Nature Overdose

all these new humans on earth, how confusing... happy birthday lasse! hoch sollst du leben!!
I am happily hiking in New Zealand's north of the southern Island, from the Golden Bay to Abel Tasman. After a more brutal Queen Charlotte Trek - 30km on day 1, 23 painfully ascending km on day 2, and 28 on the last day -, I seemed to have gotten the true taste of bootcamp rice (with beans on the good days), and chlorine water in the morning ;) seriously, it's just so beautiful!
only my camera decided to stop working altogether at teh beginning of hike 1, which kinda sucks.
The second hike, which I just finished, is one of the Great Walks, in the Abel Tasman National Park, and judging from this Great Walk, it's worth doing them all. Golden beaches, the sea in all kinds of blue, the north island on the horizon, farn and deep forest all around. The watertaxi back showed us baby seals and grown-up ones playing in the water. There are, thankfully, no spiders in NZ to speak of, and generally not much nasty animal life, apart from sandflies. And, of course, the bastard opposum who ate our bread. I screamed at night because I thought it was coming in the tent. they are just totally indifferent to human presence... Much unlike the annoyed Midget Penguin on Trek 1, who hurried back into the bushes upon being discovered and encircled by about four flashlights. At night I was freezing - basically, I discovered there's something wrong with me because I get uncomfortably cold within a minute: from "oh the sun is kinda hot" to "where the fuck is my friggin sweater" in under 40 seconds. And here it's mostly both: lovely sunshine, after misty and mysterious morning greys, beautiful skies all along, but quite a bastard wind.
Now, for refreshment and replenishing, I'm back in the hippie town Takaka. Takaka is close to "pupu springs" and the next town's called mopipi. it's like a four-year-old was allowed to choose the names... It's a very chilled "town." Occasionally you drive past places where they sell fresh fruit - pick your own berries... pick your own seafood... fish your own salmon ...