Published: April 22nd 2007April 22nd 2007
After packing the van and filling up with fresh water we headed for Nelson. After a lovely wander along Maitai River that snakes through the town we headed for the Cathedral one of the largest in NZ, The town was very quiet being a Sunday but had a nice feel to it. Nelson is both a busy port and the gateway to the Abel Tasmin.
We headed out of town on R6 for our destination of Motueka at the southern most tip of the Abel Tasmin National Park. Abel Tasmin was a Dutch explorer who discovered Tasmania and also has Mount Tasmin after him.
On route throught the Nelson winelands we stopped at a winery called Ruby Bay owned by a Scotsman from Perth. We sampled his very young wines and bought a couple of bottles.
Opposite the vineyard we also saw a sign advertising olive oil for sale so we drove into the farm.
We are warmly welcomed by David and Deborah (originally from Kenilworth Warwickshire) who owned the 10 acre farm. After chatting over a beer and a tour of the farm on a quad bike we bought some oil and headed onto Motueka.
Motueka it has to be said is a pretty weird place. Let me explain it this way. Motueka is a sleepy little town living mainly off tourism. The main high street included about 5 restaurants with a sex shop in the middle. Obviously the residents don’t have much else to do!!
After a couple of beers and a bet in the TAB (Bookies) we hit the hay.
Ta Ta for now K & M
Well the time is almost there, bought the round the world ticket with BA/Quantas (7 destinations with up to 29000 miles and no requirement to circum navigate the globe £1350 each) and leaving on the 19th March. Been looking forward to doing this for over 10 years and can't wait. I'm travelling with my girlfriend who is Australian and our rough itinerary is as follows:
Leave 19th March
South Africa (2 weeks)(mainly the western cape)
Western Australia (10days)(Perth and the Margaret River)
New Zealand (3 Weeks) (Into Auckland and out of Christchurch)
Sydney (4 Days) Blue Mountains (2 Day... full info
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The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year...more info
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Matt Simmons & Kirsten Johnson
no horse didn't win unfortunately, and yes Kirsten did the flying fox, I've attached a photo.
From Blog: Sun 22nd April - Nelson to the Abel Tasmin