Abel Tasman National Park
I woke up a bit earlier than I needed to, but I didn’t want to risk oversleeping again so I got up at 7. A local picked us up in a shuttle van to take us to the start of the Abel Tasman coastal track. 8 of us did the 3-hour hike 
along the shore of the NP and it had such amazing views of the water and islands through the trees. The weather was great, blue skies and sunny. I should mention that last night, my sandal got caught in my tent peg and I stepped on the peg right in the middle of my foot, which KILLED! So I was a little worried about this hike, but thankfully the pain was minimal with my boots – with sandals or barefoot, however, I could barely walk.
Anyway, we had 4 hours to do this hike, which irritated me because I wanted to hike at my own pace without worrying about time constraints. Turns out that it actually took 2.5 hours nonstop, so I could actually afford to go at my slower pace. I went to a few lookouts which led to beaches along the way, all with soft golden sand and deep blue water. We could even see some islands nearby. All the beach views were stunning/beautiful/[insert another synonym here]. Paradise. Plus, the walk itself wasn’t strenuous like other past hikes were. Near the end, approaching Anchorage and Torrent Bay, coming down the hill we had the best view of the area, I’m talking postcard-worthy views. Amazing.
The track ended at the beach there, where I met the group at 12:30 for our 1:00 sail. I layed out in the sun with my umbrella for awhile until we left. I definitely could have stayed there all day. But sailing was wonderful too – we boarded a boat with 2 other people and just layed there for 3 hours. The sides of the boat had cushioned benches and the front had trampoline-like material as its floor for us to lay on. It felt so good to just lay in the sun on the boat, rocked to sleep by the ocean waves moving the boat. And of course the water and beaches we passed were nice to look at too. We saw more fur seals and birds, and Split Apple Rock. We only got to sail a little bit with the sail up due to lack of wind and went by motor instead.
That night, we all went out to dinner at a cafe down the road. Since we’re staying at Old Macdonald’s Farm, of course the road was lined with farm animals – llamas, horses, cows, pigs, and sheep. There was even a camp cat that kept coming to me, so cute! Looked a lot like the runt-weasel [aka Pip or Kia, cat from home] but not quite as tiny.
At the cafe, we all sat at 2 tables; this time I was with most of the old school crowd. It is extremely interesting to listen to 2 foreign girls who haven’t fully mastered English try to tell stories in that language. Isabelle [french] and Amaya [spanish] both have lots of energy, which makes them even funnier when they speak, and even moreso when they drink. They kept referring to a pint as a ‘pint’ with a short i, rather than ‘pynt’. I had garlic/herb bread and chicken. Go figure the portions were actually adequate this time and I didn’t need to order that bread entree. Oh well. I also split an apple crumb/rhubarb with Isabelle which was delicious. And by 9:00 I was exhausted and ready for bed, so I was a party pooper and went back to camp.
