Blenheim and the Marlborough area
From the ferry we drove straight to Blenheim as this was the place closest to the Marlborough wine region and we wanted to do the rounds of some of the wineries!
The next morning it was sunny with blue sky which was very exciting so we went for a little walk around the town! In the afternoon we booked a winery tour that the guy at the reception of the campsite recommended. Well, he said they had been running the longest so we took that to be a good thing... When the guy came to pick us up we found out why it had been running the longest - he was 77!!! And it was questionable whether he should have even been driving! He was intent on giving us a big hug when we met him which was slightly unpleasant as he was really crusty and had dry flaky skin and black scab things all over his hands that you just wanted to pick off, and he smelt a little stale!!! Anyway, he was only our driver really, although he did suffer from verbal diarrhea as he was driving us about but he was harmless enough!
We visited 5 wineries I think and had a good tasting session in each, so ended up buying quite a few bottles of the nicer wine! The people in the wineries were really friendly and as they were quite quiet they were happy to spend ages with us talking about all the different wines so it was really interesting. At one point this old guy started talking about his prostrate and how often he had to get up in the middle of the night to go to the loo - I was standing by the fire trying not to piss myself laughing and this poor woman just didn't quite know what to say about that! So I ended up talking to her so we could both escape this bizarre man!!! It was a great afternoon though!
When we got back we decided to hit the town for a few more drinks, otherwise we would've ended up falling asleep at 5pm! So we walked into town and tried out the two pubs in the place, both of which were Irish! The first one was a bit odd - really quiet and some rather strange people in there so we left after a drink! The second one was a lot better as it had more people in and had a nicer atmosphere. But it seems that things only happen anywhere at the weekends at the moment so it was still reasonably quiet. But it was a nice evening out, away from the camper, and there was some live music going on aswell which was good!
The next day we thought we would try kayaking in the Marlborough Sounds but it was so cold we thought we would opt for a little boat trip instead. So we went to Havelock but it was pretty dead - apparently we had missed the mailboat and there was a water taxi going out to pick up some loggers but not until the afternoon! Not sure what some men would've thought if we were sitting in their water taxi after they'd had a hard day logging and we were just cruising around!!! So we decided to ditch that plan and carry on! Although we never have a plan B we're getting quite good at adapting ourselves for the weather and generally have a few other possibilities of things to do up our sleeves!
Nelson area and Golden Bay
We drove up to Nelson and spent a few hours there as it was a really lovely little town - apparently it is one of the most popular places to live in NZ. We decided to do something in the Abel Tasman National Park so booked a little day trip from there. Then we headed up to Motueka.
We went for a walk in the evening and the town was really pretty as it was the Festival of Lights and all the shops and the main street were lit up which looked really nice. We went into a cafe/bar and there was a band playing a bit later so we thought we'd stay and see what they were like. Over 3 hours later (although it was still only about 9.30!) the band started playing and they were actually pretty good - quite funky music which was great to listen to! But then out of nowhere all these people came into the cafe and it was completely packed. It was very bizarre though - I felt a bit out of place as I didn't have dreads and I didn't smell which seemed to be the main criteria for these other people - a mixture of BO and old clothes! It was a bit like a fancy dress party!! I think we must have stumbled on some little hippy town!! They were all having a great time though, although I suspect some illegal substances may have been involved! There was this one old guy there who was someone's dad who kept going outside with different people and then coming back in a few minutes later so I'm guessing he could be the local drug dealer!!!!
Anyway, it was all very surreal but we stayed for a while to listen to the band until the smell became a bit overpowering and we left to see if we could find somewhere else to go... But the other bar only had a few people in it, Hot Mamma's Cafe was obviously the place to be on a Fri night but we couldn't face going back so called it a night!
The next day was stunning - cold but bright blue sky and some sun!! We got picked up and driven to Marahau which is the start of the Abel Tasman tramp. We decided to do some kayaking so got kitted out for all that - instead of wetsuits we were given stripey thermals with some shorts over the top (I felt like a pantomime dame!), a jacket and life jacket,and then were pulled by a mini tractor to the water as it was low tide and then the water taxi took us to
Torrent Bay. From there we got the kayaks all ready, were given these funny skirt things to wear (now I felt like a pantomime horse!) and our guide, Sam, gave us instructions on how to kayak and then some safety tips which scared me a bit as I hate the thought of capsizing and getting stuck in the kayak! And then off we went! I was at the back so had to steer which was interesting - it was quite easy, put your left foot on the pedal to go left and right foot on the right pedal to go right - only for some reason I kept putting my foot on the wrong pedal and turning the wrong way!! Oh well!
