Week 4, Road Trip Week 2,

During a West Coast pit-stop, I tried some experimenting with shutter speeds.

Since the last post we've traveled west clear across the country and then north up the coast to Takaka. We ended up fast-tracking the West Coast route because the weather was junk and route to Hospital Flats (the place with those oh-so-warm hot springs) was closed due to floods. The highlights of this two day driving marathon had to be Jack's blowhole, wind so strong that it's gusts could hold you up at a 60 degree angle to the ground, and a very, very generous free brewery tour.

The North, as opposed to the squalid West, is delightful. Takaka gets more hours of sun than any other city or town in all of N-Zed, North Island or South Island. The town has a super cool vibe because of its fun folk, hippie art shops, boutique cafes and picturesque beaches.

We spent Wednesday and Thursday in the Abel Tasman National Park, doing part of one of New Zealand's famed Great Walks (Link). The trek to the huts was a relatively mild 12 kilometers along white sand beaches and rain forests that look like advertisements for romantic get-aways.

The Oo-La-La Beach

At one such beach, Mindy, Kristen and I made a mad dash down the the shore, stripped down to our swim suits or underwear and broke into hysterical laughter as we started taking our first showers of the trip. Shortly thereafter we realized we weren't alone on the beach. Individually we ceased our hysterics as 40 or so 3rd or 4rth grade kids were slowly shepherded along the beach, between us an d our clothes. The most bold tyke decided to shout, "Ohh-La-La", and the entire gaggle burst into laughter at our expense. The next minute or so was spent oscillating between awkwardly bathing ourselves and rejoicing in the fact that we were finally clean. I'm sure every kid there thought we were either dirty, dirty hippies or clinically insane.

One of Cleopatra's Pools

We spent the next day skinny-dipping in the arctic cold of Cleopatra's Pools, a cascade of waterfalls and startlingly green pools located a couple miles from the huts. After that we proceeded back to Fey and over to Takaka again.

Yesterday, we celebrated Kristen's birthday by breaking our usual asceticism and buying breakfast at a cafe that was aptly named Cafe. It may e a case of hunger being the greatest spice, but we thought the food was so good that we ended up taking dozens of pictures of recipes from their $60 cook book so that we could recreate the ambrosial dishes at home.

Sunrise from Abel Tasman

Now we're getting ready to head out to Marburough Sound, Down to Hamner Springs and over to Christchurch where we'll drop off the girls. The trip is winding down, but we should have a few more days of good weather and fun times.