Abel Tasman pt 2

Astute readers may have noticed that there has not actually been a part 1 in this series. Part 1 occurred on our first journey to New Zealand some years ago. We visited the Abel Tasman National Park on what was one of the rainiest days I have ever witnessed. It did not stop it from being a fantastic day's adventure with a boat ride, a hike through the bush, over a swing bridge, on to the next bay, and picked up by a boat again. The entire time spent actually inside a cloud.

I was looking forward to seeing the place in sunshine this time as I quite fancied taking in more of the beauty of the place simultaneously, rather than the constant visibility of about 20 metres that was afforded us on the previous occasion.

We arrived in Marahau, on the edge of the Abel Tasman. I heard the rain start shortly after we had retired to the tent for the night. I heard it again several times during the night as I rumbled and mumbled my way through a warm, muggy, but it has to be said, dry night in the tent. I could still hear it once the sun had come up and I was starting to think that the 9am boat up the coast wouldn't have us on it. I could still hear it once I realised that I would have to go to the toilet at some point and I felt it once I decided that I couldn't outlast mother nature when it came to the call of nature. It still rained for ages after that. At one point whilst we were having dinner, there was a tiny glimpse of a piece of blue sky. Enough to convince us that if it wasn't raining tomorrow, we would pack up the tent and head for somewhere with a proper roof.

The plan was to visit Golden Bay on the far side of the Abel Tasman the following week. We could try another expedition from there. We met up with friends of Annie from Wellington, Rachel and Chris and spent a couple of lazy sunny days gearing up for the mission into the bush. The day came and once again the forecast let us down and we set off for the Aqua Taxi stop to take us into the forest with the wipers working overtime and the tops of the hills engulfed in low cloud.

There was no bailing out this time as Chris had done us the favour of forecasting sun and booking the boat. But our previous experience of the place had taught us that the hardest part is getting out of the car and you could do a lot worse than simply getting soaked immediately. For a start, there's the Aqua Taxi. The captain takes pleasure in making Jay squeal with delight as he slams the 12-seater boat into wave after wave after wave. So if you weren't wet when you got on, you will be now.

He also takes great pride in showing you some of the parks features. Including a gang of Seals, animals he describes as so lazy they wait for the high tide and the water to come to them before they bother to flop in for a dip. We were bang on high tide so got to see some of the fattest wild animals I've ever seen sploshing around and waving to us. High tide also allowed our big boat a brief visit into a beautiful secluded little bay to annoy some kayakers.

And last of all, high tide, the Captain informed us, meant that the first obstacle of our trek, a river crossing at the end of the beach, would be far too deep to wade through comfortably. So as I said before, if we weren't wet already... We took it well though. We met groups of pro-trampers with their raincoats, appropriate footwear and hiking sticks, who were huddled up waiting for the tide to recede. We rocked up, changed into our swimwear, and started ferrying sports bags and babies across. Admittedly, some of these dudes were in the bush for a week or so. They not driven by being an hour's stroll from the only cafe in the whole nature reserve and 2 hours from their return Aqua Taxi.

Which brings me to the rarest sighting I viewed in this park, probably one of the rarest things in all NZ. A rubbish cafe. After a hike through this prehistoric looking landscape and stumbling down hill to The Lodge, I was expecting warm coffee and a share on a big vat of vegetable soup. I wasn't expecting to be asked to leave my wet pack outside and then be offered pan-seared salmon with caramelised onion for $30. Never have I seen a more bemused group of wet people in kagouls and unfashionable shorts. I am used to cafes that choose to ignore popular appeal in favour of maximising profit from the wealthy, the desperate and those who are yet to get the hang of the currency, there are examples in every park in London. But they are an exception over here. I think. Or maybe I haven't got the hang of the currency yet.