Read one, get one free........

The rubbish Wifi here refused to post my blog last night and in my frustration I must have forgotten to save it, so I am now trying to recreate. Yesterday was the hottest day so far and there was no wind - which in some ways was a bit disturbing as we have got so used to it. We drove out from our accommodation in Takaka to the start (or end depending on your viewpoint) of the Abel Tasman track. Our maps, like all the maps we have seen here appeared to contradict themselves, so we wasted over an hour walking out to Taupo Point, only to find there was no apparent connection to the rest of the track. The walk involved beach walking and rock scrambling and while very pleasant was not what we had come out for. Retracing our steps we set off on an uphill track to Whariwherangi Beach and Separation Point. The track went along the tops, but set back from the coastline, and we got some welcome shade from the coastal bush we were walking through. You had to look behind you for the best views, but that was a good excuse for a breather!

We were beginning to get a bit worried about not having enough water with us, when we came upon Whariwherangi Hut, a very basic structure for Abel Tasmin trampers, but which did have running water - so we lunched in the shade after inspecting the deserted beach - sadly no shelter so we oouldn't risk having lunch there as even Factor 50, sunblock and a Tilly Hat can only do so much!  With full bottles and watched suspiciously by the resident Weka birds (who refused to elucidate on their workshops) we headed back to Wainu, where the inside of the car was like a furnace.  We had to drive to Picton from there and although in distance terms it isn't too far it took for ever - steep, twisty mountain roads, Sunday drivers out to wander around looking at the scenery and a plethora of overladen camper vans, driven by tourists who seemed incapable of driving above about 20mph.

We finally made it to Picton just before 8.00pm, which was fortunate as the supermarket stays open until 9pm!  We stayed in this place when we came over from the North Island and they have been keeping our bike bags so we knew where everything was (but discovered that the Wifi has not improved). It is now Monday lunchtime and we have been out walking this morning and trying to decide how to fill our time - should we go to King Salmon to 'create the ultimate salmon experience' - I presume this involves fishing but you can never be sure - or possibly go to the optimistically named 'aquarium' to feed an eel or touch a tuatara (although I understand this could be seen as a punishable offence).  

We looked at a couple of wine tasting tours, since we missed doing our own on the bikes, but for the price of 2 of us on a tour we could purchase enough NZ wine to have us both comatose until Christmas - which on the whole sounds like a lot more fun.  You will be pleased to know that the Black Caps, the Black Sticks, the Black Ferns and possibly the Black Panthers, Tuataras etc are all doing reasonably well at their chosen sports, while England's recent collapse in a cricket match somewhere was reported with some glee - although in the interests of balance the NZ news did point out that it was only the second worst performance of all time - NZ went one worse at some time in the distant past.

Photos of yesterday below: