by steve, on January 27th, 2011 (
New Zealand)
We are exhausted but happy with our experiences of the last couple of days.
On Wednesday morning we packed the tent and the remainder of its contents into the car then headed off into town to pick up some rolls for breakfast and evening meal. I had had my hopes on a big breakfast but Helen had persuaded me down to something that would fall short of our calorie burn for the day (is she saying I’m fat?).
We drove over to Marahau to catch the 10:30 water taxi into the park. I knew from the map that the water taxi office / car park was not quite on the shore but I was surprised to find out we were loaded onto the water taxi in the lot before being taken to the see towed by a tractor. It ended up being a bit of a fun start to the trip.
The water taxi ended up being a little bit of a tour. We first spent some time following a Hector Dolphin which was described to us as very being rare in the area. We were next taken to see a granite rock in the sea which had sometime in the past eons split down the middle.
After dropping some folks off at a beach we were then shown some seals sunning themselves on a nearby island.
The whole area was quite stunning. The coastline was made of fractured granite which gave rise to sandy beaches and shallows. Apart from the coldness of the water we were reminded of many of the coastal scenes we have been lucky enough to see in our voyages across the Pacific.
We were eventually dropped off, two hours after departure, at our hike starting point, Awaroa. The path from here was nice but a little samey compared to a number we have been on before including here in New Zealand. We made good time to our campsite at Bark Bay arriving there around 3pm.
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We soon had the tent up and realized we hadn’t brought anything to do. We walked around for a while bumping into Matt and Sue who were holidaying with their son on a small sailboat. Like many we’d seen they had come into the lagoon at high tide, drawn up their keel and would soon be sitting on the sand once the tide had gone out.
Back at the tent we found ourselves being bitten to death by sand flies and realized we’d also forgotten to bring fly repellant. We hid ourselves in the tent and tried to pass the time with I-Spy and 20 Questions. I was glad when it reached 5pm and we could eat. We exited the tent and ate our food while the flies ate us.
After finishing our food we felt quite tired and retired for a very early nights rest. I don’t think either of us slept too well in the cramped tent so we needed the extra time to get a full nights rest.
By 7:30 this morning we were on our way. The sky was again a brilliant blue. With an early start we didn’t see another soul on the path for over an hour.
The scenery along this section of the path was astounding. The path was cut into the side of the hill and sheltered by the surrounding vegetation for most of the way. We passed many waterfalls and over many bridges. When we had glimpses of the sea we could see the mountains over 60km to the east rising above the sea mist.
Depending on what we looked at the hike from Bark Bay out of the park was to take 7 or 8 hours. We made it back to the car by 1pm, including a stop for lunch, taking only 5½ hours. The only places to stop were beaches and we’ve seen plenty of them so we were both keen to move on and enjoy the hike.
Back at the water taxi car park we were able to get some fuel for the car. We were a bit short and didn’t want to run out getting back to the top 10 camp site. As it was a bit expensive there we only put in $10 of fuel before heading off. When we reached the campsite I went in to collect the key to the cabin we’d booked and realized I had left the fuel cap off. We drove back to the water taxi place and it wasn’t there. They’d seen us drive off with it on the roof but couldn’t stop it. So we drove back along the rode looking carefully for it. At each bump in the road and at each corner we figured that would be where it dropped off. Eventually we gave up looking and sped up. Soon after this we found it about 2 miles from where we had fueled. A little bit of luck there.
So we’re now back at the top 10 campsite in Motueko. Because we’re only stopping the one night we’ve taken a basic cabin rather than a campsite. We’ve showered, had a beer and soon we’ll be off to eat. We’re famished.
