Golden days

Reading my blog, you just might get the impression that I'm on the go all the time. Whether it's packrafting, tramping, cycling, skiing.... But I'm not. I have many rest days, because all that activity is frankly, quite exhausting. And I'm not getting any younger...

Because I have the flexibility to go on adventures whenever I like I tend to work around the weather. If there are a few rainy days coming up then I'll hunker down somewhere and honestly, I'll do nothing. Well nothing physically anyway. I'll probably blog about the last adventure and research my next adventure, but obviously I don't write a post about holing up in a cabin somewhere and getting my laundry done!!

I spend a lot of time trawling through various weather apps to find good weather windows, and researching routes using a number of online resources. Between Wilderness Magazine, Moir's guidebooks, Routeguides and various FB groups there is a wealth of information about even some truly remote routes. Add in a few YouTube videos and anyone should be well prepared.

After my bike packing trip I headed off from Wakefield and drove up to Kaiteriteri. It was now fairly late in the season and the campground was almost empty so I managed to get a tent site on the front strip with views across the road to the bay. Very scenic indeed. 

Since I was expecting rain, I didn't actually do anything. I just hung around, walked along the beach in front of me, watched the water ferries ferrying tourists in and out of Abel Tasman National Park, ate some nice food and let my muscles recuperate. I might've watched a movie or two and started making plans for where to go next. And went out for a pub meal.

  

I stocked up at the Motueka supermarket before heading up through Takaka and back out to the coast. I was heading to  Golden Bay and back to one of my favourite campsites at Totaranui in the Abel Tasman National Park. During the busy Christmas New Year period the place is packed but at this time of year it's almost empty. But the beach is still glorious and the wekas just as curious.

I decided to spend a few days there because my next tramping trip would rely on a good weather window. The crux of the tramp would require clear weather for both safety and the best views.

I set up camp for a couple of days and although I had planned to go for a paddle at Awaroa Inlet the tide times didn't quite marry. I did however go for a glorious walk north to Anapai Bay. The forests in the north of the Abel Tasman National Park are more pristine than those in the south, having suffered less from logging. Because the water taxis only go as far as Totaranui, less people frequent the track north of there. That makes the beaches quieter. It doesn't make the sandflies less bitey, however. 

There's a small campsite on the beach at Anapai Bay, and some beautiful rock formations at the northern end that look like statues. And there's also lots of birdlife. 

Having waited out the less than optimum weather and had a good long rest I packed my bags, broke camp and headed back over Takaka Hill to start my next trip.

That's next.