The Coastal Trail of My Dreams: 55km on the Abel Tasman Track, New Zealand

View of Mutton Cove on the Abel Tasman Track

Day 1, Marahau to Apple Tree Bay

It's always a little sad to begin a long distance hike in the rain. When we hit the trail at Marahau at the late hour of 6pm (after traveling all the way from Wellington that day) we told ourselves the occasional drops of rain we were feeling would soon clear up. As it goes, by the time we reached Apple Tree Bay, the rain had increased to a light drizzle, the sky was looking ominously dark and it seemed best to stay put rather than continue onto our intended destination, Te Pukatea Bay. As consolation, the Apple Tree Bay campsite is on a beautiful golden beach which I am sure looks very lovely on a sunny day, and still makes for a pretty decent picture in the rain as well.

Apple Tree Bay

Day 2, Apple Tree Bay to Torrent Bay

It rained most of the night and we woke the next day to a steady downpour. Boo! As we knew the forecast called for clearing skies in the late morning, we took opportunity to sleep in and enjoy a late breakfast in "bed". By the time we finished packing up the tent, the rain had ended and the sun was trying hard to break through the thinning clouds. We crossed out fingers, hit the trail and hoped for the best...

We hiked for a couple of hours along the coast and over a short inland section and soon arrived at Torrent Bay. Happily, the bay looked gorgeous under much-welcome sunny, blue skies. Yay! We decided to stop for the afternoon to swim and eat a meal at the Anchorage Hut. For those of you who may be considering hiking the Abel Tasman with a tent, I believe the campsite at the Anchorage Hut is one of the best on the trail. Though many campers seems to bypass the peninsula to head straight to Bark Bay, I would recommend including a night at Anchorage in your hiking itinerary, especially if the weather is fine.

Anchorage Hut

Lunchtime at the Anchorage Hut

Stopping for a swim at the Anchorage Hut beach

After enjoying an afternoon in the sun we hiked across the bay at low tide to Torrent Bay Village, where we camped for the night. It wasn't my favourite campsite on the trail, but it was a good enough spot to pitch our tent for the night.

Day 3, Torrent Bay to Waiharakeke Bay

After two relatively short days of hiking, we found ourselves faced with a mammoth 25km hike on day three. Happily, the going was fairly easy, with the exception of one steep and onerous climb just past Bark Bay. Keeping our priorities in order, we managed to squeeze in time for some swimming (and a shower!) at the Bark Bay Hut.

We ended the day at the lovely campsite near Waiharakeke Bay which has a very fine swimming beach.

Low tide crossing near the Awaroa Hut

Waiharakeke Bay at sunset

Note: The shower at Bark Bay isn't really much of a shower, it's just a hose with a shower head out in the forest (yes, the water was super cold) but it'll get you clean.

Day 4, Waiharakeke Bay to Whariwharangi Bay

This section turned out to be the Abel Tasman Track of my dreams. With most of the trail behind us were able to hike the days' 12km at a relaxed pace and spend the majority of our time lounging at the many stunning beaches we passed throughout the day. Heavenly!

Goat Bay and Mutton Cove ended up being my favourite beaches on trail. Surprisingly, except for the occasional group of hikers passing through, both were pretty much empty. What's not to love about that?

View of Goat Bay from a distance

Goat Bay

Mutton Cove

View on the way to Whariwharangi Bay

Day 5, Whariwharangi Bay to Wainui Bay

Our 5-day hike ended as it began, on a bit of a sad note. Sad because our happy days enjoying the sand and sun of New Zealand's Abel Tasman Track had come to an end (sniff!) If we'd been able to carry enough food I would gladly have turned around and hiked the 55km back to our starting point in Marahau. Instead we took at advantage of one of the many transportation companies who service the Abel Tasman, TrekExpress, who picked us up at Wainui and drove us back to Marahau. You need to make arrangements in advance for pickups, so if you're looking to do this trip in the future I'd recommend consulting the DOC for information on companies you can contact.

The campsite at Whariwharangi Bay

Wanui Bay on the final day of the hike

Now, after enjoying such an amazing time on the Abel Tasman you might be wondering why I don't just declare New Zealand an easy victor in the "is New Zealand better than Canada?" debate and call it a day. Well, I'm hesitating on two counts, coincidentally both of them are German travelers I met on the Able Tasman who happen to be huge fans of Canada. They reminded me that there are a few sights to be found back home that might compare very favourably to Abel Tasman's stunning views. Take a look at my flickr photo set from our 6-day hike on Vancouver Island's North Coast Trail for example and let me know what you think.

What Tramping is All About: 43km on the Tongariro Northern Circuit

Emerald Lakes, Tongariro National Park

On our last night on the Tongariro Northern Circuit a fellow hiker pointed out the Southern Cross to us in the night sky. In the northern hemisphere, the celestial equivalent of the easy-to-recognize Southern Cross is the Big Dipper, which of course is nowhere to be seen in these parts - a constant reminder that we're traveling in a different hemisphere than the one we call home.

I silently noted to myself that the Southern Cross seems so much neater and symmetrical compared to our somewhat lopsided (and frankly undignified-sounding) Big Dipper and remarked to our companion that, as the cross appears to be upside down in the night sky it looks more like a "Southern Sword". He agreed, adding that "Southern Sword" seemed a much more impressive name, anyway.

Our exchange was a fitting wrap-up to the four days we spent on the Tongariro Northern Circuit, one of New Zealand's nine Great Walks. The Southern Cross became a figurative exclamation point to my rapidly strengthening suspicion that the Canadian outdoors may have nothing on New Zealand's understated, impressive and picture-perfect wilderness.

