The Sounds of the West Coast

 The Sounds of the West Coast

Punakaiki Beach Camp

MONDAY 24 MARCH 2025 - SATURDAY 29 MARCH 2025

We have been on the West Coast for a little over a fortnight now and I haven’t talked about the constant presence. For most of that time we have fallen asleep every night to the comforting but wild sound of the Tasman Sea battering the shoreline. We love the sea, we love fossicking along the beach and to us, the crashing of the waves takes us to our happy place. In the comments on the NZMCA app, someone actually wrote that this sound was not his cup of tea - I guess it takes all sorts but that is just weird!

In that time we have also spent a fair amount of time on bush walks and cycling through leafy glades which have been filled with bird song. We haven’t always been able to identify the bird singing but we have heard Tuis, Kaka, South Island Robin, Morepork, Weka, Weka, Weka and two very noisy Paradise Ducks. Will we be lucky enough to hear a Kiwi??

Anyhow, back to the trip. We left Clifftop Lane on Cape Foulwind and got ourselves back onto State Highway 6 - the main route down the West Coast heading to Punikaiki. The landscape was changing again with sheer cliff faces of solid rock and groves of strong, stocky Nikau Palms. 

As soon as we had ourselves settled on our campsite we headed on foot to the Pancake Rocks which was just under 2 kms away. As we walked we met another of the local fauna - a wild goat helping itself to leaves on one of the roadside trees. We haven't been to Punikaiki for about 36 years and boy has it changed. In a partnership with the Department of Conservation (DOC) and Ngāti Waewae the local iwi, they are re-establishing a cultural footprint for mana whenua at the site. They have built a magnificent visitors centre known as the Punangairi building. They have also created an informative, easy to navigate pathway, surrounded by regenerated flax, to take you out to see the Blow holes and the Pancake Rocks. We were super impressed.

Heading back to the Beast we passed the Punakaiki Rocks Hotel & Garden Bar and it would have seemed rude not to have popped in for a bevy - especially after a 4kms walk. As well as having decent beer and cider they provided a photo opportunity that I couldn’t walk past.

Back at the camp there was a wee “cafe” that served Whitebait Patties. Now some of you will know that we do quite well for Whitebait at home, some might say we are spoiled for Whitebait but we wanted to give the South Island Whitebait a go. We were expecting there to be more pattie than Whitebait so we were very surprised to find a tasty morsel chocca full of this yummy wee fish (Sorry Matt K). It got the thumbs up from us.

The next day we donned our tramping boots and headed off to do the Pororari River Track walk to the swingbridge - not sure why as I don’t particularly like swingbridges! Such a calming walk with the bird calls and the sound of the river making its way to the sea. The return trip took about 2 hours and of course we actually had to cross the swingbridge!

I took a lovely photo of Dave before crossing the bridge…

And Dave got video evidence that I did make the crossing…

We were so impressed with the walk following Pororari River that we decided to bust out the paddle boards and see how far up the river we could get....with our paddles. Already knowing that the scenery was spectacular Dave even charged up the GoPro and taught himself how to use it…again. Although there were some shallow bits where we had to walk with our paddle boards, for most of the way we were on extremely clear, deep water. In the depths you could easily see huge rocks, tree trunks and the occasional trout. It was mesmerising. Unfortunately we don’t have any photos to share as we completely forgot to take the GoPro so this is our only photographic proof!

Continuing on Highway 6 we headed to Greymouth travelling along a spectacularly scenic coastal road. I should mention here that I don’t drive the Beast, ever, so while I am able to take full advantage of clocking all the amazing scenery that we pass, Dave’s eyes are firmly on the road navigating the twists and turns expertly and for that, I am eternally grateful.

Greymouth has so many HUGE hunks of greenstone placed around the town commemorating the town, the mines, the river, the miners etc and all of them opened by the former Mayor Tony Kokshoorn. It is also the start of the West Coast Wilderness Bike Trail (also opened by Tony). Arriving in Greymouth, we did a bit of shopping and headed to the other end of town to the Top 10 campground. The next day we cycled back into town on the West Coast Wilderness trail stopping at the Southern Breakwater to gain a bit of perspective of the Grey River which is pretty impressive. The main purpose for heading into the town was to sort Easter gifts for our darling Grandkidlets but as we had somewhere to be at 4:00 pm we cycled straight back to the Beast once the parcel had been handed over to NZ Post.

