We get a ride to Nelson from two guys who were going to the music festival, unsurprisingly the town was packed. From there Malween got frustrated trying to get a hitch so we split up. All of the shuttles from Nelson had already left for Able Tasman so hitching or hiring a private taxi were the only options. I got a ride halfway to Richmond where the next road to able Tasman breaks off and walked along a bike/ walking path the rest of the way. From there I got a ride from a local who took me 52 km all the way to the trail head even though it was past where he was going.
We had a campsite reserved at Tinline bay, which is only like 4 km from the start of the trail, so we knew we could get there even if hitching didn’t go that well, it’s also one of the only sites which wasn’t totally booked. From there we plan to hike up to the Able Tasman inline trail and off the very crowded coast trail, that way we get a mix of beach and views from up top.
Knowing that the hike wasn’t that long and since I got to the trailhead at 2ish, I grabbed a cold beer at the restaurant at the trailhead before heading to camp.
The trail was crowded as expected, the site was fine, no view, but a very short walk to two beaches.
Sounding pretty magical, so far!