Abel Tasman Trail – Day 2

Sunday January 21, 2024
Distance/ Total: 15.3 km / 17.9 mi

I slept in until after 7:00am today. Due to the tides I could only walk 2 km before reaching a low tide crossing that wouldn’t be passable until 11:50.

I was slow to get around and spent some time reading more of the book “Upwards” by Laurie Apgar Chandler whom I met in Maine when hiking the ECT in 2022. It’s the story of the first woman to thru-paddle the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. I’ve been reading it on and off for awhile, but I usually don’t take time to read.

I eventually packed up about 9:00am and headed out. I figured I could wait for the tide to drop just as well in the shade by the bay as I could at camp. Getting there early I had more time to read.

11:30 rolled around and people slowly started to cross, by 11:50 it looked like a multi lane highway with day hikers and backpackers crossing from both directions.

I crossed barefoot because I didn’t want to get my shoes wet and stopped at Awaroa Hut to wash off my feet and put my shoes back on. I then started on the remaining 13.5km to my campsite at Bark Bay.

As yesterday there was a lot of ups and downs as the trail climbed over a cliff and dropped back down to the next beach. The trail was still in great shape, but I did have one area where the trail had been rerouted due to a slip and sure enough it was almost straight up and then straight back down to the original trail.

After the Tonga Quarry campground the trail climbed up a valley away from the coastline in order to meet up with the back of Bark Bay. The trail dropped down the side of the bay and looped around the back of the bay passing a couple of streams with waterfalls.

I finally got a picture of a Weka today. They are a flightless bird native to New Zealand. They are scavengers and are know to be quiet the thieves at camps. You have to keep everything zipped up in your tent or they will try to take it – even your shoes.

I reached the campground about 5:00 and found found a place to setup my tent. The campground was in a sandbar extending into the bay and I had some difficulty getting my tent set up in the sand. I eventually found the right spots where my stakes would hold.

It was a hot day and I changed into my swimsuit and took a dip in Bark Bay to cool off. The water was colder than I expected and I didn’t stay in too long. Back at camp I cooked dinner, ate, and found a log on the beach to sit in to write my daily blog. It’s a great view from here.