This part of the bike trail is flat and follows the coast and then the river bank so no Big Girl Knickers needed here. We are going to pick up the Trail a bit later in the trip when we get to Kumara and looking at the elevation and the description of the next part of the track I’d better keep those knickers close by.

Once we were back at the Beast we got gussied up as we had booked a brewery tour at Monteiths Brewery and, as it was only a couple of kms away, we were going to walk. Monteiths is billed as the original home of craft brewing, starting in 1868. It has been owned by DB breweries and is currently owned by Heineken International. It is a small processing plant and DB actually tried to close it down in 2021 but as the mighty West Coasters instantly boycotted DB products causing the company to lose heaps of revenue - they reopened it four days later. The Greymouth brewery didn’t do well over COVID and so all the bottling was transferred to their brewery in Timaru but we were assured that the Greymouth plant is just waiting for all the planets to align so it can get up and running again. The Year 13 student who took us on the tour did a brilliant job of giving us all the history and an understanding of the brewing process. After tasting a few of the products and selecting a six pack of mixed products to take home we decided we would have dinner there before walking home. 

As we saw so much Greenstone in the town we have spent a ‘bit’ of time combing the beach for a wee piece. The beach here is very stony and each time we return to the motorhome with many examples of Greenstone - but we are not sure if it is really all just 'green' stone?? We have been told it should feel heavier than a stone of comparable size and it should feel waxy??? I’m sure some of the rocks we have gathered will make it home with us and Dave will turn them into something amazing whether they are pounamu or not. 

For making it to the end of this rather long post you shall be rewarded with a few West Coast sunset photos - you’re welcome!

“You’re not in Auckland now, Dr Ropata!”

 “You’re not in Auckland now, Dr Ropata!”

When you are travelling you can’t help comparing what you know at home to what you are seeing and, even though we are in the same country, there are differences - some are obvious and some are unexpected. One that we have been noticing for a while, but I haven’t commented on yet, is the beach structures. 

The beaches in the Tasman Bay area, and even the top of the West Coast have a lot of driftwood - I mean, like a LOT! So it is not surprising, I guess, that people tend to make the driftwood into little huts. We saw these at the first beach we went to back at Rabbit Island and assumed it was just something peculiar to that beach but we have continued to see them the whole time we have been in the South Island. Some of these structures are works of art and I can imagine Vincey and Millie enjoying helping to make one!

I know we are seeing this part of the South Island scenery for the first time but it is different to what we are used to. With so much granite around the cliffs and mountains seem more dramatic - and you constantly feel like parts of them could fall down on you. There are a lot more Nikau Palms down here too and they seem stockier and in better condition.

You certainly can’t complain about the traffic in the South Island as it is non-existent. On some of the Bluffs that we have had to cross Dave has been constantly checking to see if there is anything behind us that we need to let pass and we have done the entire traverse with no cars in front of us or behind us and only meeting a handful of vehicles coming the other way. Having said that, though, the roads are in very good condition, although you can see the effects that nature has taken on them over the last couple of years there are plenty of Stop/Go men putting that to right.

I think the big one though is attitude. The locals we have met are friendly, helpful, chatty and trusting. I mentioned in my last post about the locals at Westport but this Kiwi hospitality is what we have found everywhere…and especially at our next stop.

FRIDAY 21 MARCH 2025 - SUNDAY 23 MARCH 2025

Heading South from Karamea we called into Westport to restock the pantry and continued past Carters Beach to Cape Foulwind. Our NZMCA App had talked about a Park Over Property (POP) at Star Tavern. POPs are private people or businesses who are happy for self contained vehicles to spend some time on their properties. Most charge a very nominal fee and the facilities they can offer varies - but usually it is just a place to park. In the members comments for Star Tavern quite a few people mentioned a place called Kay’s Place that was right on the clifftop, 2 seconds from the Star Tavern. It sounded idyllic and we thought we would check it out. As it didn’t have its own listing in the NZMCA App we were relying on the sketchy information that was provided in the members’ comments. When we got to Clifftop Lane there was a HUGE, flat expanse of lawn but there was not another motorhome in sight so I went and knocked on the door of the beautifully restored home and as luck would have it, this WAS Kay’s Place. She said park anywhere on the lawn and instead of payment asked us to make a donation to the Kawatiri Coastal Track fund - a request we were more than happy to comply with given this was the view from our back window AND we were going to be biking on the Kawatiri Coastal Trail the next day.

