Maleuca -- Dec. 3

Yesterday was amazing. I hiked one the 8 official "Great Walks" of New Zealand -- the Abel Tasman Coastal Track.

The area was so damn pretty that the word "heaven" popped into my mind...the golden sand on these beaches is magic, like nothing I've ever seen before...not super-fine, but very "soft" and "clean" feeling...in fact, the whole area has a very groomed feeling to it -- nothing out of place. Every little cove is picture-perfect: golden sand and azure water, esconced by granite headwalls on each side...and the trail is even better: these beautiful, tight-knit, very thin-trunked trees clump together and "lean" toward the water, and form a dreamy canopy.

Given the unbelievable number of tourists here (every fourth car is a rental vanagon), I thought it would be uncomfortably crowded...but it was actually just about the right number of people.

The highlight of the trip was walking down the beach in Mutton Cove, where 2 oyster catchers were nesting. As I walked by, they started to squawk angrily at me, and as I got closer, they actually started to charge me -- first running on the ground, and then dive-bombing me in the air! I was impressed. I really got the feeling that if I had gotten any closer to the nest, they would have actually "hit" me.

Anyway, Abel Tasman definitely filled me with that feeling of wonder -- when you are just struck by something. What a rare and wonderful feeling. That's exactly what I'm here for.

I'm heading south to more alpine tracks as soon as I get replacement disposable contacts (more difficult that it's worth going into...very 3d world)