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I broke a new personal record last night, sleeping in a 28 bed dorm. Packing us in like sheep, I felt used and degraded, ah but it was cheap, so who cares?! I challenge anyone to find a larger dorm. It was in Picton, the gateway to the South Island, surrounded by the picturesque Marlborough Sounds. I got the ferry over a few days ago, meant to be one of the most scenic in the world, and I wouldn't doubt it, drifting past the numerous sheltered bays and inlets of the wooded Sounds. It's a big transport route, and whole trains even chug onboard the ferries to make the crossing.

Flipper, eat your heart out!

Simon Wadsworth
2006-09-04 18:15:14

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I broke a new personal record last night, sleeping in a 28 bed dorm. Packing us in like sheep, I felt used and degraded, ah but it was cheap, so who cares?! I challenge anyone to find a larger dorm. It was in Picton, the gateway to the South Island, surrounded by the picturesque Marlborough Sounds. I got the ferry over a few days ago, meant to be one of the most scenic in the world, and I wouldn't doubt it, drifting past the numerous sheltered bays and inlets of the wooded Sounds. It's a big transport route, and whole trains even chug onboard the ferries to make the crossing.

But I was only passing through, heading to the Abel Tasman Coastal Track, another of NZ's 9 Great Walks, but the most sandy one. It's possible to sea-kayak round, or tramp through, and I chose the latter, regretting the decision somewhat, as clever me decided to not empty my rucksack of the more pointless articles I was carrying, like a pillow case and Vaseline. With added dried rations for 3 days, my bag weighed a bloody ton, and was a nightmare to carry. On the second day, my alarm clock then also decided to have a bit of a laugh and stop working, so I was joyous when I discovered I missed the low tide and had to make a detour, resulting in an 8 hour slow tramp, looking with envious eyes at the kayaks skimming past. Suddenly, that slog of a walk back in the Jaguar Reserve in Belize was finally paying off.

Still, the beaches by far made up for this. Beautiful, Thailand-esque goldan sands lapped by blue-green gleaming sea, and perfect for swimming in, surrounded by pleasant native bush. On the first night, I even got a little beach all to myself, Mr. Tent and a thousand lovely sandflies, and on the second night I bumped into a friend from Rotorua. So althought by the end my back was creaking like a refined old Gentleman's, it was a few days well spent.

I then flipped back round to the East Coast to a small coastal town called Kaikoura, ...