Abel Tasman...sheer paradise

One of my favourite places, and there have been many was in Australia in the Whitsundays...pristine azure water with secured bays so that you can bob around on a floaty noodle snorkeling or go scuba diving with very little current. There are numerous silent beaches with sand so powdery that it screeches as you walk on it...I thought I would never find another place as beautiful in the entire world...but, I was wrong.
The Abel Tasman National Park is the Whitsundays of New Zealand...don't be fooled by the National Park title...I always assume that National Parks are more about forests and trees and less about beaches and coves, but this is simply not true. This destination did not make it to our original itinerary, but after reading some other travel blogs and talking with random travellers, it quickly shot up the score board and found itself being highlighted on our New Zealand Jucy map where we are stringently tracing each road with a yellow marker illustrating our personal journey and adventure.
We based ourselves in Nelson for about 4 days...1 dedicated solely to Nelson, another to Blenheim and wine tasting and 2 to Able Tasman and this worked well for us, as it is only a short scenic drive to these locations from Nelson and Nelson is the only city offering Freedom Camping sites for up to 3 nights over two lots so this relieves so many stresses, plus Nelson is just lovely with loads of outdoor activities to keep one entertained with random museums and farmer's markets for after you have exhausted yourself with kayaking, tramping, bicycling, hiking, paragliding, kite boarding, hang gliding, etc...
After we exhausted Nelson, Abel Tasman was a welcome change from city life and we found ourselves on a 45 minute speed boat ride with a rather daring and quirky boat captain along the coast through the secured coves of emerald green water surrounded by kayakers and trampers and 1,000,000 sand flies. We decided to a ride about half way along the Abel Tasman coastline to the middle of the park and trek back along the water offering some amazing views and the air just smelled so clean and crisp...it felt exhilarating to be outside walking along such a beautiful path.
Each and every corner offered spectacular views and breathtaking scenery for us to enjoy and photograph. There was even a gulch called Goodman Gulch...that's my gulch! Awesome...who knew that I had a gulch hidden deep in the Able Tasman! What a lucky girl am I!
Ok, so now for the truth...and oh what an ugly truth it is. No matter where in the world we are, after about the 3rd hour or so...maybe 4th if I have just had a meal and am feeling particularly sprightly, I get over it. Funny how for the first 2 hours, all I can talk about is doing a hardcore multi-day hike where we camp and kill our own food for survival...a bit like Bear Grylls because I can be that hardcore. And, I would like to note, I truly mean it at the time. But then, that 3-4 hour mark comes and I really get over the hiking...no matter where we are. Al can always tell by my lack of conversation and my overall tone when answering questions and conversating in general. I cannot help it...I love some beautiful scenery, I really do, but there is a point when I am ready to be sitting in a coffee shop having a cuppa and reading some super old magazine that has been touched by thousands of dirty and germy hands...now that sounds like paradise to me. I mean, this is of course after a 3-4 hour hike so I am putting in the work for that latte.
During the moments that I am silent during the hikes, it is only that I am calculating just how long 45km takes to walk and how I seem to get slower and slower throughout a hike and that must be taken into consideration when formulating a distance/time calculation of sorts...and we all know how much I love formulas and variables! I bet that makes you think so terribly of me, as you have been reading this blog for about 9 months now and I have written about dozens of hikes that we have taken throughout our adventures and please rest assured that all of these hikes were exactly the same regarding my reactions...3-4 hours in and I am a bit silent, a bit moody and off in my fantasy world made of lattes, cappuccinos, foam, froth and cinnamon...now that is some real paradise right there.
Don't get me wrong, they were all lovely hikes, treks and tramps, but there is only so much freakin' trees, birds, brush and water one can see before it is kind of, well, repetitive. Look, another bird...ooh another tree...Goodman Gulch was a perk, I must admit, but after a few hours I get over it. Alex thinks it is hilarious and bless her heart, has had to experience dozens of these hiking moments with me...can you even imagine what it must have been like for her during that 7 day trek through the Indonesian Jungle...or the overnight trek to the hide in the Tamen Negara?!?
At least I am admitting it now...coming clean for all the world to see...well for the blog followers that is. I think that admitting I have a problem is the first step in the healing process, but honestly, I don't think much will change, as I do love a 3-4 hour hike and I always fantasize about coffee...and muffins...and cheese...and cake...etc...Although I have just recently noticed that Al only chooses the 3-4 hour round trip hikes these days and not any ones that are longer than that...interesting...