After the place with the Emu we drove northwards to Motueka, a nice seaside town and the start of the Tasman district. We found a nice reserve by the sea and parked the van for a relaxing evening, we went fishing off some rocks at the end of the beach and caught absolutely bugger all so went back to the van for a nights sleep.
'Knock...Knock...Knock!'
"It's the police."
So it turns out that we aren't allowed to stay here for the night and the policeman chooses 10pm is the right time to come and tell us this. Thanks. So we drive half an hour in the dark to the reserve we stayed at last night and sleep there. Needless to say we weren't happy.
The next day we drove back to the town and did some shopping for our jaunt up to the northern most point in the south island. On the way to Farewell Spit we stopped at a handful of beautiful golden beaches to relax and spent a couple of nights in campsites right on the waters edge, where we collected mussels which I ate and Lauren squirmed away from. We also stopped at a great little town called Takaka where a funky Sunday market was on, it was basically a town of hippies. When we got to Cape Farewell we decided to walk along the spit (which is the longest natural sand spit in the world). We wandered along the beach for 4km before cutting inland and stomping up and down sand dunes, it was vast and felt like we were in a desert. After some sweaty hours later we reached the ocean on the other side of the spit and walked back towards the beginning of the walk. We attempted to catch some locusts on the way back but they were far to fast. After another night in a campsite by the sea we headed into the northern part of the Abel Tasman national park where we had planned to do some sea kayaking but the wind and rain closed in and we decided to hold off until we get some nicer weather.
On the way to the national park we stopped at the Pupu springs, the largest freshwater springs in Australasia and some of the clearest water that can be found in the world, the visibility through it was something like 65 metres. There were signs everywhere that said the water was off limits but we found a place where we could get down to the water so Lauren could touch it. In the park we drove to a place called Tata beach, probably the most golden sand I have ever seen, no wonder they call the area Golden Bay. We lazed away the day lying on the beach before checking into a campsite down the road. We relaxed in our crappy camping chairs and drank our wine. Wine that we thought was a bargain at $18 for a 3 litre box, but it turned out to be 6% (does that even count as wine?), so we solved the problem by drinking loads of it.
After our trip into the national park we hoped the weather would get better to allow us to kayak but the forecast was dire with winds of 50kmph on the way, we chose to get out of dodge and head towards Nelson and the Marlborough region. Around the Marlborough Sounds we would get another chance to kayak, and this is also wine country. We picked our way around the coast towards Nelson, stopping here and there, and camped on Ruby bay where I tried my hand at fishing once more. But caught nothing again! We wiggled around the coast and visited Rabbit Island on the way to Nelson where we saw a weird looking shark washed up on the beach. We finally got into Nelson and treated ourselves to a lovely Starbucks lunch and coffee before wandering around the shops trying to find Lauren some new clothes. After a while we left Nelson and found a really nice campsite by the Maitai river which we relaxed the evening away in.
A few weeks ago we met a couple from the Czech Republic who told us to go to Cable Bay north of Nelson, and that there was good fishing there and a nice campsite. So we did, and as soon as I got my fishing rod out it started to rain. Typical. The bay was very nice and we learnt it was where the first telecommunication cable was run between Sydney and NZ across the Tasman Sea. Very interesting. Luckily we had bought a set of games in Nelson so we passed the time waiting for the rain to stop by playing chess and backgammon, both of which Lauren is annoyingly good at. The campsite was great and had the nicest showers I have used since being here so I had two. It also had a great lounge/kitchen area and we were pretty much the only ones there so we watched crappy tv while we cooked and ate dinner. The weather had cleared by morning but the sea was too rough for fishing so we left. We drove an hour down the road to Pelorus Bridge where we did a great walk through the rainforest to see some waterfalls. After the walk we went to a campsite nearby and enjoyed the sun which we felt we deserved after a day of rain.
Yesterday began the same as any other with clear skies and crickets chirping and we decided to head to Picton where we would check how much our ferry ticket would be when we cross over to the north island in a week or two. $220, not too bad for a van we thought. We mooched around the town and the harbourfront but thought we would save the aquarium and museums for when we come back before our ferry crossing. We found a campsite at the brilliantly named Whatamango Bay, right on the seafront. The wind had picked up however and when we attempted to go for a wander we were almost lifted off our feet by a strong gust. We went back to the safety of our van, where Lauren beat me at chess again!
Today we woke up to glorious sunshine and the winds had all but disappeared, we spent the morning cleaning and tidying our van which had become somewhat neglected through the rainy days. Now we are in a mcdonalds in Blenheim, these are the only places with free wifi. This is wine country so hopefully we will have a drop or too before heading to the beach once more.