One thing about being on a clifftop on the West Coast is you can guarantee a decent sunset…

The next day we decided to cycle to Tauranga Bay and visit the Seal colony there. It was only 3 kms return so definitely worth a look. The trail had a few switchbacks (will I EVER get better at these???) but was mostly pretty gentle and the Seal colony was the best seal experience we have ever had. There was a ‘Nursery pool’ where all the baby seals were learning how to be seals and there was a poor adolescent seal whose turn it was to baby sit overseeing this frolicking. There were Mum seals who were calling for their babies, who were ignoring the call - until they realised they were going to be in BIG trouble if they didn’t check in!! We saw two juveniles who were having trouble getting back onto the rocks because of the swells - and eventually they made the decision to go for a swim for a while until the tide sorted itself out. We stood there watching for ages.

On our cycle back to The Beast we detoured slightly to the bluff that has the Cape Foulwind lighthouse. We could see Kay’s Place on the next cliff around and Dave tried to point out our motorhome. (He so loves me taking these kind of photos - LOL)

One brilliant thing about Kay’s Place was that it was literally right on the Kawatiri Coastal Trail so on our final day here we headed back to Carters Beach for a 14 kms return cycle. An easy cycle to an extremely long West Coast beach!!

We could not thank Kay enough for generously sharing this beautiful part of New Zealand with us and not gaining anything from being so generous - so we left her a sneaky bottle of wine!

It was time to say goodbye to Westport. We had both really liked Westport, the town, the people, the beaches but it was time to continue our trip down the West Coast.

Before we leave this part of New Zealand there was something I forgot to mention from when we were in Karamea and this is ANOTHER shout out to Adele! When we visited the little local museum I spotted a Nelson College Boater with the name Tunnicliff on it so thought it MUST be another one of Adele’s relatives. This hat belonged to Bob Tunnicliff who had also been an All Black. What I hadn’t noticed was that in the All Black information his name was spelled with an e at the end. Adele checked with her Dad and yes he was a relative who gave up on correcting people who spelled his name with an e. He REALLY needed an Adele in his life who always makes sure her surname is spelled correctly - LOL.

AND finally for this post we heard a new word today - “Sliders” Apparently this is a term used to describe young, tourist, freedom campers who are in wee vans with sliding doors - it is NOT a compliment. So far we have not come across any of these tourists who are demonstrating any of the traits that earn them this title but I will keep you posted!

The Rugged West Coast.

 The Rugged West Coast

The wild West Coast at Westport

WEDNESDAY 12 MARCH 2025 - FRIDAY 21 MARCH 2025 (Happy 45th Anniversary Vicki and Lance!)

Setting off from Murchison and heading towards Westport meant we would be travelling on State Highway 6 through the sensational Buller Gorge. We followed the Buller River, meandering through glades of native trees, green vegetation and stunning river bank scenes. Once again, hats off to the early settlers who forged this road to the coast, especially when they got to Hawks Crag which is still a one lane road that was blasted through the granite rock!!

Eventually we hung a left onto Highway 67 and headed to Westport. After re-stocking at New World we headed to the NZMCA (New Zealand Motor Caravan Association) Park, right beside the beach, for two days. This is where we found the real Westport Gold!. 

At 98, Noel was born and bred in Westport and knew a LOT about This little part of New Zealand even though he had spent some time living at the bottom of the North Island. Noel takes it upon himself to share his knowledge with NZMCA members who stop at this camp. He rocked up to our motorhome with his bag of photographs, recent and historic, and talked us through what we could do in the area and all of its history. His knowledge and enthusiasm for all things about the Northern West Coast was infectious and we were so grateful for the hour or so of his time that he gave us. This kind of Westport Gold continued the next day when we stopped at the Criterion Pub for lunch. Two of the locals, Pete and Tony, just rocked up to us and started chatting. I’m sure these folks see quite a few tourists but it was so cool to find such friendly people - even after we said we were from Auckland!

