God made paradise...

The local saying goes:  God made paradise.   Then He thought, "Well that's a little much", so He added sandflies. 

I'm finally in Abel Tasman! The day started off by "hiring" my camping gear and buying groceries in Motueka. The water taxis are awesome. They launch the boats off the beach with these tractors. 

Our skipper, Andrew drove us, going about 35 knots, to the 4 stops. He would stop every now and then and point out things of interest like caves or baby seals. 

He let me drive the boat while he was setting up a net and again after all the other passengers had been let off. It has a Honda 225 outboard motor and hauls!  

They use this sweet setup with a bow anchor setup on a power winch and gypsy. They back right up to the beach and drop the anchor about 50 feet out. To get off the beach, they use the winch to "kedge" and pull them back out to sea - hands free. 

I rode with these friendy Germans who were going to Anchorage Bay. 

The scenery here is unbelievable. The estuary near where I'm staying is tidal. You can only cross at low tide. 

My pack is HEAVY. Tonight was operation lighten the load. I shared dinner with Gareth (from England) and Verena (from Austria). Dinner was steak with mushrooms and teriyaki sauce with salad. Tomorrow won't be as fancy, but hopefully the lighter pack will be worth it. 

I also had a nice time eating with these two local couples. The one couple has a winery called Carrick, located in central Otago. Their Pinot noir is apparently good (as well as a Riesling and Chardonnay). They really know how to live it up. They had a full dinner of pork and pasta and vegetables, paired with white wine. They shared their dessert of chocolate truffles with me. 

The sand flies are everywhere and they're biting