Motueka. But that didn't work out, so I moved out after 3 days and I've been living at The Laughing Kiwi (a backpackers/hostel) this past week, where I work in exchange for accommodation. Living at the hostel is great fun, so I think I'll stay there for the rest of my time here in Motueka (about 4 and a half more weeks). The other girls who are working/living at the hostel are lots of fun--Amy from Australia, Gina from Germany, Vivian from China, and Amelie from Germany (whose mom is French--hence the name Amelie). Amy is super goofy and hyper and she dances around and sings all the time (never failing to entertain us), Gina is giggly, Amelie and Vivian are mellow, and all 4 of them are really sweet and great to live with. There's also a fat, fluffy cat named Birdie who belongs to the woman who manages and also lives at the hostel. Birdie is very friendly and she loves being pet, which is good for me cuz I love petting fluffy cats! And there are tons of travelers coming in and out of The Laughing Kiwi every night, so it's nice to get to meet and talk to lots of people. Sometimes the conversation with travelers gets mundane--the same basic questions: 1) where are you from; 2) how long have you been here; 3) how long are you planning to stay here; 4) where have you been; 5) where are you going, etc. But still, it's great talking to other travelers and getting tips on where to go and what to see, and also learning a little about other countries and finding out what motivates others to travel.

Earlier this week I had a couple of days off, and thankfully both days were sunny and warm. So one day I just drove around Motueka and discovered all these tiny little fruit and vegetable shops, where the people running the shops have their own gardens and sell the goodies right there. Alot of them were unattended and just had an "honesty box" where you drop your money and take what you need. My first stop was a "pick your own boysenberries" place. That was super cool. I spent a good 30 minutes inspecting and picking boysenberries right off the tree, and eating them within 10 minutes of picking/purchasing them. My second stop was a place that sold the most amazing cherry tomatoes I have ever had. They were orange and sooooo sweet--better than candy! I found another place that had the biggest, plumpest, juiciest blueberries. I ate the whole carton in 15 minutes--I just couldn't stop, and I didn't even try to save some for later. I love having access to all these amazing fruits and veggies here in Motueka.

On the second day I had off earlier this week, I took a one day hike along the coastal track of the Abel Tasman National Park. The Abel Tasman trek is one of the most popular in New Zealand, and the start of it is less than 30 minutes from Motueka. I still have a booking to do the 5-day trek on the Abel Tasman in late February, but I've decided I'm going to cancel that (in light of my trials and tribulations on the Milford Trek last month). So instead, I've decided to do several one-day hikes on the coastal track over the next few weeks. The Abel Tasman trek is nice in that you can take a water taxi to any major point on the trek, hike to wherever you want to go, and take a water taxi back. So this week I got hooked up with a free water taxi (through my work) from Kaiteriteri Beach to Tonga Island/Onetahuti Beach, and I walked about 14 km to Torrent Bay, and then got a water taxi back to Kaiteriteri Beach. The weather was beautiful and I got some really nice views (which you'll see from the pictures below).







The highlight of the trek was a side route I decided to take, leading me down to Sandfly Bay. There were just a few kayakers who had decided to stop at that beach and hang out for a while. The beach was so clean and pristine. Here are some pictures of Sandfly Bay (the first one is the view from the top of the track, and the next two are from the beach itself once I walked down). I think the picture where you can see the ripples in the sand is really cool.







After climbing back up from Sandfly Bay to pick up the track again, I kept on walking and the end of my hike was at Torrent Bay, where the water taxi picked me up again. I had a little time to splash around in the bay before the water taxi arrived. Good thing I wore my bathing suit! Below are some pictures of Torrent Bay.





So that's just a peak into the Abel Tasman. Once I walk other parts of the trek, I'll post some more pictures. Cheers!

From Queenstown to Nelson Via the West Coast

Well I've made the move from Queenstown to Nelson. I think what I'll miss most about Queenstown is my flatmates. Below are pictures of Emma, Lee, and Lee's girlfriend Sharon (aka Britt). The first picture is typical Emma...lounging on the couch sipping her shiraz after a long day at work. Emma's awesome. We're really different, but we got along well. Lee and Britt are also really awesome...always happy and cheery (as you can see from the second picture below).

Well after leaving Queenstown on my journey up to Nelson, my first stop along the west coast route was Fox Glacier. It was cloudy and/or rainy the entire 3 days I was there. I didn't actually see Fox Glacier, but I did drive about 20 minutes to see Franz Josef Glacier (in the rain). So I actually didn't get any pictures of the glacier, cuz again, my camera's not waterproof. But it was a cool sight. My next stop, which was my favorite, was Punakaiki, home of the pancake rocks. The trip was made better because the sun was shining while I was there. I stayed at the Punakaiki Beach Hostel, which is right on the beach! Below are some pictures from the pancake rock viewing area. The pancake rocks are unique (because they look like stacks of pancakes) and even scientists can't fully explain the phenomenon.

Also from the viewing area was a blowhole, from the waves crashing onto the rocks at high tide. Below is a picture of the mist coming out of the blowhole.

And the sunset in Punakaiki was just beautiful, as you can see below. This was the view from the balcony of the beach hostel.



From Punakaiki, I went onto Golden Bay. I stayed in Takaka one night, and the next 2 nights I stayed in Onekaka at a eco-friendly hostel overlooking the bay, with solar power and composting toilets. I wasn't so keen on the composting toilets, and was happy to move on to a place with flushing toilets. :) While in Golden Bay, I took a walk along parts of a long, narrow stretch of sand called Farewell Spit that curves around at the tip of the South Island. Later, I went to a nearby beach called Wharariki Beach, which was quite nice. Below is a picture from the beach.

From Golden Bay I drove on to Nelson, taking 2 German backpackers with me, whom I met at the hostel with the composting toilets. Yesterday there was a cool outdoor market in Nelson's city center, with booths selling fruits, vegetables, fresh herbs, freshly made breads, clothes, jewelry, etc. That was really nice because there were no such markets in Queenstown. And you all know how much I love farmers markets! Yesterday was really hot and sunny in Nelson, so after the market, I went on a short walk with one of the girls at the hostel (also an American) to the "center of New Zealand," which supposedly marks the very center of the country. After that I visited the Miyazu Japanese Garden in Nelson, where you could find a little bit of yin and a little bit of yang.

Tomorrow I go on to Kaiteriteri Beach, just about 40 minutes from Nelson, where I'll be working for the next 6 or 7 weeks.