Abel Tasman and Engagement!

(19/03/09) - two pages

I've waited MONTHS for this holiday, way back when I finally decided that I wanted to marry Bridget.

The adventure begins after we fly in to Wellington:

On the plane, Bridget unaware at this stage...

Bridge managed to meet up with some mates, here she is with Sooz:

Getting on the plane bound for Nelson, I was starting to think "hmm, in a couple of days, I could be ENGAGED!!!"

We spent a couple of days staying at Bridget's sister's place and Bridget's nephews, Campbell and Matthew plucked a huge marrow from their garden to show it off to us. When we left, they created Mr Marrow who became our mascot (who tragically fell overboard on the boat at the end of the holiday in heavy seas... he floated much to our surprise):

We finally got to Marahau (to meet up with Craig, Kim, Ellie, Stu, Mel and Finn) at the batch that Craig rented. First thing Stu and I did was to go mountain biking, Mr Marrow wanted to come:

But Stu and I left him behind, having no legs proved to be a bit of an obstacle for him:

We mountain biked all the way down to Kaiteriteri, where I taught some kids a lesson on demolition:

Here's Stu with his wee son Finn, who liked hanging out with Mr Marrow:

Mr Marrow needed some rest after an action packed day:

Mmm, steaks after a day's mountain biking, awesome!

The next day was FINALLY engagement day! We took off from Marahau when the tide was in:

Here's what the bay looked like at the end of the day to show ya how far out the tide goes:

The beginning of the walk with Abel Tasman Nation Park in the background:

Bridge wandering along the track with me now thinking "HOLY!!! I could be engaged to that gorgeous woman in the next few hours!!!!!!":

Wandering past a few bays:

Me teaching Stu not to ignore warning signs...

The view from Stu's lookout, tide in...

...and tide out:

A few highlights along the way, a silver fern lit up by my camera flash:

wee waterfall:

crossing another river:

finally we arrive at Apple Tree Bay! We wandered along to find a good spot to set up camp for the afternoon:

Base camp being established:

Craig showing Ellie how to enjoy the beach:

Read on to see where I popped the question!!!

By Tony Baker: email