Saturday 5th July
I woke up in the cold of the Anchorage dorm hut to find a much better, sunnier morning than the day that had been left behind when darkness fell the previous evening. It had been a better nights sleep than I had expected and the rented sleeping bag really did the business (apart from the odd occasion when my head felt a bit chilly, but the sleeping bag hood soon sorted that out). We got our gear together and were again the last people to leave the hut, starting out on the final leg of the trek back to Marahau at 09.15.
We made our way along Anchorage Beach and back into the hills that overlook Abel Tasman. The view of Adele Island off the coast in the morning was beautiful, and the snow-capped mountains across the bay were even better, a stunning sight on such a wonderful morning.
We were all quite happy at the prospect of getting back to normality, not least when it came to matters of food. We had miscalculated our food rations, having overdone it the previous afternoon when we had arrived at the hut, cold and wet and in need of something comforting. This left us short for the final day, and therefore without breakfast with which to provide the fuel we needed to help us over the finish line (we were actually lazy as we had a few packets of instant noodles with us but couldn't get the motivation to hang about and cook them up before we left).
The coastal views on this last stretch were very nice, and the day that was in it made it all the more pleasant. The sky was blue and the sun was out. Personally, my mind was set more on food, and I made a mental list of things that I would gorge on once we got back to Marahau: chicken sandwiches, chocolate muffins, coffee and Coke. It wasn't like we had been away on some crazy epic exploration, but the physical exertion was sufficient to require a regular fuel intake. And it only takes a few cans of supplies such as Mild Chicken Curry soup to make you crave some decent grub. Things got a bit too much for Danika and she set to work on some of the plain uncooked instant noodles; they weren't just quite to her liking so she added some of the dry flavouring powder and they seemed to go down better. I tried them myself and they didn't taste too bad.
Despite our hunger, we persevered and made it back to the entrance of the Abel Tasman National Park at about midday. We made a quick beeline for 'The Fat Tui' burger van that was conveniently located mere yards from the entrance (or exit, depending on which way you were approaching it). The beef burger that was served up was delicious, and I wolfed it down quicker than usual. It really hit the spot. A hot, sweet coffee made me feel even more human and we set off with a satisfied step towards the car that we had left at the 'Aqua Taxi' parking lot. It had been a great couple of days, with the whole range of weather, and we had enjoyed it very much. Personally, it felt really good to have done some decent exercise and I felt more refreshed than tired.
We got back to 'The Bug' at 15.00 and checked into a comfortable room with four beds. It felt good to be back in the familiar comfort of the hostel. Danika and I called into the supermarket and made dinner before we went out to watch the All Blacks versus South Africa rugby game in the Sports Cafe in the town centre. It was a bruising game which the AB's won after a comfortable second half. After the game, we went back to the hostel and got an early night, glad to be getting into a proper bed, having roughed it (albeit it very mildly) for a couple of nights in Abel Tasman.
