Kia ora, everyone! Shelby speaking.
We’re here in one of Christchurch’s finest jails–the historic Addington Jailhouse-turned-hostel, that is– saying our farewells to New Zealand and recovering from a week of nonstop kiwi adventuring. After hours of planning, booking, bargaining, and a little creative budgeting, we finally arrived at one of the most highly anticipated weeks of the trip– free travel!
We began our student directed travels in the coastal city of Wellington, where we spent our time getting lost in the vibrant city, touring the famous Te Papa museum, and exploring the Zealandia Wildlife Sanctuary (with plenty of stops for coffee in between). We said goodbye to the North Island and made our way to the quaint town of Nelson. One ferry and couple buses later, we arrived at the Paradiso Resort; a hoppin’ backpackers’ hostel complete with a pool, hot tub, and sauna(!). We used the rest of the day to take our final showers and stock up on food/camping supplies in prep for our upcoming four day trek in the beautiful Abel Tasman National Park (named after the founder of New Zealand).
We began our trek with a day of sea kayaking up the gorgeous coast and then continued our journey on foot. We hiked the next day, and the next day…Our last day we ended up hiking a whopping 20 kilometers (or 25 for me and Amy who “decided” to take “the scenic route”) back to the starting point in Marahau. The trails were rigorous and intense; many of us were challenged, but everyone was rewarded in the end. As for the beauty of Abel Tasman, I’ll let the pictures do the talking. Anywho, no one’s died yet, we’re eating our vegetables… I’d say we’re doing pretty well.
So long!
~Shelbs
