Abel Tasman Region, New Zealand South Island– April 10th – 14th, 2017

Our transit from the North Island to the South Island was via a 3.5 hour ferry that provided plenty of gorgeous scenery to test out the new camera! The highlight of the journey was the last leg of the voyage through Queen Charlotte Sound. From rolling green mountains hills sprouting all around us to the vibrant blue water, we had a feeling the South Island might actually be as special as everyone makes it out to be. Once on shore, we began a 5 hour road journey through more stunning landscapes to Pohara, where we would spend a few days with our friends Alan, Eileen, and Paige. With spectacular weather to boot, that drive brought us through wide flat vineyards, dry empty valleys, a pretty steep mountain pass, large blue bays, and, of course, lots of sheep pastures. To celebrate our friends joining us in New Zealand and to take advantage of the AirBnB’s big kitchen, we made homemade veggie chili for dinner!

Our spectacular ferry ride from the North Island to the South Island. Dani's sporting her new gear!

The weather was cooperating for our first few hours on the South Island!

As the second cyclone of our New Zealand trip was scheduled to make our next few days very wet, we decided to get a big hike out of the way on the first day in the region. Under a cloudy sky that warned of the coming rain, we hiked for a few hours along the famed Abel Tasman Track up to Separation Point. Along the way, we saw Anapai and Mutton Cove beaches which were beautiful vibrant yellow beaches bookended by sandstone cliffs. It was very pretty in its own right, but it was a bit of a bummer since it would have been absolutely amazing if the sun was shining. Some more veggie chili for dinner and an improvised homemade apple tart sealed the day.

Some photos of our hike in Abel Tasman National Park, including Alan pretending to be a duck.

More of the beautiful coast of Abel Tasman National Park.

The rain began overnight and didn’t stop for 48 hours. So, we made lemonade and went wine tasting (seriously, Dani did make lemonade from the lemon tree in the backyard)! About an hour away was the Nelson wine region, so after a bit of morning family yoga, we headed over. We went to four wineries, all of which were pretty underwhelming, but at least we lucky enough to end on the relative high note at Kahurangi Estate Winery. We sampled lots of sauvignon blanc and pinot gris, which we all typically enjoy, but were frustrated to find they were all very far from the clean and citrusy wines New Zealand is known for. Perhaps we were unlucky in our winery choices, but, hey, it was mostly free and we still had a fun rainy day sipping on wine!

Check out those wine-tasting-amplified smiles!

We tried to make the most of our second rainy day by attempting a few short hikes. The first was a fail. After about 100m, we found a swollen stream blocking our path. Not wanting to have to deal with taking our shoes off in the pouring rain, we decided to skip Rawhiti Cave. Instead, we went to a hike up to Wainui Falls. After 30 minutes of walking along a yellow-orange tinted river (odd, but must be from all of the livestock in the area), we arrived at the roaring falls, officially soaked. At least the rain made the falls even more impressive than normal! For our last hike, we went to the Grove Scenic Reserve where a 1km loop brought us through some very prehistoric feeling jungle and rock formations, very cool! Satisfied with our hiking efforts in the pouring rain, we went back to the AirBnB for some warmth, dryness, and, yes, more yoga.

Our last day of hikes was marred by lots of rain, but still beautiful!

The next morning, after a sad goodbye to our friends Alan and Eileen, we packed up Freddy and pulled away from the most comfort we’ve experienced in 3 months. In good news, our duo became a trio, as we happily welcomed Paige along for our next two weeks in Freddy through the South Island!