TV-G
S1 • E4 Sep 2, 2006In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to reach New Zealand. In Tasman Bay, he met with the native Maori, and on this historic spot, the adventure still continues in Abel Tasman National Park. Host Chris Turner joins up with a local outfitter on a multisport tour of the Abel Tasman Coastal Track. For three days and two nights, Chris hikes and paddles the sun-drenched parkland, and stays in an historic homestead, where the same family has owned the property since the 1840s. The trail itself weaves through fern trees and along pristine estuaries, where the trail can become submerged at high tide. Venturing into the interior via helicopter, Chris books a "farmstay" with a posh lodge retreat. No luxury comes without price, as Chris learns when he takes a 4X4 tour of the vast farmland, then assists the farm manager with a little sheep wrangling in the pens. In the lodge kitchen, Chris cleans up and meets the chef, who prepares a delicious monkfish appetizer with a southeast Asian flavor.
