Cowshed Bay to Nelson
You would think that when camping we would wake up early because of the sunlight and unfamiliar noises, but our curtains block the morning light so well we never seem to get that dawn start I imagined back at the trip's beginning. Today, despite our usual slow start, we're determined to walk at least one leg of the Queen Charlotte track. It's a relatively sunny day, and the track itself is supposed to be quite easy. We drive a short distance from Cowshed Bay to where a road intersects the track, pack lunch, then head up a hill.
The track wends its way through the usual DOC-land regenerating bush, and the more overgrown spots are quite shady and cool, while others are completely out in the open. Here and there through clearings, we are treated to views across Queen Charlotte and Kenepuru. The waters are still and undisturbed except for the occasional boat.
Across the water small houses and sheep dot the hills; the views are all quite pastoral. It's very strange to me to look out at this and think of it as a vision of England filtered through New Zealand. I've never been to England, but the views I see call up memories of pictures of English farms, hedgerows, stone fences, and green, green, rolling hills. We stop to eat lunch at the high spot of this leg of the tramp, and watch the clouds drift by.
The length of track allocated for this day's walk is much less than we expected. I suppose it's meant as one of the easier tramps. In any case, we get back to our van much earlier than we had expected. With a couple of hours of sun left, we detour down to the Queen Charlotte side of the peninsula and admire a beautiful little cove tucked away between the hills. There's a tiny pier here; its legs are encrusted with shellfish and dotted with starfish. The water is clear and shallow and almost demands that we come back with kayaks. Across the water a tiny boathouse, palm tree, and dock hint at the bach half-hidden up in the bush.
Eventually a strange assemblage of boats smokes into view. By the time it reaches the middle of the cove, we can make out the details, but they only add to the mystery. It's a tiny fishing boat, engine smoking heavily under the load, a smaller launch, and a tiny flat-topped barge, laden with junk. All of these are somehow lashed together and slowly puttering along. Aboard is a salty-looking guy and a dog which jumps back and forth between the 3 boats excitedly.
We leave the cove and drive out the way we came in, then westward to Nelson. There are far more mountains to climb over than I anticipated from staring at a flat road map, but our slow progress is rewarded by coming into Nelson with the last of the fading day. It's chilly, but the lights of Nelson on the hills are welcoming, and the sunset over the mountains and what must be far-away Farewell Spit is stunning.
We check into the Green Monkey, which turns out to be a really nice hostel, then go out for kebabs at a place recommended by the owners. After a few days of camping it's really pleasant to shower and put on some clean clothes.
The hostel itself turns out to be named in honor of the hosts' less-than-pleasant encounter with a group of green monkeys in Africa. I make a mental note to never take a nap someplace where monkeys could pee on me.
One of the other guests at the hostel is a guy named Charlie, who turns out to be a British expat doing mostly contract IT work in Asia. He's well-read, and we spend some time comparing books we are currently reading. He's going through Thomas Paine's "Common Sense", and I'm dredging my way through David Henry Thoreau's "Walden", and we chat on a bit about them. Charlie's just finished an alpine loop through the Nelson Lakes, and he regales us with stories of trudging through snow. He also suggests we take instant hummus powder along with us as an addition to our tramp food, an idea we are excited about because it's something not sweet, not junky, not granola-ey, not gooey, and not sausage-y.
Eventually the long day gets the best of us and we crawl in bed.
15Jul08
Nelson for a day
Though we've just made it into Nelson, we are already planning to leave. The forecast this morning shows a window of decent, 'mostly-dry' weather for the next 3 days, followed by a period of serious rain. Weather forecasts haven't always been the most accurate here, but it's the best we've got, and we know that if we don't do the Abel Tasman Coastal walk now, we may not get another chance.
The Abel Tasman park is home to lots of stunning scenery which I've been dying to see first-hand since I first started researching NZ, so I don't really mind the fast turn-around. We're coming to one of the parts of NZ I am most excited to see.
The easiest way for us to cover most of the Abel Tasman is to take an 'aquataxi' boat up the coast to near the NW end of the track, then walk back SE out of the park and to our van. We go ahead and book a ride for next morning at 9am. People we ask at the hostel opine that it'll take about 45 minutes to get from Nelson to the Aquataxi launch in Marahau.
This done, we venture out to see a bit of Nelson and buy any supplies we need for the trip. Charlie, our acquaintance from last night, walks along with us to the DOC office/I-site, then heads off on his own errands. It's an overcast but mild day. We book the huts for Abel Tasman, check for any warnings or alerts, then head out and around the town.
Nelson is a bustling, lively little town nestled into the hills surounding the south end of the Tasman Bay with an obvious art scene, lots of cafes, many charming old houses, and plenty of sights to rubberneck at for free. We wander around the downtown for a bit, which is nice enough, although the Nelson Central Post Office and clock tower loom over the rest of the buildings like a prison complex. We head up the main street and walk through the landscaped Christ Church Cathedral grounds, then peek at the church's interior before wandering back out in search of coffee.
Eventually we make it to Lambretta coffee house, with a (surprise!) Italian Lambretta motor scooter mounted over the door. It's a nice break from the busy streets; the coffee is great and helps wake us up. We people-watch out the window, wondering why the 80's fashions which are back are the ones which stunk the worst the first time around. I guess that's what geezerdom does to you.
The rest of the day pretty much passes without note, and aside from hitting the grocery store and cooking dinner, we don't do much besides pre-pack our bags for the tramp.
Marlborough Sounds and Nelson photoset
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