But I get ahead of myself…

Tongariro Northern Circuit, Day 1

After spending the night at the Whakapapa Holiday Campground in Tongariro National Park we arrived at the trailhead in Whakapapa Village at 9:30am, ready for a full day of hiking. As the weather was exceptionally pleasant, we decided that in addition to walking the 3 hours to the Mangatepopo Hut, where we planned to spend the night, we would head a bit further down the trail to summit the volcano, Mount Ngauruhoe (the inspiration for Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings films). The summit walk resulted in an additional 7 hours of hiking, making for a bit of a mammoth day, but I'm so glad we did it because the views were not to be missed.

Our Campsite at the Mangatepopop Hut

Inside the Mangatepopo Hut

Heading up "Mount Doom"

Day 2

In the morning we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the cozy Mangatepopo hut before retracing our steps down the trail to the base of Mount Ngauruhoe, then continuing on over the crossing. Though this should have been a shorter, less strenuous day, 95km/hour winds meant the passage over the crossing was slow and treacherous in spots. Thankfully, though the winds were high, the sun was shining and the sky was clear and our efforts were rewarded with beautiful vistas overlooking the shimmering Emerald Lakes and Blue Lake. We arrived at the Oturere Hut in the mid-late afternoon and pitched our tent in the most protected spot we could find in the campground. It was going to be a windy night!

One of the Emerald Lakes

Arriving at the Oturere Hut

Day 3

The short 3-hour hike to Waihohonu Hut gave us a chance to rest our legs on the 3rd day. The Waihohonu Hut is the newest and most comfortable hut on the trail and our early arrival left plenty of time to hang out and enjoy the company of our fellow hikers over a leisurely meal. Coincidentally, there were 3 other hikers on around-the-world journeys who hiked the Tongariro Northern Circuit at the same time as us - a couple from Holland and a woman from Finland - and we took advantage of the opportunity to trade notes and share stories of our experiences with each other.

Day 4

The wind finally died down on the fourth day and the final leg of the hike back out to Whakapapa Village was a literal walk in the park. Always good to end a journey on a high note! We were back at the Holiday Campground in the village by mid-afternoon and quickly set about addressing those pressing back-to-civilization priorities - a long hot shower, a large meal and some rest and relaxation. Ahhhh!

Heading back to Whakapapa Village

So, in regards to the Canada versus New Zealand debate, after our experience on the Tongariro Northern Circuit, I'd have to say New Zealand appears to have a slight edge at this early stage in the game, mainly for one reason - because it's Middle Earth. After all, where in Canada can you walk through the black gates of Mordor and stare into the abyss of Mount Doom? Sudbury? Timmins, perhaps? Meh!

Nature-Envy in New Zealand: Auckland and Muriwai Beach

 Expenses (in New Zealand Dollars)
1 month car rental: Free (yay, travel points!)
3 days groceries: $65
2 nights camping: $56

Here's a re-cap of a conversation I had with a New Zealand ex-pat over the holidays, more or less.

"I've heard New Zealand is a beautiful country." (This would be me talking, of course.)

"Oh yeah?" delivered with a practiced amount of mustered, yet sincere, humility. I believe all New Zealanders abroad must encounter similar remarks from non-New Zealanders with regular frequency.

"Oh, yes. Many of the tourists we run into when we're out hiking and camping back home tell us Canada is beautiful, but New Zealand is better." My companion stared at me awkwardly, unsure of how to respond. Canada may not be the most beautiful country, but we Canadians can at least take the cake in the humility/self-deprecation department. 

"I may be biased, but I would have to agree," he eventually recovered. "New Zealand is exceptionally beautiful. The only other place I've encountered in the world that would be on a similar level is the Grand Canyon."

The Grand Canyon! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Canada and am a huge fan of the Canadian outdoors, but I totally buy into the idea that the Grand Canyon is kind of on a special level when it comes to beautiful places on earth. To think that a whole country might be on the same level as the Grand Canyon. Well, that's something!

Just more fuel to add to the flame when it comes to our much anticipated month-long visit to New Zealand. Did I mention that the first thing we did when we began planning our around-the-world journey was to make reservations for hiking four of New Zealand's Great Walks? Did I also mention that we basically planned our entire 8-month trip around the fact that we wanted to arrive in New Zealand in January, the middle of summer?

Needless to say, I began to get a bit nervous in the days leading up to our flight to Auckland, that New Zealand might not be able to live up to such built-up expectations. How could it?

Having been here for 3 whole days, I must admit, it's actually off to a shockingly strong start towards exceeding my expectations. We haven't even left Auckland, to boot! We've camped the past three days on Muriwai Beach a gorgeous black sand beach in West Auckland, about 45 minutes from the city centre. Our campsite is very well-serviced with hot showers, a full kitchen, laundry, WiFi and a TV room with cable and it's only costing us a very reasonable $14 per person, per night. It's also just on the other side of the sand dunes, a short 200 metre walk from the beach. Baasje says it's the most beautiful beach he has ever seen and I would have to agree.

The most beautiful beach aside, it would appear the best is yet to come. After all, we're still on the North Island, which we've been told is the 'ugly' island. The South Island, and Fiordland in particular, is supposed to be the money spot. Likewise, we're scheduled to do just one hike on the North Island (Tongariro Nothern Circuit) and three hikes on the south Island (Abel Tasman, Routeburn, and Kepler Tracks, we also plan to spend a day driving around Milford Sound). Anyway, stay tuned for more reports from "better-than-Canada" New Zealand. Ha!