South Island

Catching the ferry on Tuesday from Wellington, we arrived in Picton on the South Island around nine in the evening. The plan was to catch the ferry on Monday, but I had some issues with collecting my Russian and Chinese visas. I needed a longer NZ visa before I could get my Russian Visa, and after I got that taken care of they had closed their consulate. I wouldn't mind the 1:00 PM close if I worked there, but it didn't give me much time to run down to Immigration and get a six-month NZ visa. The next day I was prepared, or so I thought, but was told that I needed a full receipt for my lodgings in Russia. I ran down to the nearest internet cafe, and luckily Jared was online - he phoned my travel agent in Edmonton for me, and she sent the information I needed five minutes later. I got back to the Russian Embassy with twenty minutes to spare and dropped off the necessary documents and my passport. When they are finished processing it they'll send it on to the Chinese Embassy in Wellington where I will have to pick it up on my way out of the country. Oh bureaucracy.

After getting off the ferry in the dark, we found a spot to sleep in a gravel parking lot in Picton and then headed west to Abel Tasman National Park. We pulled into the little town of Marahau in the evening and planned the next day for our hike. The Tasman Trail is 52 kms long and can be done in 3-5 days, but we don't have a tent - or the interest in spending a bunch of nights sleeping in the woods. There is a fee for every night you spend in the park as well, so we decided the best way to do it would be to do an all-day out-and-back hike.

This didn't seem like such a good idea at 6 AM as we pulled ourselves out of the van the next day, but we had managed to find a mattress at a second-hand store the day before which made the sleep significantly more restful. Getting on the trail just as the sun was rising, we headed out with backpacks full of food and water with the plan to cover as much distance as possible. What we had not taken into account that it has been nearly two months without wearing shoes, and about mid-morning our feet reminded us. Jordache ended up finishing the day with blisters all over his feet, none of them smaller than a thumb nail, while I was lucky to only limp through a pulled groin muscle I had injured surfing a few days ago. We did still manage to cover over thirty kilometers though, getting back to the trail head around six in the evening. The highlight for me was Cleopatra's Pool where I went for a swim in the cold water and gave the natural rock water slide a try.

Getting back into Marahau, we parked our van down the street from a campground and slipped in the front gate with our towels and soap for a quick shower. Jordache had tried the same thing the night before but had found out that the showers were coin-operated, so we were prepared this time with some coins. A legitimate camper was using the bathroom at the same time and was surprised to see that he needed to go and get a dollar to use the shower. He turned to Jordache and said "What? You have to pay for showers here? I already paid for a campsite!" Jordache nodded his head in sympathy and said "Yeah, I know what you mean man." Our dirt camping skills are becoming more and more advanced.

The hike was yesterday, though by the end of the day it could only have been termed a shuffle, and we are now on our way to see the seal colony at Cape Foulwind (Hopefully the name isn't too apt). Our plan is make a counter-clockwise circle of the South Island and then end in Christchurch, though the plan is more of a rough sketch than a set itinerary.