Today we were back in the Abel Tasman National Park, but this time we had the benefit of a cruise boat up the coast to take us further into the wilderness and a beach start hike from Torrent Bay.

Our mini cruise took us up the coast line stopping at Split Apple Rock, a geological rock formation in Tasman Bay/ Te Tai-o-Aorere. Made of granite from the cretaceous, it is in the shape of an apple which has been cut in half. The cleft to produce two sides of the ‘apple’ was a naturally occurring joint, that rain and waves have exploited over thousands of years.

Our 12km hike was to take us from Torrent Bay and along the coast to Bark Bay, where we would be picked up by the catamaran later on in the afternoon.

The hike took us through some of the most beautiful scenery, passing deserted beaches, crossing swing bridges in amongst the most amazing fauna from what felt like a prehistoric period.

It’s clear so little has changed with these lands, having not been cultivated either by the original inhabitants the Māoris, nor the Europeans following their arrival in the mid 1800’s.

We really felt like we were in the wilderness, seeing only a handful of people over the next few hours, some on 3-5 day hikes, whilst others were on more sedate day trips like ourselves.

The trek route took us mainly along a ridge, sitting above the coastline providing great views down to the beaches and streams below.

As today wasn’t as warm and sunny as the day before, we ended up walking at a brisk pace and along with the benefit of the forest covering, we weren’t as aware of the cooler winds that were coming in off the sea.

The greenery of the fauna was truly magnificent and made us appreciate that we were essentially trekking through a rainforest.

In order to cross one of the wider rivers and crevasses, we had to pass over the Bark Bay swing bridge, making us feel like we were extras on ‘I’m a celebrity….’.

The river below was so clear you could see right through to the riverbed, with its various shades caused by the differing rocks and algae.

Along the way we passed a number of Maori statutes that have been erected to recognise and celebrate the original occupants of this land.

After walking for a couple of hours we arrived at Bark Bay, where other hikers and outdoor enthusiasts gathered with kayaks. Some were making camp as part of their longer trip plans, whilst others were lunching, trying to avoid the unwelcome attention of the local birds.

Our hike went so well, that we managed to finish a good 3 hours before we were due to be picked up by our catamaran. This would have been fine the day before when the sun was out and people were sunbathing on the beach, however the afternoon weather brought light rain and an increasing wind that meant we had to take cover around the rocks on the beach. As we waited around for a few hours spying the return of the boat, we felt like we were acting out our version of Robinson Crusoe!

Eventually after a short delay, our boat did arrive and we motored back to Kaiteriteri-Sandy where we had left from early this morning. Along the way back we went in search of a seal colony, but on this occasion we were unsuccessful and didn’t manage to spot any.

Returning to the car, we then had a 3hr drive to Picton, where we stayed the night in readiness for our 7.30am ferry crossing back to Wellington the next morning.

Tomorrow we are heading north to Napier, the Nice/Art Deco centre of the Southern Hemisphere where we have a couple of days to explore the city.