Since I hopped off the Stray bus in Picton the night before, I take a separate bus to Abel Tasman. The kind driver drops me off right at my hostel, The Barn.

Lucky me — since I’m by myself (instead of with an entire busload of passengers), I’m assigned to my own room! Which in this case means my own cabin. It’s just for one night, since the next night I’ll be staying in a hut on the Abel Tasman Track and the following evening I’ll return to a larger dorm room with newly arrived Stray passengers. But even for one night it’s nice to spread out and have my own space.

Rule #4 makes me laugh.

Then I visit to the only restaurant nearby, The Park Cafe. There’s also a VERY highly rated burger joint called Fat Tui but it’s closed for several weeks.

I dig into my latest read, The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. It’s a great book if you’re dealing with the loss of a loved one. I’m not at this moment, but I still find it insightful and stimulating.

Here’s a few iPhone photos I snap for Instagram (username = AsHerWorldTurns).

I walk around, soaking up the free time. I’ll begin hiking the track tomorrow, but it’s nice to see some of it now since I’m scheduled to kayak the first leg.

The tide is out and you can walk out towards the sea for a long stretch.

I don’t realize it now, but those vehicles at the shoreline are preparing to tow in the water taxi boats. Since the tide is so low they need vehicles to transport the boats across the sand and back into storage for the night.

Hikers are just beginning to return from the shorter day-long trip.

Below is a list of the major stops along the Abel Tasman Coast Track. Tomorrow I’ll kayak to Watering Cove and then hike to Bark Bay (about 3 hours on foot from Anchorage, the farthest point listed below). The day after I’ll hike four hours to Awaroa and then catch a water taxi back to the home base at Marahau.

It’s possible to hike the track for five or six days, but since I’m short on time I’m happy with two full days (including kayaking!) and one overnight in a hut.

Here are a few images from the very first part of the track:

Later that evening I head for dinner and notice that the moon is out and FULL. I feel like I won the photography jackpot and spend the the next 45 minutes walking around snapping the moon at various angles. Here are a handful of my favorite images:

Good-night, Moon!