When Nick King checked in Pelagos, an S&S 24 from Tasman Bay, Nelson, New Zealand this brought back strong memories of a 1997 bareboat charter and hiking trip your webmaster and the Admiral had in this beautiful area. Pending arrival of more pictures from Nick and Kim, I originally posted a few of our pictures on Pelagos' page - promising to retire them when their pictures arrived. As promised they have been retired - to this new page in our Stories Section!

Use the zoom feature on your browser to enlarge the photo

Nelson is right in the middle of the map at the bottom of Tasman Bay. Abel Tasman Park is at the western end of the Bay. We spent 3 days hiking in this park, mostly along the shoreline - day packs only, no tents, nice remote lodges with fireplaces, guide prepared gourmet dinners, luggage waiting in your private room, hot showers.... A very civilized, highly recommended method of hiking.

One of the spectacular hidden low tide beaches of Abel Tasman Park. I think this one was called Watering Cove.

Use your browser zoom feature to enlarge this photo

This is Queen Charlotte Sound to the east of Tasman Bay. Picton is at bottom center left.This is where we started our cruise. Captain Cook's monument is on the north shore - exactly where I don't remember - but we have a picture taken from our boat! I may have to go back and find out just where that monument is....

The following two pictures were actually from a folding postcard that showed this beautiful area. I have vivid memorIes of passing these many inlets as we were sailing out the Sound - particularly the ones leading to the mountain areas to the north as you see them on the card. The wind would come blasting down out of these inlets resulting in Admiral's orders to reef - Now! To get into the anchorages up these inlets would be a beat under reefed sails. Half way up the inlet the wind dies down and you poke around to find a peaceful, deserted anchorage - with fresh mussels waiting to be picked off the rocky shore.

Behind the hills to the left (south) is Blenheim, one of New Zealand's prime vineyard regions.

Continuing down and out of the Sound brings you to Cook Strait. Across the strait is Wellington on the southern tip of the North Island. We took a small plane trip from Wellington to Picton and got to see all this from the air on a beautiful sunny day.

The Admiral

I could go on and write about flying in a small plane down the west coast over the South Island's mountains and glaciers, landing in Milford Sound and a boat trip there, hiking on the Milford Track, or earlier the few days we had in the Bay of Islands, overnighting alone on Zane Grey Island, or shooting through the Hole in the Wall, but then that would be pushing it....

********************************************