Day Three – Welcome to the South Island

It was raining this morning when I left Wellington, but after a 35 minute flight across the Cook Strait, the sun was shining when I landed in Nelson.  And so my South Island adventure begins!!  Almost everyone familiar with New Zealand will tell you, THIS island is where it’s at… So I can’t wait to see what all the hype is about!!

But first I had to figure out the whole opposite driving situation.  I was a bit nervous to be honest… I’ve never driven on the left and it is definitely backwards.  I mean, EVERYTHING is backwards.  You have no idea how many times I went to put on my turn signal and the wipers started doing their thing at full blast.  And at one point, going to get in the car, I went to open the left door (their passenger side, our drivers side) – “Hi, I’m from the states… is it obvious?”  #tourist

But after I had that sorted out, I enjoyed the hour drive to Abel Tasman National Park.  The scenery was beautiful.  As I pulled into Marahua, the small town at the base of the park, I started to feel overwhelmed.  Today, I’m definitely stepping outside of my comfort zone… hiking 13.7 km by myself.  My sister had given me a whistle before I left, but after realizing that I might pass a total of ten people all day, I wondered what good that was going to do to protect me.

I hired a boat to take me out to Anchorage Bay and would then hike back from there.  As we made our way along the coast, I couldn’t get over how beautiful the coastline is… seriously, stunning.  After the boat dropped me and pulled away, I realized that I was pretty much stuck.  If I wanted to get back to my car, I had to walk… So after a detour to the beautiful Te Pukatea Bay, I started my trek.

I’m sure we can all agree that I’m NOT very good at relaxing and I don’t think I’ve ever taken time to stand still and reflect.  Well today was probably the most time I’ve ever had alone with my thoughts.  After what felt like an hour, I was feeling good… but my enthusiasm was deflated when I realized I was only 20 minutes into my hike.  I tried everything… including a karaoke session thanks to my iPhone playlist, but after getting busted by passing hikers, I shut that down.  (If you’ve never had the opportunity to hear me sing, consider yourself very lucky).

But as I came across each bend, I was in awe of the view.  The scenery was breathtaking.  New Zealand has to be the two most beautiful pieces of land God has created.  I took a few detours down to the beaches and bays along the trail and had a lot of fun with self-timer 🙂  I passed a total of 16 people all day and realized how nice it is to enjoy some real peace and quiet.  It was a great feeling when I arrived back at my car and I felt re-energized as I made the hour drive back to Nelson where I was spending the night.  Well re-energized emotionally, but physically I was beat… it’s been two long days and another long one ahead.   See I told you I wasn’t good at relaxing.  Goodnight!

This blog entry was originally posted on www.KmayerAdventures.blogspot.com