Good-bye to Good Friends...

Nelson, New Zealand

May 7, 2007
S 41.16.275
E 173.16.800

The sky was still dark, except for a small stream of light coming from the moon, when the alarm went off. Our tents were covered with condensation from sleeping only meters from the beach. We quickly packed up our things, attempted to shake off as much of the water as possible and got on the trail; our headlamps illuminating the path it felt like we were miners (Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it’s off to work we go!).

There were two reasons for the early start: 1) We had to hit one of the river crossings within 3 hours of low tide, 5:49AM. There wasn’t an alternate route and we didn’t want to cross the river with water above our waist and holding our packs over-head, 2) We had to catch a Water Taxi at 10:30AM, taking us back to the trailhead and car-park, the trail-marker posted at our campsite estimated it would take us three hours to reach our meeting point.

The sun started to peak through the marine layer of mist after 30 minutes on the trail, around 7:30 AM. As we weaved along the path we were able to catch brief glimpses of the streaking sky, a luminous pink color intermingling with the clear, blue sky. We were able to snap a few pictures before regaining focus and continuing towards Awaroa Lodge, the pick up spot for the Water Taxi.

An hour and fifteen minutes into our hike we came to a sign for the Aworoa Lodge; only 15 minutes away. What, we thought this was a three hour hike, oh well. We quickly made our way downhill towards the swanky lodge. We found a little café, and parked ourselves outside relaxing at large wooden tables that were steaming as the sun warmed them up and dried the morning dew.

As we enjoyed our coffee an occasional lodge guest would look at us out of the corner of their eye with a little suspicion. We looked out of place in our grimy clothes and oil slicked hair. After a little breakfast, we made our way down to the beach to wait for our Water Taxi.

We expected the Water Taxi, or boat, to be just that… a form of transportation, something to take us from point A to point B. We were pleasantly surprised when our skipper made several stops along the route to give us a history lesson of the Able Tasman coastline, a visit to see seal pups frolicking in a pool off Tonga Island, and a brief search for blue penguins at Shelby’s request—he even found some.

The ride took longer than expected, but we were able to see the park from a different perspective; along our trek we only saw it within the boundaries of the beautiful trail. We were now an outsider looking in, admiring more of the coast line and blue water than the breathtaking fauna on the trail. The boat ride was a perfect way to end the trek.
After the ride back to the car-park, we stuffed our gear back into the Corolla and headed back to Nelson. We were right on schedule for Shelby and Dustin to make it to their evening destination.

When we dropped Shelby and Dustin off at Avis to pick up their rental car I got a little sad. We spent the last two weeks with them, drove countless hours in the car, hiked through the park, sailed on a ferry, drank a lot of Tui beer, ate great food and our time with them was coming to an end. We saw a great deal in the two weeks together and we will have memories that will last a lifetime.

The dynamics were definitely different when Shelby and Dustin joined our trip. I know I’m not always the easiest person to get along with since I have some obsessive compulsive characteristics. Such as reading a map and the desire to know exactly where I am at all times, removing luggage tags before I even leave the airport, ensuring the toilet paper roll always dispenses over the top, etc.

The day we got lost looking for the brewery and met the kayaker, I was actually so frustrated I told Marc to pull over the car—I had to get out and go for a walk. At the same time, being cramped up in a car for 1300 miles can put anyone on edge. I think we were all at the “tipping-point” at one point or another during the trip, but after a few days everyone started to understand each other’s “characteristics” and just went with the flow.

Shelby and Dustin were the first visitors on our trip. We thank them for being friends, trust they had a wonderful time, and hope they got a taste of what it's like to travel around the world for a year… 24x7x365.