We really liked Westport, it has most things you need in a town and everyone was super friendly. While we were here we did beach walks, explored the town and did small parts of the Kawatiri Coastal Bike Trail. It is definitely time to mention our fellow Kiwis, the Weka! OMG these birds are everywhere in this neck of the woods and they are SUPER cheeky. If you turned your back for two seconds they had invited themselves into the motorhome. Their favourite thing was to hop onto the barbecue table and help themselves to the fat in the drip tray! Dave also discovered that they were a bit partial to socks, especially if they were left tucked into shoes that were left outside overnight!

We had heard from HEAPs of different sources that we needed to head North from Westport to Gentle Annie Point and stay at Gentle Annie Seaside Accommodation and Camping Ground. We are quickly learning on this trip that you don’t ignore this kind of advice. The trip from Westport to Gentle Annie was easy….except the last 2 kms which is gravel and one way. The best tip we got was to pull into one of the passing bays and if nothing was coming just go for it! 

Gentle Annie must be one of the best campgrounds in New Zealand (I believe it is currently number 3). It is right at the mouth of the Mokihinui River as it races out to the Tasman Sea. When we arrived we went for a walk along the beach and met a guy who had just caught a 2 mtr Seven Gill Shark, off the beach and really close to the beach! Okay, so swimming was suddenly not a priority. We saw quite a few people fishing using spinners off the beach and decided that we would give that a go the next morning.

We got down to the beach a bit earlier than most and thought we had the timing wrong but as we both caught a decent Kahawai each, figured we were spot on.

With dinner sorted we headed back to the Beast just as everyone else was arriving with their fishing gear. 

Gentle Annie has some easy walks you can do from the camp to waterfalls, mazes and back to the sea. It also has these really quirky showers and toilets, not to mention super friendly, helpful staff. The absolute icing on the cake for us, though, was catching up with two VERY dear friends from Canberra. Sue and Darryl Montgomery were here to do the Queen Charlotte track. They hired a motorhome and had driven a long way to catch up with us on the West Coast. They chose a very wet day to drive to Gentle Annie but we had the most amazing afternoon and evening catching up.

I started work with Sue in 1977 at Medical Laboratory and it was Sue who introduced me to Dave and his mates. The years just fell away as we updated each other on family and experiences. Luckily the sun did come out the next morning and after a quick walk along the beach it was time to say farewell as Sue and Darryl headed South to Punikaiki and Dave and I headed North to Karamea.

To get to Karamea we needed to go over the Karamea Bluff….and yet another road that involves going up and up and up and then down and down and down with one lane bridges, road works and hairpin bends thrown in for good measure. Now, I don’t know about you but I had never heard of Karamea before and really we only headed here on the advice of 98 year old Noel. To get to Karamea we passed through a town called Granity. This area of New Zealand is literally made of Granite so what really amazed us was it has taken this long to find a place called Granity. Most notably, it boasts a spectacular theatre - for any of my acting friends!

We decided to stay at Karamea Memorial Domain Campground which was close to the Four Square and the pub! The caretaker helped us hire a car as we wanted to head off on an adventure on a road that had a height restriction of 2.8 mtrs, and that is way shorter than the Beast!

We contacted Karamea Motors and instantly knew we were not in Auckland anymore! The owner, Phil, drove the Rav4 out to the campsite the day before we needed it and picked Dave up so he could get a lift back to his depot. For $100 we got the use of the car for the day, the insurance, the petrol AND Phil would pick it up from the campsite whenever we were finished with it AND we didn’t have to give any credit card details. (We even heard him say to another couple, “Just get the cash out from the pub and leave it in the glove box for me!!). Talk about a high trust model!

Noel had told us about the Oparara Arches and Caves and this is where we were heading in the hire car. 

He had also mentioned that we would need to travel along an old, 16 km mining road to reach our destination. This road had the trifecta plus one - it was steep, windy, metalled AND one way! Honestly, I feel like I have swallowed so many glasses of cement on this trip but this one was so, so worth it!

We have often been to caves where we have felt a little under whelmed but at Oparara we were amazed. Having never heard of Karamea or Oparara this trip has quickly catapulted itself to the top of our best excursion list. The bush walks, the cave, the arches, and the information boards were all brilliant - we even got to see a female Blue Duck or Whio, one of New Zealand's endangered species. Unfortunately we don’t have a photo to prove this as she sort of just looked like one of the boulders she was swimming past. Normally I would make a few collage photos after visiting somewhere tourist-y but I am going to close this post with a photo dump of Oparara Arches and Caves - enjoy!

