Wow, just back from the Abel Tasman and wow, how do I describe it.....I just cant you have to go and see for yourself.
It is so magical and relaxing. The scenery and beaches are unbelievable.
We did a days Kayak round the coat with Freedom Kayaks ($50 per person for a double Kayak, $35 pick up fee of the Kayak at a bay). This was amazing. We did our own Kayaking, no groups just me and Stu at our own pace and loved every minute. We'd never been Kayaking before really and this was awesome. I wont lie the second half after lunch was hard and my arms did ache but it was worth it.
We got in around 3.30ish at Anchorage Bay where the Kayaks would be picked up and stayed the night there on the Aquapackers Boat. $175 for a double private room on a wee boat (no en-suite). This included both our dinners in the evening, brekkie and a packed lunch. Not bad I thought. Plus there were clean toilets and a shower and we met some interersting travellers!
We then got up early the next day and did a days hike from Anchorage to Tonga. It was awesome. Quite tiring and hard work again spesh in that heat but it was worth it. If you do go hiking go early and try and miss out the midday sun as there are NO water stops along the way. A few DOC campsites have water but it has to be filtered or boiled prior to drinking it.
We got picked up just passed Tonga beach by Aqua Taxis ($30 each) and had an amazing 45min boat trip back and managed to see a pod of about 20-30 dolphins. We booked our taxi for 5pm as they have a time table for each bay but by 3pm we were knackered and ready to go home. We just asked the taxi driver if he would take us on the 3.30 shuttle and he did. If they have space they will take you so dont worry if you want to go home early and have booked onto a later taxi.
The whole experience was so good that we're going to take my folks there next weekend if the weather is nice.
I would so recommend going there. It is so different to every where else in NZ. I would even go as far to say as it was better than the Bay of Islands and I love it up there as well.
You should also do a wee stay in Kateriteri (spelling ??) as thats wonderful as well. Lovely views again.
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