We kayaked around for a couple of hours I think, went over to Pinnacle Island where there were lots of birds and fur seals lying around - we got quite close to them which was really cool! Then we got over to Medlands Beach and had lunch there. I enjoyed kayaking, I'd wanted to try it for ages, but my lack of upper body strength is quite pathetic so my shoulders were aching by the end of it so was glad we were only doing it for a few hours!
From there we got a water taxi over to Onetahuti Beach, via Tonga Island where we saw some more seals, and got to walk from Onetahuti to Tonga Quarry, which was a lovely walk, getting some great coastal views as well as a bit of a walk through the bush. Then we got a water taxi back to Marahau and a bus back to Motueka. It was such a great day, the good weather made such a difference. Although it was a bit cold at times, when we were out kayaking it was really warm so that was good! Not capsizing was good aswell!!
The next day was gorgeous weather too and we drove up through Golden Bay right to the top bit of the south island. The scenery whilst we were driving was absolutely stunning - lots of mountains, some snow covered, others just full of forest and really green - it was amazing. Kept taking photos as Grainne was driving but they just didn't to justice to the views. The drive was really twisty and steep again through all the mountains but as it was such beautiful scenery no one seemed in a rush to get anywhere! There were lots of pull off points from the road so it's obviously an area where people stop lots to admire all the spectacular views!
Drove through Takaka and visited Te Waikoropupu (or Pupu!) springs, which has some of the clearest freshwater in the world and is a sacred place for the Maoris, so it was nice to go for a little walk around the area. Then we drove up further to Collingwood and Puponga. From there we drove on an unsealed gravel road to Wharariki beach which was amazing - we had to walk for about 20mins through the green hills to get to the beach and it suddenly appeared behind the hills. There were some huge rocks on the beach and in the sea, some with huge holes in that you
can walk through in low tide. It was so peaceful there it was lovely. We also visited Farewell Spit which is right at the top and is about 35km of golden sand which was beautiful. In the evening we found a campsite that was right on the beach and saw the sun set over the mountains which was beautiful.
We had arranged to go horse riding on the beach in the morning but woke up to the pissing rain so had to scrap that plan! We drove down to Takaka which was a lovely little town with a great cafe! We wandered round the town and when it had stopped raining we drove to Pohara and walked to the Wainui waterfall, over a very precarious swing bridge where only one person at a time was allowed on it! The waterfall was quite impressive though - very gushing! From there we drove down to Nelson Lakes National Park. It was slightly precarious at times, especially as we were going up a very steep mountain and it started snowing (and I was the lucky one who was driving at the time!)!!! And then there was some more mountain driving in the dark which was interesting! Nelson Lakes We got to the lakes about 8pm, not that we could tell though as it was pitch dark and we were the only ones about! There was a campsite by one of the lakes and it was a bit scary in the dark, so we locked ourselves in our van in what felt like the middle of nowhere! It was quite a cold night too so we had both heaters on to keep us warm!
When we woke up in the morning it was a clear blue sky and we were surrounded by snow covered mountains, it was a spectacular view to wake up to! And it didn't seem nearly so scary in the daylight! We spent a couple of hours walking around one of the lakes which was beautiful - it's crazy that one day the weather is so bad and the next it's so gorgeous!
The West Coast
From the lakes we drove over to Wesport and down the west coast. We stopped near Westport to see a seal colony. We walked to a lookout and could see lots of seals lazing around as usual in the sun! From there we drove down the coast to Punakaiki to see the Pancake Rocks and the
Blowholes, although there was no water spurting out of the blowholes the rocks were pretty impressive to look at! This was a bit of a scary drive as when we left Westport it said there was no petrol for 87kms. We had 1/4 of a tank left and I thought that would probably be enough to get us to the next petrol station... However we started to get a bit concerned as the needle kept going down and then the petrol warning light came on... We had about 12kms to go and I figured there was still enough, which there was but it was a close call! As it was my idea to not go back for petrol I was fully prepared to start walking if we had run out so every kilometre closer we got the less distance I would have to walk! So when I suddenly saw a petrol station I was so relieved!!!!
We carried on driving (with a full tank which was such a great feeling!) to Hokitika along the coast. The sun was setting over the sea and the views were absolutely incredible. We got postcard perfect views of snow covered mountains with a dusky pink sky, and then over the sea
the sky was red and orange and it was fantastic. The stars in the sky were also brilliant - the sky was so clear and you could see thousands of stars which was amazing. We got to Hokitika and found a campsite by the beach. There was also a glow worm dell across the road which Grainne wanted to see so we had to walk up this pitch black little path to see hundreds of glow worms - it was quite amazing to see them in their natural habitat.