Speak to you soon.
x x x
'Knock...Knock...Knock!'
"It's the police."
So it turns out that we aren't allowed to stay here for the night and the policeman chooses 10pm is the right time to come and tell us this. Thanks. So we drive half an hour in the dark to the reserve we stayed at last night and sleep there. Needless to say we weren't happy.
The next day we drove back to the town and did some shopping for our jaunt up to the northern most point in the south island. On the way to Farewell Spit we stopped at a handful of beautiful golden beaches to relax and spent a couple of nights in campsites right on the waters edge, where we collected mussels which I ate and Lauren squirmed away from. We also stopped at a great little town called Takaka where a funky Sunday market was on, it was basically a town of hippies. When we got to Cape Farewell we decided to walk along the spit (which is the longest natural sand spit in the world). We wandered along the beach for 4km before cutting inland and stomping up and down sand dunes, it was vast and felt like we were in a desert. After some sweaty hours later we reached the ocean on the other side of the spit and walked back towards the beginning of the walk. We attempted to catch some locusts on the way back but they were far to fast. After another night in a campsite by the sea we headed into the northern part of the Abel Tasman national park where we had planned to do some sea kayaking but the wind and rain closed in and we decided to hold off until we get some nicer weather.
On the way to the national park we stopped at the Pupu springs, the largest freshwater springs in Australasia and some of the clearest water that can be found in the world, the visibility through it was something like 65 metres. There were signs everywhere that said the water was off limits but we found a place where we could get down to the water so Lauren could touch it. In the park we drove to a place called Tata beach, probably the most golden sand I have ever seen, no wonder they call the area Golden Bay. We lazed away the day lying on the beach before checking into a campsite down the road. We relaxed in our crappy camping chairs and drank our wine. Wine that we thought was a bargain at $18 for a 3 litre box, but it turned out to be 6% (does that even count as wine?), so we solved the problem by drinking loads of it.
After our trip into the national park we hoped the weather would get better to allow us to kayak but the forecast was dire with winds of 50kmph on the way, we chose to get out of dodge and head towards Nelson and the Marlborough region. Around the Marlborough Sounds we would get another chance to kayak, and this is also wine country. We picked our way around the coast towards Nelson, stopping here and there, and camped on Ruby bay where I tried my hand at fishing once more. But caught nothing again! We wiggled around the coast and visited Rabbit Island on the way to Nelson where we saw a weird looking shark washed up on the beach. We finally got into Nelson and treated ourselves to a lovely Starbucks lunch and coffee before wandering around the shops trying to find Lauren some new clothes. After a while we left Nelson and found a really nice campsite by the Maitai river which we relaxed the evening away in.
A few weeks ago we met a couple from the Czech Republic who told us to go to Cable Bay north of Nelson, and that there was good fishing there and a nice campsite. So we did, and as soon as I got my fishing rod out it started to rain. Typical. The bay was very nice and we learnt it was where the first telecommunication cable was run between Sydney and NZ across the Tasman Sea. Very interesting. Luckily we had bought a set of games in Nelson so we passed the time waiting for the rain to stop by playing chess and backgammon, both of which Lauren is annoyingly good at. The campsite was great and had the nicest showers I have used since being here so I had two. It also had a great lounge/kitchen area and we were pretty much the only ones there so we watched crappy tv while we cooked and ate dinner. The weather had cleared by morning but the sea was too rough for fishing so we left. We drove an hour down the road to Pelorus Bridge where we did a great walk through the rainforest to see some waterfalls. After the walk we went to a campsite nearby and enjoyed the sun which we felt we deserved after a day of rain.
Yesterday began the same as any other with clear skies and crickets chirping and we decided to head to Picton where we would check how much our ferry ticket would be when we cross over to the north island in a week or two. $220, not too bad for a van we thought. We mooched around the town and the harbourfront but thought we would save the aquarium and museums for when we come back before our ferry crossing. We found a campsite at the brilliantly named Whatamango Bay, right on the seafront. The wind had picked up however and when we attempted to go for a wander we were almost lifted off our feet by a strong gust. We went back to the safety of our van, where Lauren beat me at chess again!
Today we woke up to glorious sunshine and the winds had all but disappeared, we spent the morning cleaning and tidying our van which had become somewhat neglected through the rainy days. Now we are in a mcdonalds in Blenheim, these are the only places with free wifi. This is wine country so hopefully we will have a drop or too before heading to the beach once more.
Speak to you soon.
x x x
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