It is hard to believe that it rained again last night but by the time we were ready to leave this morning, the skies were mostly clear.

Linda left with Squid (nickname for one of our guides) in the kayak.  I was a bit jealous.

The Torrent Bay was filled with water in the morning.  A.J. said the tide changes every 6 hours.  The 5 day people will be able to see that happen because they will be here for 2 nights – jealous.

Jan, Dick, A.J. and I started out from Torrent Bay. The bay had filled with water from the tides.  A.J. said that the tides change every 6 hours.

Jan and Dick were ahead of me on the trail.

The reflections in the water were beautiful.

This is a fairy toadstool with great color.

These traps are all over the park.  This particular one is sponsored by BirdSong.  They are for catching weasels and rats.  There are ones in the trees for possums and also bait traps for wasps.

There are places where the ground under the rocks has eroded and plants are growing in the space under the rock.

 

We would walk along the trail for a while along the rocks and in the forest.  Then we would come around a bend with walls another view.

The island on the right is called Motor Ranui (Adele Island). The one on the left is called Fisherman Island (I couldn’t spell the Maori name correctly.  In Māori mythology, Taniwha (Māori pronunciation: [ˈtanifa]) are beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or deceptive breakers (giant waves). I think that what A.J. told me is that it is said that Taniwhal lives in the water between these two island and protects the area.  It is not a safe area. Parents teach their children about Taniwha and when they don’t want them to go someplace, they say that Taniwha lives there. I hope I got this story right.

A.J. spotted an orchid that was partially opened.

Jan, Dick, and A.J. crossed another one of the bridges in front of me.

Looking closely at this photo you see  the dirty mold growing around the green leaves. The black makes the green stand out more.

And then ….. another view.

This plant was growing by a small waterfall.  It is called a tutu which is a word from the Maori that means mischievous or trouble.  It is poisonous and very dangerous to even touch.

We stopped at Apple Tree Bay for lunch.  Linda and Squid were waiting for us.  Linda had a wonderful time in the kayak. She had worked hard enough to develop blisters on her hands so she decided to walk the rest of the way with us..

I guess it is a tradition for Linda to do yoga poses as she is traveling.

Jan, Linda, Dick, and I had about 5.5 more km to go to the end of our Abel Tasman hike.

We could see the mountains in the background over the water.

Several groups of kayakers were out in the water today.  I sure wish I was one of them.

I enjoyed seeing Linda and Dick holding hands on the trail.  It reminded me of couples on the Camino in 2014.

I love walking under the trees.

What great cloud formations…

… and more

Here you can see how much the tide is out again.  When kayakers or boats come into this part, they have to be picked up by tractors that can go in the sand.

Well, we were at the end of our wonderful 3 day trip.  When we were almost to the end at Marahau, A.J gave me the flower off of the Flax and I tried to suck out the sweet juice.  Alas, there was none.  I guess it was not ready.

Our hike today was 16.8 km.  We were all still so amazed at what wonderful weather we had on this trip.  The bus picked us up and took us back to the Wilson office to pick up our stuff.  When we arrived there, it started to pour  but we were done hiking.  We were so lucky.

Jan and I went out for a great dinner and shared dishes of falafel and lamb.  Then I packed up for the next part of our trip.