From the ferry we drove straight to Blenheim as this was the place closest to the Marlborough wine region and we wanted to do the rounds of some of the wineries!
The next morning it was sunny with blue sky which was very exciting so we went for a little walk around the town! In the afternoon we booked a winery tour that the guy at the reception of the campsite recommended. Well, he said they had been running the longest so we took that to be a good thing... When the guy came to pick us up we found out why it had been running the longest - he was 77!!! And it was questionable whether he should have even been driving! He was intent on giving us a big hug when we met him which was slightly unpleasant as he was really crusty and had dry flaky skin and black scab things all over his hands that you just wanted to pick off, and he smelt a little stale!!! Anyway, he was only our driver really, although he did suffer from verbal diarrhea as he was driving us about but he was harmless enough!
We visited 5 wineries I think and had a good tasting session in each, so ended up buying quite a few bottles of the nicer wine! The people in the wineries were really friendly and as they were quite quiet they were happy to spend ages with us talking about all the different wines so it was really interesting. At one point this old guy started talking about his prostrate and how often he had to get up in the middle of the night to go to the loo - I was standing by the fire trying not to piss myself laughing and this poor woman just didn't quite know what to say about that! So I ended up talking to her so we could both escape this bizarre man!!! It was a great afternoon though!
When we got back we decided to hit the town for a few more drinks, otherwise we would've ended up falling asleep at 5pm! So we walked into town and tried out the two pubs in the place, both of which were Irish! The first one was a bit odd - really quiet and some rather strange people in there so we left after a drink! The second one was a lot better as it had more people in and had a nicer atmosphere. But it seems that things only happen anywhere at the weekends at the moment so it was still reasonably quiet. But it was a nice evening out, away from the camper, and there was some live music going on aswell which was good!
The next day we thought we would try kayaking in the Marlborough Sounds but it was so cold we thought we would opt for a little boat trip instead. So we went to Havelock but it was pretty dead - apparently we had missed the mailboat and there was a water taxi going out to pick up some loggers but not until the afternoon! Not sure what some men would've thought if we were sitting in their water taxi after they'd had a hard day logging and we were just cruising around!!! So we decided to ditch that plan and carry on! Although we never have a plan B we're getting quite good at adapting ourselves for the weather and generally have a few other possibilities of things to do up our sleeves!
Nelson area and Golden Bay
We drove up to Nelson and spent a few hours there as it was a really lovely little town - apparently it is one of the most popular places to live in NZ. We decided to do something in the Abel Tasman National Park so booked a little day trip from there. Then we headed up to Motueka.
We went for a walk in the evening and the town was really pretty as it was the Festival of Lights and all the shops and the main street were lit up which looked really nice. We went into a cafe/bar and there was a band playing a bit later so we thought we'd stay and see what they were like. Over 3 hours later (although it was still only about 9.30!) the band started playing and they were actually pretty good - quite funky music which was great to listen to! But then out of nowhere all these people came into the cafe and it was completely packed. It was very bizarre though - I felt a bit out of place as I didn't have dreads and I didn't smell which seemed to be the main criteria for these other people - a mixture of BO and old clothes! It was a bit like a fancy dress party!! I think we must have stumbled on some little hippy town!! They were all having a great time though, although I suspect some illegal substances may have been involved! There was this one old guy there who was someone's dad who kept going outside with different people and then coming back in a few minutes later so I'm guessing he could be the local drug dealer!!!!
Anyway, it was all very surreal but we stayed for a while to listen to the band until the smell became a bit overpowering and we left to see if we could find somewhere else to go... But the other bar only had a few people in it, Hot Mamma's Cafe was obviously the place to be on a Fri night but we couldn't face going back so called it a night!
The next day was stunning - cold but bright blue sky and some sun!! We got picked up and driven to Marahau which is the start of the Abel Tasman tramp. We decided to do some kayaking so got kitted out for all that - instead of wetsuits we were given stripey thermals with some shorts over the top (I felt like a pantomime dame!), a jacket and life jacket,and then were pulled by a mini tractor to the water as it was low tide and then the water taxi took us to
Torrent Bay. From there we got the kayaks all ready, were given these funny skirt things to wear (now I felt like a pantomime horse!) and our guide, Sam, gave us instructions on how to kayak and then some safety tips which scared me a bit as I hate the thought of capsizing and getting stuck in the kayak! And then off we went! I was at the back so had to steer which was interesting - it was quite easy, put your left foot on the pedal to go left and right foot on the right pedal to go right - only for some reason I kept putting my foot on the wrong pedal and turning the wrong way!! Oh well!We kayaked around for a couple of hours I think, went over to Pinnacle Island where there were lots of birds and fur seals lying around - we got quite close to them which was really cool! Then we got over to Medlands Beach and had lunch there. I enjoyed kayaking, I'd wanted to try it for ages, but my lack of upper body strength is quite pathetic so my shoulders were aching by the end of it so was glad we were only doing it for a few hours!
