The Road Goes Ever On

Hop Federation Brewery

I first visited the Hop Federation Brewery in 2014, outside of Motueka in the little town of Riwaka. Even downed a few cold ones in addition to the tastings. Since then, and thanks to daughter Rachel, I have tasted quite a few more IPAs. I can't say I'm a connoisseur, but I think this place does some marvelous and innovative brews. Sorry, Rachel, I drank the excellent Rakau and the Double IPA, so there's nothing left to bring home.

Hops on the barrel head

Hops outside the door and in the fields nearby

Unpleasant Interlude

We spent the next few days at the BeachCamp in Marahau, visiting the pharmacist and Mitre 10 in Motueka, dealing with the bed bug situation, doing everything possible to ensure they are not traveling with us, dealing with the scores of bites, watching to make sure no new ones appear... washing, drying, sealing, spraying, exposing to high heat, inspecting, hoping, even praying, etc. This is our 3rd bout, the previous ones in New Zealand in 2014 and in Argentina in 2017 (chinchas de cama). Ironically, much of the reason we rented a camper for this trip was to avoid any possibility of bed bug infestation. Yet, one night in one hut...it never occurred to us that a place so sparse as a DOC hut could harbor such an infestation...a vinyl covered mattress on a plywood platform. Nonetheless.... We reported the matter to a DOC agent when we got back to Motueka. Neither he nor the pharmacist nor others seemed particularly surprised. I surmise it's rather old news ...a dark side of a place that is wonderful to visit, especially for the young, budget traveler, and especially from so many different nations and regions. Wherever you travel or stay, it is well to learn about bed bugs, how to recognize their signs and hopefully avoid them, and what actions to take should you become a victim. There is a wealth of information on the internet, and Vicki will have some further observations in her "Practical New Zealand 2018" entry on our website.

Abel Tasman, 2018, 2

We spent the 2nd night of the trek at the Bark Bay Hut, then walked on to Awaroa Lodge and our water taxi pick-up there that afternoon. We had already ascertained that the tides were such that we could not go beyond the Awaroa Hut, cross Awaroa Bay, and catch the taxi the next day at Totaranui. Thus, in view of the bed bug issues, it was a (mercifully) short tramp on the Abel Tasman this year.

The bed bug outbreak was so distracting that I couldn't sleep at
Bark Bayand spent most of the night reading; at least I was able
to see and record the sunrise from the hut

Departing Bark Bay Hut

More typical Abel Tasman scenes

We arrived at Awaroa Lodge considerably earlier than we
expected, so early that we dropped our packs and had a leisurely
lunch with Kiwi acquaintances from the trail

Best pizza we've had outside of Italy; or so it seemed, after two
nights of backapacka slop and other miseries; no one told us the
Awaroa wharf had been washed away and it would take another
half hour to reach the beach for the last boat of the day...

But we made it...just...and were happy to end this little trek

On the water taxi en route to Marahau...the dark spots in the
water are sting rays

Golden beaches; wish we could have enjoyed them more

At Marahau, they use tractors and boat trailers to launch and
recover the taxis; watching the tides very carefully, of course

A fairly big business

Abel Tasman, 2018, 1

One of the world's great treks is the Abel Tasman "Great Walk," which we did in 2009, all the way from Marahau to Whariwharangi, and again, less happily, in 2014, from Marahau to Totaranui. For me, this was to be the rubber match; alas, it was a losing effort. But we did a bit more, a few days later, near Wainui, and, despite the weather, the bugs, even the bed bugs, I am game to do it again some day...as a series of day hikes, no tents, no huts, and the farther from the Marahau crowds the better. All this will be explained. Previous posts on our walks on the the Abel Tasman (for those contemplating a trip, those writing a doctoral dissertation on this blog, or those with terminal insomnia) are:

http://roadeveron.blogspot.co.nz/2009/01/mozzies-boaties-and-turning-custard.html
http://roadeveron.blogspot.co.nz/2009/01/time-and-tide.html
http://roadeveron.blogspot.co.nz/2014/02/abel-tasman-1.html
http://roadeveron.blogspot.co.nz/2014/02/abel-tasman-2.html
http://roadeveron.blogspot.co.nz/2014/02/abel-tasman-3.html
http://roadeveron.blogspot.co.nz/2014/02/abel-tasman-4.html
http://roadeveron.blogspot.co.nz/2014/02/kayaking-on-abel-tasman.html.

We had wonderful sunny weather in 2009. In 2014, it was warm, humid, even foggy the first two days. In 2018, there was torrential rain our first day out. Five (5) inches. This and the previous tropical cyclone had washed out bits of the trail. We wisely elected to take the water taxi from Marahau to the Anchorage Hut and to carry on from there as the weather cleared. We spent the afternoon and evening at Anchorage, enjoying conversation with a Kiwi couple we kept seeing later on down the trail, and with an Australian couple, our age, whose trekking experience dwarfed ours, at least in New Zealand and Nepal. They had done the Everest trek to Gorak Shep and Kala Pattar twice and also the Annapurna! My hiking bandana ("My home's in Montana, I wear a bandana...") is a map of the Himal Khumbu, and it was fun to retrace routes and experiences. Alas, we did not know it at the time, but at Anchorage Hut we also slept in one of the worst bed bug infestations yet, which began manifesting itself as the next day, the hike to Bark Bay, unfolded.