The countryside here is worthy of a good explore. The Department of Conservation (DOC) look after the national parks, and there is one near Nelson called Abel Tasman, after the explorer. Its the smallest national park but it has one of the great walks in; a coastal walk that is set along the granite hills following the coastline, with the occasional foray into the rainforest interior.

I had been wanting to do some proper tramping and had got my chance. I planned to walk over three days, taking the inland track first, as it was harder and I expected some good views. I wzas rewarded well for my efforts and also knew that I had planned to make the following days a lot easier allowing myself to enjoy the stroll more. The DOC provides huts which you can book in advance or pay on the day, although the latter doesnt always guarantee you a bed if busy and there is a surcharge. The huts have bunks, a heater and a cooking area, filtered water (as there is giardia in the river water) and cold showers. This was far more luxury than I was expecting so I appreciated it.

I appreciated the crystal clear skies, the loneliness during the day as you would rarely encounter anyone for hours, the beauty of the scenery, the silence apart from birdsong and the sound of wind in the trees, the warmth of the sun which led me to lay like a lizard on a boulder to soak it in, the feel of the ocean as it sooths your weary feet in the evening, and the sharpness of the shower in the morning before you set off.

Alone with your thoughts in a beautiful place was a wonderful thing to do, and I hope to be doing more of it.

When I returned to Nelson I checked my mail and double checked the time that Cathy was coming to visit. Another good experience is tramping with someone, and being able to share the load of cooking stoves, food, water etc, plus being able to ignore people when you want as you have someone else to talk to. Not that I had needed to often, but it will be a refreshing break. Like seeing trev and Maria, its also bloody good spending time with friends, and for all the fun meeting new people, spending time with mates is good.

It could become a habit though, what with Daryls wedding in December, the London quiz masters visiting Melbourne in October and Ed wanting to dive the Great Barrier Reef sometime while Im in Australia. It doesnt get much better than this, meeting cool new people and meeting up with old.