Day 186: Abel Tasman
I’ve long wanted to visit Abel Tasman, located north on the south island. I’ve heard many wonderful things as well as seen some amazing photos of this area. Once we arrived though, it was almost overwhelming to choose what to do, as there are so many different treks you can take in this area. We finally settled on one that we thought would be challenging but not overwhelming for the younger children.
The drive to the starting off point (northeast Abel Tasman) was a bit hair-raising, as we were driving in a campervan on narrow, steep, windy roads with little to no barriers between us and the plummeting cliffs. At times, you can barely see around the next bend, so we honked frequently, to alert oncoming traffic of our presence. Once we arrived, the trek itself was moderate and took about one hour each way, going up and down through the mountain with a few views to the ocean. Below is a photo journal of the area we finally did choose to hike.
All along the one hour drive to the starting off point, there were gorgeous scenes like the one above.
As we started to climb, we saw jutting cliffs and crashing waves.
Above is what greeted us at the start of our trek…grassy fields, colorful flowers, and views of the sea in the distance.
We were so excited when we arrived at our destination! We were totally alone on this massively huge, white, sandy, rocky beach! Below are rocks covered with black mussels. There were tons of beautiful rocks jutting out everywhere, which made for an awesome (but somewhat dangerous) playground for the kids. Just stunning!
We could have spent all day here! No one wanted to leave! So thankful for such a great day.
Just want to send out God’s Blessings upon each of you. It is so amazing what you all are doing. I pray that you will have a blessed Christmas and will spend it in a beautiful place somewhere that looks as heavenly as this does. I wish I could do what you all are doing. I will be going to Los Cabos in October next year for vacation. I hope it is as beautiful as this and some of the other places you have gone.
Continue to Love God and continue to be the beautiful family you are.
Bettie McKenzie
Hi Bettie. It’s always so nice to hear from you. Thanks for your sweet message. I hope Cabo is as lovely as you’re hoping it will be. Have a very Merry Christmas as well!