 Let’s Talk about Takaka Hill - I’d rather not!

Sunrise at Farewell Spit

SATURDAY 1 MARCH 2025 - TUESDAY 11 MARCH 2025

When we said that we were heading toward Farewell Spit some of our friends started mentioning a ‘special’ road we would need to go over to get to Collingwood. The advice I was given for coping with Takaka Hill was to just focus on my knitting and let Dave cope with the road. What surprised us most about Takaka Hill was how quickly it was upon us once we left Kaiteriteri. Total respect to the early settlers who forged this route to get to Golden Bay because this was a little bit more than a ‘hill’. Approximately 51 kms of twisty, turny road that went up and up and up and then went down and down and down. Thank goodness for exhaust brakes because without them I think our brakes would have been on fire! It had bends that completely turned back on themselves with names like Horseshoe Bend and Eureka Bend. The road itself was in fantastic condition and totally worth it to get to Collingwood so we could make the trip to Farewell Spit.

We booked a beach site at Collingwood Holiday Park and we were not disappointed. This was the view from the motorhome door.

The best thing about this campground though was how close it was to Farewell Spit Eco Tours. Farewell Spit Nature Reserve is a nature reserve that is on a 35 km sandspit right at the top of the South Island and the tour that we had booked to see the longest sandspit in the world is tide dependent, so we left at 6:00 am!! To only have a two minute walk to join the tour was a gift and at least we got to see a brilliant sunrise.

Our tour guide was Fynn, his Grandmother had been married to one of the lighthouse keepers so he had superb local knowledge and he had been working for DOC on the Chathams so he was super knowledgeable about the bird life on the spit as well. He was very skilled at ensuring we didn’t get stuck in any quicksand as we drove up the outside of the spit. We drove as far as the lighthouse, which used to be the tip of the spit but the spit is growing in length AND width and vehicles are not allowed to go any further than the lighthouse. At the lighthouse you got to appreciate how isolated it must have been for the families who were stationed here, with their supply ships only coming every few months. We saw huge vertebrae from a sperm whale that had died at sea and been washed ashore. Whales will often beach themselves on the other side of the spit. This tour also took us to Cape Farewell - the actual top of the South Island and once again we got to see seals. Suffering Takaka Hill was so worth it to be able to do this tour.

What made Collingwood even more special for us was that we had received an email from our Auckland friends, Dave and Brigid Ison, that they were going to be in Collingwood for the same days as us and it was super to have a drink with them on our first night. After our tour Dave and Brigid picked us up and took us to the Old School Cafe, Bar and Restaurant at Pakawau. This is a restaurant in the old school house, so for myself, Dave and Brigid (who is also a teacher) it was a bit surreal! We finally got to eat some Blue Cod and it was so so good to share it with friends from Auckland!

Before we left Collingwood we had to try some surf casting and although our attempts were a bit woeful we did see a one metre kingfish landed. It was caught by a young European tourist and the very best bit about this was that he had been helped and schooled by one of the local ‘Seadogs” who gave the young tourist a live kahawai bait, helped him rig it and talked him through winding it in successfully. Talk about making that tourists day - made you really proud to be a Kiwi!

Heading out of Collingwood our first stop was at Te Waikoropupu Springs. These springs are the largest freshwater springs in New Zealand, the largest cold water springs in the Southern Hemisphere and contain some of the clearest water ever measured.

We also stopped in Takaka which had a decided “Cook Street Market” feel about it before once again heading over the Takaka Hill. 

To break up the trip to Murchison we stayed a night at a POP (Park over Property) in Tapawera. We stayed in a paddock with a view of Mt Arthur, near to the Buller River with fresh farm eggs for sale - perfect. While we were in Tapawera, I tried to book our stay in The Riverside Holiday Park in Murchison online. Did you know that there is more than one Riverside Holiday Park in New Zealand?? No, neither did I but I diligently booked us three nights at the Riverside Holiday Park in MANGAWHAI!! Luckily I noticed that the money had been sent to a bank in Wellsford so I could quickly get our money back from Mangawhai and book us into Murchison - phew!

