Marahau Summer

The day dawned bright and clear with no wind. Just the sort of weather that is perfect for a long walk in the Abel Tasman National Park. We drove over the hills to Marahau, a small settlement right on the doorstep to the National Park. There we parked the car at the Abel Tasman Aquataxi Company headquarters. There were lots of people there waiting for water taxis. All water taxis are hitched up to tractors and then trundled along the roads to the seafront and launching ramp. Because the tide was low the tractor towed us out across the sand-flats to water deep enough for launching the boat. We then had a fast trip on smooth seas up the coast to “Anchorage “, a large sheltered bay, a haven for boats in bad weather. Once ashore we checked out the brand new hut complex....a brilliant place to stay when walking the Abel Tasman Track. The new hut, well, it can hardly be called a “hut” was only opened for use three months ago.
So eventually we were off, three adults and two ten year olds, walking the track back to Marahau. We covered about 13 kilometers. Our lunch stop was at a very beautiful beach called Stilwell Bay. A heavenly spot. Of course there were images to be captured at every turn of the track. The Abel Tasman is a beautiful part of New Zealand. We got to our destination, The Park Café, at the end/start of the track around 4.pm. Oven-fired pizzas were the order of the day. Yum.
The image I have chosen is captured on the track board-walks looking across the estuary to part of the beach at Marahau. Believe me the colours today are as vivid as depicted in the image which has been tweaked in Nik. It was an intensely bright and highly coloured day and all in all, although tired tonight, we had a wonderful time.