Category: Abel Tasman

Bom ba pa daa da dom,
Daa daa dom,

BOM BOM

April 26, 2016

We feel like we’ve been living an episode of National Geographic (minus the bare-breasted natives). The wildlife in the Able Tasman National Park has been wonderful.

First, after we anchored off the Tata Islands, we discovered the two small islands were covered with cormorant nests, or as they’re called here, shags. (OK, so the Tata Islands are not really in the Able Tasman, but rather Golden Bay, but that’s where we started this leg of the cruise.)

At our next anchorage in Mutton Cove, Legacy was floating not much more than a boat length away from a fur seal rookery. The pups were everywhere! I’ve never seen such an appropriate use for the words “cavorting” and “frolicking.”

Then, on a dinghy ride up the stream that feeds Fisherman’s Cove, we found four little fur seal pups that were very interested in playing with us. We paddled closer to the head of the little cove and they exuberantly swam out to meet us.

In addition to these stars of the show, there were stingrays and eagle rays near almost every shore and the bird songs were constant. Every area we cruise seems to have some overriding theme. Here, in the Abel Tasman, it was definitely the nature show. –Rich

April 21, 2016

After only a day, we’d gotten attached to our Mutton Cove anchorage with its baby fur seals; so it was with some sadness we headed on the next morning. As much as we’d like to slow down sometimes, weather always has the final say. (Below, an interactive map of the next segment of the park: Totaranui Beach to Awaroa Bay.)

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Our next stop was a bay called Totaranui. When we rounded the point, I was reminded a lot of Mutton Cove where we’d just been. We anchored beside a tree-covered headland with a rocky shore, while a long stretch of golden-sand beach and forested hills lay ahead of us. This time, though, we were able to take our dinghy up a large cement ramp instead of pulling it up the beach.

We parked our dinghy in the grass and took in the beach. It was pretty, but with more sea debris and coarser sand, not as nice as the beaches at Mutton Cove. Behind the beach was a lagoon and estuary which was interesting. This area also had a rather large campground that accommodated motor homes as well as the tent campers. It was a nice looking and well manicured place, but it felt more like a busy campground than like being out in nature.

In a previous post, memory did not serve me well and I confused this place with the Mutton Cove camping area. In fact, it is the Totaranui campground that has the national park headquarters building that so desperately needs a cafe. Even in the off season, a lot of people were congregated here. So I’ll repeat my previous request:

Dear New Zealand: Please add a snack bar to the Totaranui campground. There are more than enough visitors to make it profitable, and we’d all love some coffee and a nibble. In fact, this place could easily support a cafe or restaurant.

In all, this bay and its beach were not our favorite, but it did have one striking feature: the road leading in to the campground was lined with beautiful big sycamore trees. Big as they were, we noticed the remains of some massive trunks between them. I don’t know what kind of trees those were or why they’d been cut down, but they must have been huge. What a shame they’re gone.

An easterly wind came up while we were ashore, confirming our plan to move someplace nicer and more protected. We that, we headed down the coast a mile or so. We noticed after Skinner Point, an area of rocks that divides the beaches, the sand became noticeably lighter in Goat and Waiharakeke Bays. Below us stretched an arm of land that created the north-facing bay with beautiful Awaroa Beach. Ducking behind the headland there would offer us a protected anchorage, but we decided first to go check out a spot around the corner. –Cyndi

April 20, 2016

Earlier in the day, after we first anchored in Mutton Cove, we heard noises outside. Rich asked, “Are those birds or kids?” We went to look and discovered that amid the rocks next to us were fur seal pups. Once we really started looking, we could see them all over the place! We sat and watched for awhile, amused at all the grunting and squealing noises they made. We didn’t see many adults, and the ones we did spot were fast asleep, probably wishing the noisy kids would be quiet. We did see one pup nursing, and another that looked newborn. It was thrilling having this front row seat to nature’s show.

Later, while having pre-sundowners (before our actual sundowners), we were watching the pups again. It seems when the sun dips behind the hill, it’s the pups’ signal to head to the water to play. As soon as they were in, the frolicking began.

We watched while the pups played, sometimes jumping completely out of the water, sometimes doing a headstand with just their tails in the air, and always jumping around. Often, they seemed to go in sync with the music we had on, enough so we were inspired to film it.

During this time, we didn’t see any parents around–they were probably sill sleeping or maybe out looking for dinner. Oddly, there was one shag hanging around, looking as if it were a lifeguard overseeing the pups. Can different species of animals babysit for each other? It sure looked that way.

This surprise cocktail show was one of the highlights of our time in the Abel Tasman. It was such a beautiful warm evening, and the angle of sunlight made for bright silvery rings of water around the cavorting pups. –Cyndi  (Below, a gallery of photos you can click to enlarge.)

April 20, 2016

As we rounded the headland, Anapai Beach came into view along with an array of strange rock formations at its north end. They seemed to form an open-sided room, the high walls looked like stone pillars that had been pushed together. Maybe it was once a cave, but now it had no ceiling.

Most striking was pillar of stacked boulders that marked the entrance. It looked like it could topple over at the slightest disturbance, but it may well still be there in a thousand years. Seeing how impressive this was, I wondered why I never came across it in my research. It seems this “Stonehenge” needs a publicist! Below, a few photos of the area. (Click to enlarge/scroll through galleries below.)

These rocks were taller than they look in photos, as you can see in this photo of Rich standing near the base of the stacked rocks.

Next, we headed down Anapai Beach. It had light gold sand and pretty blue water, I think the prettiest of the three big beaches in the Mutton Cove area. Now that we’d explored the area, we made the long dinghy ride back to the boat. We’d only just seen a bit of Abel Tasman National Park, but we were already very impressed. –Cyndi

April 20, 2016

To get to Anapai Beach, we’d need to round the sizeable headland that lies between Anatakapau Beach and Anapai Bay. With dinghy gas in the can and calm weather, we decided to give it a go.

As we made our way around, we found ourselves in a world of green and blue pools, impressive white sandstone formations and outlying rocks. This headland was destination-worthy in itself! If I had any doubts about the best way to see this area, I didn’t anymore: kayaking is the way to go! (Better yet, kayaking and walking!) Below, some photos from rounding the headland (click to enlarge/scroll through both galleries below).

Soon, we came across an sizable indent in the headland. Here, a beach with candy shades of blue-green water had formed at the foot of steep forested hills. It may have been small, but it was the prettiest beach of the day. –Cyndi