The REAL Riverside Holiday Park in Murchison - beside the Buller River

The highlights for us in Murchison were two totally different entities. The first was H Hodgson & Co which is listed as a department store. What a treasure trove of a shop this is. Our purchases from here ranged from gold panning equipment to part of Bec’s birthday gift but this store had an awesome display of Kiwiana and service like you got at Smith and Caugheys! 

Our second highlight involved gold. As we were camping beside the Buller River, in the heart of gold mining country we had to try our hand at panning for gold. We had watched all the gold mining programmes on Netflix and seen a few “How to” videos on YouTube so our confidence was high. We were stunned at how quickly we saw that magical glitter in our pans. At the end of day one we both had a teeny wee bottle of gold that probably meant we had a deposit on a loaf of bread. With such an inspiring start we headed back to the river and once again found success. That night, a young man who is a full time gold miner saw our pans and asked if we had any success. Showing him our ‘haul’ he confirmed that we were, in fact, fools as we had a spectacular little collection of Fools Gold - Damn!!

Now it was definitely time to head to the real West Coast and continue our search for real gold so Westport here we come.

We found it - but it wasn’t the yellow coloured metal type of gold!

A new respect for bike tyres!!

 A new respect for bike tyres!!

Ruby Bay - Mapua

FRIDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2025 - SATURDAY 1 MARCH 2025

We had got quite hooked on doing more of the Great Taste Bike Trail so to set ourselves up for the next part of the ride we travelled about 45 mins to Mckee Memorial Reserve at one end of Ruby Bay in Mapua. We booked in for four nights and promptly got the bikes down to do the 16 minute bike ride to the Mapua Wharf. The old buildings at the wharf have been turned into a range of eateries, gift shops and art galleries but there is also a wee maritime museum. Using donated photos the museum told the very interesting story of shipping for the Mapua area but it also gave us the background of the family our reserve was named after. The Mckee family were instrumental in setting up the Tasman area as an area recognised for growing apples. With eight other orchardists they set up an apple packing co-operative providing jobs in the area and set up the Fruitgrowers Chemical Company developing fruit sprays. When Arthur McKee died in 1943 his family gifted the reserve to the city of Nelson. Okay so enough of the history lesson, we stopped for some lunch and finally got to sample some local beer - at last the Great Taste Trail was coming up with the goods.

Mapua Wharf

The next day we headed off for the much longer ride from Ruby Bay to Motueka, about 52 kms return. Most of this ride was on grade 2 trails and took us through farms, past orchards and was on fairly well maintained trails. Then - we started to climb which is no problem on e-bikes but then came the sign that announced that the next part of the trail was grade 3 and it was not maintained by the Tasman District Council. Going up was bad enough but riding down hill on steep, rocky paths with cracks and crevices took the ride to another level - well for me anyway, Dave was having the time of his life! At this point my respect for bike tyres and their ability to keep me from hitting the deck was starting to grow!! Motueka was super busy but we had a bit of a look around town, stopped for some lunch and headed back to Ruby Bay. The trip home, while just as challenging for me, seemed to go faster and we even stopped for a photo opportunity at the summit.

The summit of the cycle from Ruby Bay to Motueka

Staying at the Mckee Memorial Reserve not only gave us access to the beach but also a lovely bush walk. It was our first opportunity to see how well our new electric system was going to last over a sustained period and how I would cope with only having a solar shower to rely on.

A big part of this adventure is spending time deciding where we will go next, where we will stay, whether to stay in a campground, an NZMCA (New Zealand Motor Caravan Association) park, a POP (Park over Property) or Freedom Camp. How long we are going to stay there and what there is to do in the area.  We look at costs, proximity to town, what facilities the camp has and how the camp looks. We are totally spoilt for choice and at least we are doing this outside of the busiest holiday times.

To be able to do the last part of the Great Taste Trail we needed to base ourselves in Motueka. When we biked there we took the time to check out the NZMCA park. These parks are always close to town and are only $10 a night but the Motueka one was quite crowded  so we booked into Marchwood Park. This is an A & P ground and is only open for NZMCA members but we chose it as it had trees and grass - much nicer when you are camping.

