The mystic South Island in its true colours - NZ Day 2

NZ Day 2 - Abel Tasman - Motueka - Arthur Pass - Greymouth

Mapua - a little village on Ruby Bay

Another early morning and we find ourselves on the road to Kaiteriteri and Maharau to catch the first water taxi into the exotic Abel Tasman national park - New Zealand's smallest and most frequented. Abel Tasman is only accessible by water taxis or a 5-6hr hike from Maharau. We drove through clouds, clouds bursts and well, torrential downpour.. and waterproofed ourselves further with the weather forecast predicting bucket loads of water from the sky all day.



'Split Apple Rock' at mid-tide.
You can kayak through the rocks at high tide





Abel Tasman - During low tide (mornings and evenings), the water taxis are loaded onto a tractor that drives out a mile from the shore to drop the little 12-seater off into the water and we noticed a no. of boats marooned and anchored on the beach (?). A 45 minute roller coaster ride over and across giant 30-40 feet waves got us to Torrent Bay where the taxi dropped us off in thigh-deep water to wade on-shore while holding our shoes and backpacks above the water... and begin our day in Abel Tasman :)



Walking the seabed before its more than 10 feet under water

Many of the interesting hikes in Abel Tasman need you to cross certain sections in low tide and require you to wait for low tide again to walk back. We chose one of these exciting trails and were warned by locals that high tide comes in after mid-day and much of the land disappears under water so we decided to hike a trail that would allow us to really mix it up. We trekked on squishy sand and shells on the sea bed and through ankle and knee-high water to cut across a couple small bays towards 'Cleopatra's Pool', knowing that much of this land would be under 15-20 feet choppy water in less than an hour and we'd have to take a much longer path back.



Torrent Bay @ low tide - A moored boat



Torrent Bay - Same boat an hour later



We decided to this part of the trek without our shoes on to keep them from getting soaked and so we'd keep our feet dry longer... And tied the shoes to our backpacks. Upon joining the trail mid-way and after the sea bed, we realised that one of my shoes had dropped off! With the high tide already coming in, we had to hurry and despite looking around, we couldn’t find the shoe and realised that we were going to have to abandon the hike and walk back via a jungle trail with me bare feet, call the mainland for taxi options! I put on socks after trying bare feet for 15mins on the land trail and saw the land we walked on was already submerged in water... Another 15mins later, we noticed - from high up on a hill (already a couple sores on my aching feet) - my shoe floating in the water near a beach that was slowly getting submerged. The high tide had picked it up from where we dropped it and brought it in to the shore!! We trekked down towards the water and Priyanka forced herself through the thick forest and ran to the water to retrieve the shoe before the area was under water... Some start! With renewed energy and purpose, we of course turned around yet again to continue the hike to Cleopatra's Pool with just enough time to make it back in time for our next water taxi.

Cleopatra's Pools

This is when you wish you could write better and 'paint the picture' but suffice to say the 3 hr hike was awesome and the continuous, almost warm, tropical downpour was every bit part of it - the pools were also great but we could only take a few pictures to avoid getting the camera soaking wet. Between bites of the salmon and brie sandwiches and sips of the Marlborough wine, we did take some pictures, particularly of the sea bed, and when it had turned into a furious ocean and some of the views the trail offered.

A couple more water taxi rides later and after our taxi had rescued a astray boat, we were back in civilization and headed out on what ranks as one of the most beautiful drives of my life. Starting in Motueka, through the Alps and Arthur Pass onto the West coast and Greymouth with the falls colours in full bloom.

Motueka, South Island NZ

The drive - I am going to have to pass, to the pictures, to do the talking about the road, the colours, the games played by the sun, the rain and the clouds. We had it all - the rain, the sun, the road and I think even the Camry we were driving really brought out a whole another gear from out of nowhere - I think I had it doing things even the test drivers at Toyota would be proud of :) and those of you that know my choice of cars will know that is saying quite a lot (I am not a big fan of Toyotas)! We passed ranches, hundreds of orchards - some selling their fruits for real cheap - and we were out till late enough to see the sun go down and the night take over - the clouds and light completing a magical sky, as Priyanka put it, like in a Harry Potter movie.



Arthur's Pass - Jaw dropping beautiful during Autumn





Arthur Pass - Harry Potter-esque magical skies at nightfall



Greymouth was just a transient stop for the night and we hung at a lounge, popular with the locals and Lonely Planet, 'Frank's' and I guess we'll remember it for a couple things - Priyanka actually really liked a beer for the first time (a local summer ale made by a NZ brewery 'Montieth') and in fact a couple times in the remainder of the trip ordered it. It seems Priyanka is suddenly 'open' to some beers :).

Montieth's Summer Ale - Priyanka's first fav beer :)

I also had a nostalgic experience at this place. The book said this place was known for its 'momos' (dumplings cooked in tibetan style, usually steamed) - a dish that I remember throwing down my throat by the dozens back in my high school days - and I had to try it. When I did, I had to close my eyes a few seconds after swallowing the first one as it jogged my memories back to Chimney's, a little shack we frequented back in high school mostly for these momos... These tasted so similar that it was unbelievable - must be the Tibetan touch - just that these were thinner and had a bit more meat in them. That was a high-enough point to call it a day particularly as were to climb a frozen glacier next morning! :)

Photos: http://priyankaandankurdownunder.shutterfly.com/pictures#editPictures:albumId=117