Advertisement
Published: March 25th 2014
Edit Blog Post
Tuesday 18
th It poured with rain all night long and we wake to find the camp site partially flooded. It’s a grey and overcast start to the day.
First we visit the Punakaiki blow holes and pancakes. Two rock formations. Unfortunately the tide’s out so the blow holes aren’t very dramatic.
We then set out for the day in heavy showers along a very rugged coast line. The scenery is attractive but a bit obscured by the rain !
We next drive through the Buller Gorge along side the Buller river. It’s great scenery of rugged rocks and thick tree covered mountains.
Our next stop is at NZ’s longest swing bridge. We cross over and Christine’s a bit nervous as normal. She hates these things. The adventurous ones can come bck on a zip line. We get to walk a long a track of gold mining relics.
We continue for another hour or so until we reach Murchison where we book in for the night.
We then go off for a walk along the 6 mile track. Except it isn’t six miles long. It’s a fairly short walk into the forest and along side
a river which use to be used for hydro electricity in the 1920’s. It’s defunct now but the old power station is still there. It looks like a big shed.
Wednesday 19
th Just driving this morning along valley floors with mountains each side and following rivers. We stop for a break beside a river for a short while and then continue northwards.
We reach Motueka on the coast around mid day and visit tourist info. They’re very helpful and we set off for Marahau which is on the coast and at the entrance to Abel Tasman NP. It’s supposed to be one of the best in NZ and most of it can only be reached by boat.
We park up and go on a coastal walk of about 8k. The path takes us through tropical rain forest and we pass and look down on many small little coves with beautiful beaches. It’s a nice undemanding walk in the sun shine.
Back in town we book a water taxi trip further into the park for tomorrow.
We park up for the night in a free camp site on the edge of town. It’s a council
car park next to a park with the sea on the other side of us.
Thursday 20
th First thing we drive to Kaiteriteri about 20 mins away to catch our water taxi at 10.15. The cruise is along the Abel Tasman NP coast line. It’s a lovely sunny day and just right for a cruise and a walk.
The boat stops at Split Apple Rock for us to have a look at this rock feature before veering away to Adela island to look at some fur seals. There’s not many there.
We continue up the coast and pull in at a couple of very nice sandy bays just to see them before finally anchoring off Torrent Bay where we get off.
We then walk along the coast line path towards Medlands Bay. It’s a walk of about 6.5 K and generally fairly flat. On the way we pass through tropical rain forest and get some great coastal views.
We could drop down onto Sandfly Bay but we’ve been bitten enough by the dam things and decide to give it a miss.
On nearly reaching Medlands Bay we take a “5 min” side path
to South Point. It gives us a lovely coastal view but only Usain Bolt could have done it in 5 mins !
We finally reach Medlands Bay and walk on for a few mins more to Bark Bay which is much nicer. We eat our picnic lunch and then go and paddle before sitting on the beach to wait for our boat to pick us up.
We get collected around 3.15 and then cruise further up the coast to view Tonga Quarry, Awaroa and Totaranui before finally turning around and heading back to Kaiteriteri. We get back around 5.15 and it’s been a good day out.
Friday 21
st Our first stop mid morning is in Tahunanui close to Nelson where we pull in next to the beach for a drink.
We then drive a few minutes more and call in at Neslon Tourist info. They tell us of a nice spot to visit.
We continue for 40 mins or so and arrive at Cable Bay. It’s an out of the way spot and really nice but must be the only beach with no sand on it ! It’s just like Brighton beach.
We
go off for a walk and follow the path around the headland and then get lost on a goat path. We’ve lost the track. The path stops in a dead end on the side of a cliff so with no options left we return.
We sit and read for a while before heading off again. The water’s too cold for a swim.
Late afternoon we pull in at Pelorus Bridge at a Conservation site near the river.It’s a lovely green site surrounded by forest. I go and have a look and the river’s deep and crystal clear and not a fish in sight !
So we go off on a 4 K walk to two water falls. The first one is underwhelming. I’ve seen more water coming out of my bath tap ! The second one is a lot further away and takes us nearly 45 mins to reach. It’s a bit larger but nothing to right home about. Still it’s all good exercise !
In the evening we cook and eat in the camp kitchen and get talking to an Australian couple here on holiday. We compare notes on various places and last night’s awful
camp site that we both stayed on. The first people we have had a long conversation with for weeks.
Saturday 22
nd A short drive to Havelock and a quick stock up of a few things before we drive off towards Picton and turn off on the Queen Charlotte Drive and journey along the coast line to Anakiwa. It’s a very small bay and we park up.
We walk along the coastal track for about 3 k to Davis Bay. It’s a pretty path through forest but unfortunately we only get a glimpse of the water. We then return and head off.
We get back on the QCD and soon pull into Momorangi Bay and park on the Conservation site on the water’s edge.It’s a really lovely spot in a bay and all the pitches are along the shore.
We spend the afternoon reading and catching a few zzz’s. It’s a quiet day. Oh I try fishing later but even the fish are resting somewhere.
In the evening we have a minor disaster. We’ve run out of wine ! It’ll be a sober night.
Sunday 23
rd We head for Picton along the QCD
and see many lovely bays and inlets on the way.
After restocking our food and wine store we drive off to Waikawa Bay and have a walk along the shore and watch the locals have a bbq. We then drive out to Karaka Point which over looks Queen Charlotte Sound. There’s houses on the point with wonderful views.
We then park up on site and wander into town and then along a track to Bobs Bay. The walk’s been recommended to us because of the views. However when we get there the view’s spoilt by huge storage tanks !
We get back to site and finish the afternoon reading in the sun.
Monday 24
th First thing we drive into Picton and I buck up courage to have a hair cut. Unfortunately I pick a speed cutter ! The woman starts off quickly chopping my hair about and then when other people start waiting, she chops even quicker ! Never mind it’ll grow back properly in a few weeks.
The rest of the morning we wander around the water front and sit and read while we wait for our ferry departure time.
At 1pm
we drive over to the ferry and leave around 2. The cruise out of Queen Charlotte Sound is very attractive with heavily wooded slopes on all sides and many uninhabited islands are passed.
It’s also pretty windy at the front of the boat as we look at the scenery for the last time on our way back to North Island.
We dock on time and drive to our site the Newlands Gateway Motel which we used when we left. It’s also on a hill and pretty windy, which we had forgotten about.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.218s; Tpl: 0.02s; cc: 15; qc: 30; dbt: 0.0487s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Dennis
non-member comment
Trip
Thought you two would be in South America by now. Cheers & stay safe Denn & robyn