Abel Tasman

Another big highlight on our trip was definitely the smallest of New Zealands National Parks, Abel Tasman NP. It´s small enough to almost hike through it in one day. But it is still big enough that your feet will hurt big time afterwards (yes they did!)! Still the walk itself is really easy, flat and follows the coastline for the most part of it. You get to see incredibly beautiful beaches surrounded by jungle in all shades of green, with intervalls of Mediterranean-like pine forest.
30km and 3 or 4 of the most brilliant beaches later we felt like there was nothing to add to the impressions we were sucking in the last 8 or so hours. Thus, even though it was a particularly atmospheric piece of earth, we hit the road again the next morning towards the West Coast of the South Island...


driftwood like out of a Dalí picture


kaltes klares Wasser...


high tide forestalled us. we had to give up a few meters afterwards...


the bridge was the better choice


hidden lagoons


somebody chose to stay longer


somebody had to stay longer

Hail Abel Tasman at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephan_mittas/sets/72157614023687598/