From there we got a water taxi over to Onetahuti Beach, via Tonga Island where we saw some more seals, and got to walk from Onetahuti to Tonga Quarry, which was a lovely walk, getting some great coastal views as well as a bit of a walk through the bush. Then we got a water taxi back to Marahau and a bus back to Motueka. It was such a great day, the good weather made such a difference. Although it was a bit cold at times, when we were out kayaking it was really warm so that was good! Not capsizing was good aswell!!
The next day was gorgeous weather too and we drove up through Golden Bay right to the top bit of the south island. The scenery whilst we were driving was absolutely stunning - lots of mountains, some snow covered, others just full of forest and really green - it was amazing. Kept taking photos as Grainne was driving but they just didn't to justice to the views. The drive was really twisty and steep again through all the mountains but as it was such beautiful scenery no one seemed in a rush to get anywhere! There were lots of pull off points from the road so it's obviously an area where people stop lots to admire all the spectacular views!
Drove through Takaka and visited Te Waikoropupu (or Pupu!) springs, which has some of the clearest freshwater in the world and is a sacred place for the Maoris, so it was nice to go for a little walk around the area. Then we drove up further to Collingwood and Puponga. From there we drove on an unsealed gravel road to Wharariki beach which was amazing - we had to walk for about 20mins through the green hills to get to the beach and it suddenly appeared behind the hills. There were some huge rocks on the beach and in the sea, some with huge holes in that you
can walk through in low tide. It was so peaceful there it was lovely. We also visited Farewell Spit which is right at the top and is about 35km of golden sand which was beautiful. In the evening we found a campsite that was right on the beach and saw the sun set over the mountains which was beautiful.We had arranged to go horse riding on the beach in the morning but woke up to the pissing rain so had to scrap that plan! We drove down to Takaka which was a lovely little town with a great cafe! We wandered round the town and when it had stopped raining we drove to Pohara and walked to the Wainui waterfall, over a very precarious swing bridge where only one person at a time was allowed on it! The waterfall was quite impressive though - very gushing! From there we drove down to Nelson Lakes National Park. It was slightly precarious at times, especially as we were going up a very steep mountain and it started snowing (and I was the lucky one who was driving at the time!)!!! And then there was some more mountain driving in the dark which was interesting! Nelson Lakes We got to the lakes about 8pm, not that we could tell though as it was pitch dark and we were the only ones about! There was a campsite by one of the lakes and it was a bit scary in the dark, so we locked ourselves in our van in what felt like the middle of nowhere! It was quite a cold night too so we had both heaters on to keep us warm!
When we woke up in the morning it was a clear blue sky and we were surrounded by snow covered mountains, it was a spectacular view to wake up to! And it didn't seem nearly so scary in the daylight! We spent a couple of hours walking around one of the lakes which was beautiful - it's crazy that one day the weather is so bad and the next it's so gorgeous!
The West Coast
From the lakes we drove over to Wesport and down the west coast. We stopped near Westport to see a seal colony. We walked to a lookout and could see lots of seals lazing around as usual in the sun! From there we drove down the coast to Punakaiki to see the Pancake Rocks and the
Blowholes, although there was no water spurting out of the blowholes the rocks were pretty impressive to look at! This was a bit of a scary drive as when we left Westport it said there was no petrol for 87kms. We had 1/4 of a tank left and I thought that would probably be enough to get us to the next petrol station... However we started to get a bit concerned as the needle kept going down and then the petrol warning light came on... We had about 12kms to go and I figured there was still enough, which there was but it was a close call! As it was my idea to not go back for petrol I was fully prepared to start walking if we had run out so every kilometre closer we got the less distance I would have to walk! So when I suddenly saw a petrol station I was so relieved!!!!We carried on driving (with a full tank which was such a great feeling!) to Hokitika along the coast. The sun was setting over the sea and the views were absolutely incredible. We got postcard perfect views of snow covered mountains with a dusky pink sky, and then over the sea
the sky was red and orange and it was fantastic. The stars in the sky were also brilliant - the sky was so clear and you could see thousands of stars which was amazing. We got to Hokitika and found a campsite by the beach. There was also a glow worm dell across the road which Grainne wanted to see so we had to walk up this pitch black little path to see hundreds of glow worms - it was quite amazing to see them in their natural habitat.
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