| Northern South Island and North Island |
| Abel Tasman Track |
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| Located on a peninsula on the north-west corner of the south island, this hike is relativley easy. We found out that you don't even have to carry your pack! You can hand it to one of the water taxis in the morning, and when you get to the next camp, it is waiting for you. Not really having recovered from the first two hikes, we took advantage of this service. |
| Monica is much happier with this hike, even before she found out she didn't have to carry her pack. Warm and sunny beaches were welcome after the mountains. |
| The water was about 70 degrees, very pretty, and very clear. |
| Some sections of the trail ran right on the beach, others clumbed up into the hills at points. The views of the beaches, islands, and ocean were "brilliant" as the Irish say. |
| Water is very clear. You could see the bottom, even in deep water. |
| These are the water taxis. They run up and down the beaches all day, picking up and dropping off hikers. We hiked about 17 miles in 4 days. When you landed at the beach, they actually pulled the boat right up to the office with the trailer with us in the boat! There we unloaded. |
| From the park, at the conclusion of our hike, we drove over a mountain range into a valley filled with cows and hippies. Takaka is the Santa Cruz of New Zealand. Lost of beads, unshaven people, crystals, and a lot of "grass" that the cows don't eat. The owner of the hostel we stayed at got us to dress up for St. Patrick's Day. This is the crowd all decked out in green trash bags, and about ready to head to the local bar. We scared the locals. |
| Monica (in her vest & my hat) and from Israel. |
| On the north island we drove to Rotorua, a city full of geothermal activity, and the center of Maori culture in New Zealaland. We went to a Maori village for a show and dinner one night. Lots of facial tatoos designed to frighten the enemy. |
| The performance of a haka. This is the challenge that ocurred when two parties met. It set the terms of the meeting, either hostility or peace. It looks and sounds very aggressive. These were not peacrful people befor the arrival of Europeans. |
| Rotorua |
| North Island |
| Monica with a tiki. |
| Lots of geothermal activity in the area, and the whole town smells of sulpher. Steaming vents, pools, mud pots, geysers, etc... all over the place. Homes and pools are heated with natural steam. |