Farming in Abel Tasman

Last week we spent three days in and around Abel Tasman National Park. We rented a bach (New Zealand for beach cabin or lake house) right at the boundary of the national park, complete with cows in the front yard and a bathtub on the deck. We could walk right into the park from our front yard, but we also used a water taxi to get farther into the park for a day hike.

This is the lovely bach that we rented right at the boundary of the national park.

The water taxi operations are quite different from what we are used to in Alaska. The passengers (18 of us on a boat about 25 feet long) are loaded onto the boat on a trailer on dry land and life jackets are donned. The boat on the trailer is pulled by a tractor from the base of operations, through the streets of the small town (picking up other passengers along the way), and to the boat ramp. At the ramp the tractor backs the boat right into the water and off we go! On the return trip the tide was out, therefore the tractors drive out onto the mud flats about a quarter mile, back up into the water, and the boat drives right on. The boat captain hops out of the boat, switches with the tractor driver, driving the tractor back to the boat ramp. The parade through the streets of town repeats and passengers are returned to the water taxi office. Not only was our water taxi operating like this, but there were a dozen or more other boats filled with people (hikers, kayakers, and residents with properties inside the park) operating at the same time. We thought the whole scene looked like very efficient "tourist farming".

It was hard to get footage that could capture the strange tourist farming, but this will give you an idea of the scene.

Here are a few more shots from our sunny, windy, relaxing Abel Tasman time: