The Great Walk - Don't forget your scroggin

Don’t forget your Scroggin

New Zealand is famous for its Great Walks and early on in Auckland we went to the local i-Site (a travel information site in most towns… not a new apple device) and booked the Abel Tasman Great Walk which is 4 to 5 days through the Abel Tasman National Park. You need to book in advance to ensure that you will have a bed to sleep in in the 4 huts on the track. Initially, we wanted to walk the Milford Track as recommended by Martina but the huts were fully booked out since July of 2014. Our second choice was the Abel Tasman because it is a coastal walk with beautiful, remote beaches and lush native coastal forest

View from the walk to a lagoon

Our basecamp was Nelson where we stocked up on freeze dried backpacker meals, bug spray and scroggin. Our official Track guide insisted we not forget our “Scroggin” and though I do master the English language I had no idea what that was until I asked a local. If you read this posting all the way to the end, you will find out what scroggin is.

Buses to and from the National Park had to be organized as well as finding a place to stow 2 very large suitcases and a ukulele for 5 days. Thursday morning we put on our backpacks and started off on our trip groaning under their weight. We had food, sleeping bags, clothes and cooking equipment for 5 days in our packs and they were heavy. 

Uli at the start of the very well maintained trail in Marahoe

Man spricht Deutsch

The first day's hike was 4 hours to Anchorage Bay. When we arrived at the Anchorage Hut we were amazed at how nice the hut was. There were 4 rooms with 8 bunks each, along with a great room containing a wood stove - and it was all right on a very beautiful beach. We were also quite surprised at the number of Germans! From about 14 people who traveled with us from hut to hut there were 8 Germans, 2 Americans and 4 Kiwis (New Zealanders).

There was also a german couple on their honeymoon. It was quite a romantic place in the wonderful bay with golden sand. But sleeping in bunk beds and sleeping bags with 6 other people in your room brings the romance down a little bit. Uli had a candle with him and put it on their table, when they were chewing on their carrots. This made it a romantic candle light dinner.

BTW: all the germans had carrots with them. What a waste of weight. Too much water, too much roughage, too few calories. The ratio calories divided by weight is too low for a long trip.

After we arrived we grabbed a bunk and jumped into our swim suits for a refreshing swim in the sea. It was warm and we were sweaty after the hike. The huts have beds, toilets and drinking water but no showers nor cooking facilities. The swim in the sea was also our daily shower.

Evenings were spent chatting with all the other hut mates and we quickly formed a tight knit group giving each other tips on how best to cook the dried food as well as discussing what foods we would like to be eating at that moment instead. It should not be allowed to talk about cake, cold beer or fresh cooked food, if the only thing you have it astronaut food and carrots.

Uli gets a bunk

Anchorage Beach

Low tide crossing

Many parts of the trail are only crossable at low tide so you have to be aware of the tide tables. On the second day we had the choice of getting up early and taking a shorter trail across the Torrent Bay Estuary or sleeping longer and taking the high tide route which adds 1 hour onto our hike.

Guess, what we did? The winner gets scroggin as the prize.

The second day was also only about a 4 hour hike which gave us a chance to stop for a swim and lunch on the way to the Barks Bay Hut.

Arriving at Barks Bay Hut

Uli making dinner at Barks Bay – Curried Lamb

Highest tide in 5 years

Our third day we made our way to the Aworea Hut during the highest tide they have had in 5 years. This meant that part of the trail was not walkable unless you were willing to take your boots off and wade through the water.

A couple of times, we had to sit and wait for the tide to go down. Once, we decided we would try to make our way over land even if it was private land. The tide was mighty slow going out.

Later on we had to take our boots off and wade through the water as there was no other way to get through.

Warning sign on the track to Awaroa

Sitting by the dock of the bay... watching the tide go away

Hiking through the tide

Crazy Aussies

Our third night was spent in the Arowea Hut. By this time we were all hiking and eating together and it had become a nice group. Evenings were spent chatting and playing games. Unfortunately, as there was no electricity everyone went to bed at 9.  Our group was always the last to go to bed which was unfortunate because it meant you had to crawl over people to get there.

After we arrived, more and more hikers were coming and dropping their backpacks on the deck to wait for the tide to go out so that they could cross the estuary. At one point, there were about 50 backpackers waiting. This was one part of the track that you could only cross when the tide was out. The hut warden told us we had to be crossing the water at 8:30 in the morning, no later!

Unfortunately, it seemed, no one told the Aussie that who crossed the estuary that evening while the tide was still high. We all sat on the deck watching him cross with his backpack on his head placing bets on his nationality. The Germans were sure it was a German as the tide tables indicated NOW was the time to cross even though it was the highest tide in 5 years and it was still very high. When he got to the hut, low and behold, it was an Austrialian. According to the Kiwis, the Australians are crazy – so they were quite pleased with outcome.

Awaroa Estuary at low tide with hikers crossing

A ride in an Aqua-taxi

Our fourth day of hiking we had 6 hours to hike and the warden had updated the weather report on the board to “fine/light rain”. However, it was overcast and the wind was up.

 Our plan was to hike by Totarunui beach where some of the hikers were taking an Aquataxi back to town. The rest of us would continue on to Whariwharangi hut (pronounced farifarangi) for our last night and then out to the other side of the park to be picked up by a bus.

When we got to Totarunui Beach there was an i-Site which had the weather report posted. They had posted “Heavy rain with thunderstorms, strong winds and chance of hail”. Needless to say, Michelle was less then pleased as some of the trail is exposed and she did not want to be on it in heavy rains.

So, we quickly changed our plans and decided to take an aqua taxi out of the park and return to our hostel in Nelson. As it started to pour while we were in the aqua taxi we were relieved to be going home. Michelle is a California girl and does not like the rain much. The aqua-taxi was also a lot of fun and took us on to some of the islands offshore with fur seals

Seal pup in shag harbor

Uli is very happy to have a burger as he was starving

Answers to the riddles:

Scroggin turns out to be trail mix or in German “Studentenfutter”.
We slept in and took the long walk, because we missed the low tide short cut.