Day 46- Truman Track and heading north

The next day we woke up and decided again to head north to try and reach Abel Tasman, our proposed destination for the day before. By advice of the nameless Canadian before, we decided to stop at another point of interest known as Truman Track, which is a better-known coastal cove area. After this mini excursion, we began our excruciatingly long drive north- there is no way that the trip could have been made in one day. During the drive we began to see another subtle change in scenery- the mountains began to get a little dryer. The skies opened up a bit, and the rain ceased to follow us. We got to our backpacker, after a 2km drive through private dirt road that was surrounded by serene farmland that looked like the shire. Our stop: Shambala.

This backpacker lodge is as self sufficient as it could be: It gets all electricity from solar power, all water from rain collection, and all heat from a wood stove. The hostel was beautiful, serene, and trusting- the doors had no locks. The view was astounding- a clear, unobstructed view from the private balcony did not go wasted. The best part was the price- though this was one of the more expensive hostels we stayed at, it still was only $29 NZD a night- that is $15 USD. For a place with these amenities back home, I don’t know how much it would cost, but it wouldn’t be cheap. We spent the evening exploring the coastline and collecting shells. It was overall a fairly uneventful day. Interesting finds on the coast: Tons of cool shells, a small inlet to the river, which we waded across, a destroyed dock, limestone outcrops that looked as though they would eventually become caves, and peculiar rock spirals in the sand, most likely due to erosion. Combined with the atmosphere of the Shambala, it seemed almost mystical.