A Christmas Tramping Trip

Split Apple Rock in Abel Tasman

Christmas Day in New Zealand was spent hiking part of the Abel Tasman track. Hiking is called "tramping" here, whereas in Australia it's called "bushwalking." Anyway, we took a water taxi from Kaiteriteri Beach to Bark Bay. Then we walked back on the trail to get picked up at Anchorage, for a total of just over ten kilometers of tramping.

We had amazing sunny weather, and the views and beaches on this track were incredible. Check out this private little lagoon on the right! We enjoyed the swing bridge and playing on one of the beaches at lunch (both seen below).

We took a short side trip to Cleopatra's Pool, a freshwater area with small waterfalls and a natural slide. It was so fun and a great way to cool off!













When we got to Anchorage, we had some time to relax while waiting for our water taxi that would take us back to Kaiteriteri. So we enjoyed the gorgeous golden sand and clear cool water and took naps on the beach. Like last year, it was another amazing Christmas Day spent in the sunshine.









We spent the night at Kaiteriteri Beach and didn't feel like cooking after our busy day, so we drove into town and found an Asian place that was open. We got some fish and chips (they didn't have Asian food-go figure!) and a fried chocolate bar for dessert (delicious!). Oh yeah, and we were even able to connect to the Internet and talk to our families on Skype for a bit. It was Christmas Eve for them (and a lot colder), but it was awesome to "see" them and wish them "Merry Christmas!" A great day all around.

A Belated Merry Christmas from the Keys!