Our first day here we decided to walk back into town which was a little further than we thought but as we knew we had another big bike trip coming up we were happy with that and so were our butts!!

The next day we set off for the last bit of the Great Taste Trail from Motueka to Kaiteriteri Beach - about 42 kms return. Most of the trip there was super easy either paved or good size gravel paths except the last 20 minutes which took us up and down a mountain in the Kaiteriteri Mountain Bike Park.

Some buffoon had graded the path that we had to take as 'Easy' but with big tree roots, sheer drops and 5 switch backs in quick succession - easy was not the word I would have used to describe the track. I didn't even know what a switchback was when I saw the sign warning that there were 5 coming up but very quickly realised after the first one that the next four were not going to be any easier.

When we arrived in Kaiteriteri I said to Dave that there was no way I was doing that again to head home - I would ride on the main road. Dave just quietly told me to put my big girl knickers on and psych myself into the return trip as the road was too dangerous. I tried not to let the thought of the return journey spoil our time at this beautiful, golden sand beach. While we were in Kaiteriteri we wanted to suss out the two campgrounds and booked in our next stop and we booked a boat trip to see Abel Tasman National Park from the sea and do a small hike from one bay to another. Having achieved that we went for a beautiful swim and a walk along this picture postcard bay.

Kaiteriteri Beach - such a jewel in the Tasman Bay crown.

As we ate lunch I had a very stern talk to myself and busted out my huge, ginormous big girl knickers girding my loins for the cycle home. To be honest I did feel more in control on the return trip as I knew what to expect and uphill switchbacks are easier to handle than downhill ones!! Surprisingly, Dave found the trail in the mountain bike park the highlight of the trip and was keen to do it again to see if he could do it faster. (As you can imagine, I am shaking my head as I type that last sentence!). At this stage though, my respect for my bike tyres became monumental. How they do not slip and slide out from under me is a mystery but I am so grateful that they don’t!!

Don’t let this innocent, welcoming sign fool you!!

We spent the next two days in Motueka planning where to go next and exploring Motueka either by bike or feet. It is a VERY busy wee town but has some lovely bike tracks and even has a saltwater swimming pool that is filled by the tide and maintained by volunteers.

Once again our next drive was only a short one but we wanted to base ourselves in Kaiteretere Beach for five days so we could spend some time exploring the area, swimming at this beautiful beach and making use of the fact that it is the gateway to Abel Tasman National Park. We booked into Bethany Park Holiday Park and Camp which is a bit further away from the beach than the other camp ground in the area but it is smaller, the facilities are fantastic AND the reception staff were super helpful in making sure we got the best price for our stay here.

To head into the Abel Tasman National Park we chose to book with Wilson’s Abel Tasman Tours and we were very glad we did. Right from the ticketing experience to the amazing day we had with them we have nothing but praise for the staff and the experience.

We left from Kaitereteri Beach and motored all the way to the end of Abel Tasman National Park or Totaranui Bay. All the way we got a fantastic commentary about the places we were seeing and the history of the area. We called in at Split Apple Rock, encountered dolphins playing and saw the female fur seals playing with their babies at Tonga Island. We then travelled back to Tonga Quarry and left the boat for a 2 hour tramp to Bark Bay. As it was high tide, the route we followed to Bark Bay took us over a swing bridge and past waterfalls. It was just beautiful. Stopping at Bark Bay we avoided the wekas who were trying very hard to psych us out of lunch and then had a well deserved swim. The Wilson catamaran couldn’t come into Bark Bay so we had a short 10 minute walk to Medlands Beach where we were picked up and returned to Kaiteretere. 

Honestly, this trip was worth every penny. There were so many people, most of them tourists taking advantage of the spectacular weather to experience this part of New Zealand and it made you proud to be a Kiwi. As a visitor to the South Island we have to say, “goodonya” to Wilsons for showing incredible Kiwi hospitality. Well done also to DOC for maintaining the tracks so well and trying to get the park predator free. We heard bird life, we saw many native plants but we did notice that there was not much visible sea life, not even seaweed even though there is a marine reserve in part of the park.

I was going to wait to publish this post until after we left Kaiteretere Beach but I have raved so much about Abel Tasman National Park and taken so many photos that I think I need to press publish now. Especially as we are heading to Farewell Spit next so that may need it’s own post too.