Abel Tasman: Day 1
Our holiday began inauspiciously with an alarm that didn’t go off. It put us thirty minutes behind schedule and we struggled to catch up. We remembered most things, but in our rush we forgot the pasta that we planned to have for lunch, and the wine we planned to have after dinner.
Nevertheless, we arrived at the airport with ten minutes to spare, and I got one of Mojo’s Manuka Smoked Bacon sandwiches to tide us over until lunch time: they’re really good. Even L, who ‘hates sandwiches’, really liked them.
On the flight I begin my book: Ogilvy on Advertising, which I immediately take a liking to. L seems to as well, she sneaks glances at it from the pages of her book: the full colour ads draw her in.
We arrive in Nelson and get a shuttle into town. We have an hour to spare so we go to a small cafe on Trafalgar Street, where L orders a Chili Hot Chocolate. It’s served with flakes of chili: a really weird flavour but L loves it. She also has a carrot cake which she likes, but we’re still hungry, so we cross the road and head to another cafe where we order bacon bagels. We’re the first customers of the day and unfortunately the bagels are terrible: they’re stale and hard and the cooked bacon is freezing cold. We don’t have time to make a scene so we leave them half eaten and head up to the Nelson Christ Church Cathedral to enjoy the view before going to catch our bus.
I read all the way to Kaiteriteri so miss the view from the bus: I’m pretty absorbed with the book. L looks out the window.
There’s a bit of confusion when we arrive: we are confronted with three different water taxi stalls lined up beside each other. I consult my notes and manage to find the right one. We pay and go to sit on the beach to await our ride.
We get on the water taxi and head north, skirting around Split Apple rock along the way. We visit Pinnacle Island, which is covered in spotted shags and has a small rock pool in which juvenile seals frolic. We also pass Tonga Island, where larger are seals are sprawled over rocks. Finally we head into the Awaroa inlet. By this point L is a bit nauseous, and when we’re told to that we have to wade into shore, she grimaces. “Or,” says the driver, “you can wear these.” The driver produces ridiculous orange waders which slip over shoes, legs, everything. L and I put them on and we head into shore.
After checking into our room, we head into the main part of the lodge to get lunch. L orders a salad and I get an eye fillet. It’s very nice but we’re both pretty shocked at the prices. We let it slide because we had been forewarned that the prices were a bit higher than normal because of the difficulty in bringing supplies in: but there are no cheap options.
After lunch I fall asleep, and wake to find L upset that the heater isn’t working. She wasn’t able to sleep, even under an extra duvet and with an electric blanket on. After checking the blanket, I wonder whether it isn’t working either. We go to reception and let them know about the heater before heading out for a walk.
The sun is setting: we stroll through the wetlands and hear bellbirds and walk through the reeds that are dotted with tufted white spider nests. The reeds give way to native bush, and we walk across an airstrip where six sheep graze, and then into a large inlet, emptied of the tide. We skirt around the outside, until we notice the moon and take forced perspective pictures of each other pinching it between our thumb and forefinger. We head back along the beach and back to the lodge.
The heater has been fixed in our absence. We head to dinner, where L has the steak and I have a lamb rack. We share a bottle of wine and finish with dessert and whiskey. It’s still early when we turn in.