Last Tuesday we headed off to the Abel Tasman National Park, 80 year 11 girls and 11 members of staff. One ferry trip and bus ride later we stopped at Pelorus bridge for lunch, swims and ice cream. The girls loved jumping in off the rocks, it is a beautiful place to swim.
We all spent that night together at Old MacDonalds farm in Marahau. The next morning we split off into 4 groups and headed for different parts of the park. My group had a 2 and a half hour kayaking session in the morning, before walking the Marahau to Anchorage leg of the track. We had absolutely stunning weather and gorgeous views along the way.
We stopped at the lookout just before Anchorage for more gorgeous pics... I don't usually wear sunhats, but we make the kids, so I thought I had better set an example... I decided I wasn't having several days of flat hair, hence the styley visor look I'm rocking!
It was a gorgeous evening when we got into Anchorage. We took the kids for a swim, before they cooked themselves some dinner and headed for bed, exhausted after a full-on day!
The next day we walked from Anchorage to Bark Bay. It was another absolutely cracking day, so it was nice for the girls to see the Abel Tasman at its best.
Along the way we stopped at Cleopatra's Pool for a refreshing fresh water dip. With no showers at the camp sites it counted as my daily wash! Behind that big front rock stretching out to the right is a natural water slide where the water from the waterfall gushes down a channel worn through the rocks. The more adventurous of the girls enjoyed hurtling down it.
People we had met on the way to the pool had told us they had seen a big eel in it. We told the kids about it, but they thought we were joking... Until it popped out to say hello! Some of the girls got out of the water pretty quick!!!
This was a very scenic day of walking, I love the area around Torrent Bay. I'd like to actually camp there the next time I'm in that neck of the woods.
The Falls River swing bridge was also a highlight, although some of the girls were a bit nervous about crossing it...
We eventually arrived at Bark Bay and took the girls swimming straight away before they cooked their dinner. There was a bit of excitement during the evening when one of the girl's gas canisters exploded in the cooking shelter. Nothing that a dry-foam fire extinguisher couldn't handle... No harm done... Except to the cooking shelter that ended up covered in white foam!
On the Friday we just had a short (approx 2 hour) walk to Onetahuti. Just before you hit Onetahuti you come across the most gorgeous turquoise blue water imaginable.
From here we had our water-taxi pick-up back to Marahau. Instead of taking us straight back, the drivers took us the scenic route home. We checked out the seals and were shown a little rock pool which acts like a nursery where the baby seals learn to swim.
We also went cruising past Split Apple Rock.
From here we had a bit of time to kill before the buses arrived to take us back to Nelson airport, ready to fly home. We were booked on 3 flights and I was lucky enough to be on the first one. I arrived home exhausted but happy after another brilliant school camp.
