Nelson to Motueka

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Driving times:
Picton to Nelson (direct) 144k- 2hours
Nelson to Motueka - 51k - 1 hour
Nelson to Takaka - 109k - 2 hours

Entering Nelson from the east on Route 6 you continue along Tasman Bay to your right.
Easy access into the town if you want to stop. Great cafes/restaurants (Morrison Street
Cafe for excellent food and coffee) and shopping. Good place to get what you may need
since most of the area now will provide only small communities.
From Nelson continue on out of town traveling west on Route 6 that meets up with Route
60 in Richmond. After leaving Richmond on the right is the Grape Escape worth stopping
at to see one of New Zealand's most unique exhibits of not-to-be-missed carved wood art
at the Escape Gallery.


Also if you enjoy glass work be sure to stop right down the road to Hoglund Glass Works
right after the Grape Escape on the right and before the Richmond Motor Camp. From
there Route 60 takes you northwest toward Mapua and Motueka and the Golden Bay
area.An area of intense orchard and winery businesses. If you never saw hops grown this
will be your first introduction. It is the fields with very tall poles and lines with the hops
vines entwining themselves upward.
One of the energies I like about this area even more so than most of New Zealand is the
roadside stands of fresh products. From here to Golden Bay they are everywhere. Apples
are king and you can find some almost any time of year. Another very important stop
spot, if you enjoy fresh berries and other fresh produce, is Toddy's "Best Boysenberry
Farm". Location is on River Road, first road on the left after crossing the Waimea River
at Appleby heading west. Here you can pick your own or buy them at the shop. Best time
is around the Christmas holidays. In addition they are growing New Zealand heritage
vegetables.

Mapua -
Driving times:
Picton to Nelson (direct) 144k- 2hours
Nelson to Motueka - 51k - 1 hour
Nelson to Takaka - 109k - 2 hours

Driving northwest on Route 6 you reach the turn off to Mapua. Great drive where you
pass a lot of the hops growing region of New Zealand also lots of apple orchards. At the
Mapua marina is a spot where several shops, galleries and cafes dot the peripheral. Worth
the short drive to visit.

On to Motueka a bustling small town that is user friendly for visiting camper vans.
Motueka Beach Reserve has been set aside for self-contained vehicles a $5 per night.
Toilets available and cold showers if you can handle it. There is also Kina Reserve out of
town or the McKee Memorial Domain.
Also a good place to pick up the access map of the Motueka River for later use. This is
one of New Zealand's primary trout rivers supporting one of New Zealand's highest trout
populations(275 trout per kilometre has been officially counted.- though there wasn't any
on the section I fished!) .The average size is 2 lb with larger fish from 4lb to 8lb not
uncommon. Above the Wangapeka confluence they average from 3-5 lb.
On the river road heading toward Murchison you will discover the raspberry fields. There
is also a wonderful place to stop for fresh fruit in season. We always stop for blueberries
and there is also a stop for fresh venison. Look for the sign on the left. It is great to shop
along the way. We buy all our eggs farm fresh and free run as we move along.
Occasionally we find our favourite - duck eggs.

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