Marahau and Abel Tasman National Park

The rain finally went away and we got to pack up in sunshine and drive to Nelson to restock groceries.  Except while we were in the supermarket at Nelson, someone decided to break into our roof-box and steal Ben's sleeping bag.  So we had to buy another sleeping bag as well as some groceries.
We had one night at the Barn in Marahau before we set out for our family tramping trip in Abel Tasman National Park, which was the reason why we had a new tent!  We'd picked out Apple Tree Bay as being a good destination - we didn't really want to make the kids walk much further than that (about an hour and a half).  It was a very pleasant walk - Naomi walked about half of it (so somewhere around 2.5km).  After lunch and setting up the tents, the kids got to play in the stream behind the beach, which was nicely sheltered from the sea breeze which had picked up.  The next day after a rather brisk start (it feels cold when you have to eat outside and it's below 10C!) the sun came out and it was a very beautiful spot to sit and relax.  I took Naomi for a walk at rest time, on to Akersten Bay, which would have been the next campsite along if we'd preferred it.
The following day was time to pack up - and just as well, because it was decidedly cloudy and cool.  We were back at the Barn for lunch, and went out for dinner as a treat - the Fat Tui is definitely recommended!
Our last night at the Barn was a reminder why it's not always nice to stay in places like that - even though we did get hot showers and a BBQ and so on, there's also rather noisy backpackers.  All night long.
More photos here.