M-whY

There are several ways of going about the tramp. Some people choose to start in Marahau, technically the beginning of the trail, and work their north. Some may make it a day trip, walking a couple hours up, and then coming back down in the afternoon. People with more time and energy continue north, either camping or arranging stays in the huts along the path. Most make it a one way trip, as water taxis and shuttle buses are readily available at certain points to take you back to Marahau when you've gone as far as you care to. And of course, the tramp is doable in reverse, by hiring a water taxi or shuttle bus to take you north and hiking your way down.

For no particular reason, we decided to start north and walk south. I left my bag at the information center, bringing only the essentials in my daypack. Some food, some clothes, toothbrush, and toothpaste. At 8:00am, the bus arrived to take me from Motueka to Totaranui. A two hour ride later, half of it through narrow, windy, dirt roads along the edge of scary cliffs, I was at Totaranui. The yellow sand looked awesome, I could just imagine how it might look had the sun been out.

The first day would be easy. It was only a little over two hours to Awaroa Hut, where we would spend our first night. Even so, I couldn't afford to spend too much time admiring the beach. The Abel Tasman Coastal Walkway is interesting in that some parts of it can only be crossed at low tide. Low tide at the Awaroa Estuary happened at 12:30pm, and it's crossable up to two hours before and two hours after. I was keen to get there early, which would give me some time to explore before water began to rise.

The walk alternated between walking on sandy beaches and in the forests. At around noon, I arrived at the Arawoa estuary. Small crabs scurried into their holes in the sand as I walked around. The place was littered with clamshells. A couple boats were just beached in the sand. I was amazed, knowing that this whole area would soon be underwater.

After about an hour, I finally headed to Arawoa hut. The hut had one common room and three bedrooms. Each bedroom had a huge upper bunk and a huge lower bunk, on which small mattresses were laid, side by side. People would sleep next to each other, kind of like canned sardines. I claimed my spot and sat outside, waiting for the tide to come in.

Around 4:00pm, the estuary became pretty much uncrossable. I saw a couple people try; they were basically wading through water up past their waists. At 7:00pm, and person who wanted to cross would basically have to swim. I didn't see anyone that desparate.

As it got dark, several of us gathered around the table in the common room. There was no electricity, so light was provided from several candles we found lying around. A couple people also had headlights. We lit a fire in the metal stove in the middle of the room for warmth. The clouds that had been threatening all day finally let it all out. It poured and poured.

"It's like the beginning to every horror movie," Rachelle, a chemical engineer from Denver, said to me.

Some people produced a deck of cards and in the candlelight, a raucaus game of "spoons" ensued. Not everyone had spoons, so plastic forks and knives and even a couple pens were substituted. "More like a game of 'silverware'," someone commented. Some people went to bed early, to be considerate, we all agreed to play a quieter game of "31".

The bedrooms were so cold, and neither Don nor I had brought sleeping bags. We decided to carry our mattresses to the common room and spend the night next to the fire.

Loud snores came from what would've been our room. "I'm so glad we're not sleeping in there," I said to Don.

Rain continued fall heavily. Hopefully it'll be a better day tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!