Murchison

 

We had a breakfast prepared by Philip who runs the lodge with his wife. He is from Switzerland and goes back every year in the winter. The lodge had two German couples staying there when we arrived. 

We drove to the Buller Gorge Swingbridge and crossed the Buller river on the longest swing ridge in NZ (120n). For a couple of hours we walked in the bush including looking at the Ariki falls. Cathy pointed out the walking on bush tracks was much more like the ‘real tramping’ we  did when we were young than the ‘great walks’ tramping we have been doing on this holiday.  The river floods to biblical proportions.  

We got back across the river in a ‘zip line’ which was a bit exciting!

We came home via the town where we looked through some shops.  I bought a copy of Merv Smiths ‘Little trains of though’ because I like his modelling. Dinner back at the Cowshed, I had venison lasañga  

Tapawera to Nelson

Today we rode along the railway cutting a short distance to the Flat Rock Cafe at Kohatu for coffee. Then along cycle ways to the Spooner Tunnel. This is 1.3 km long it is the fifth longest cycle tunnel in the world. 

We cycled past the birthplace of Earnest Rutherford and then rode madly on cycleways to ‘Pic’s peanut butter world’. We discovered Bruce Picot (Pic) had known John and they collaborated on making flower presses in Auckland back in the 70s at the old Nestle Factory in Parnell. I remember meeting him there but had forgotten the name  

Pic went on to set up businesses in charter sailing and other things until he started making superior peanut butter and selling it in Nelson. We did a factory tour which was interesting. We then cycled to the airport to return the bikes and pick up our luggage. This was our longest cycling day of the trip  

Cathy had hired a car and we drove back the way we had ridden down earlier and further on to Murchison. We checked into the Murchison Lodge which is very comfortable. We walked to the Cowshed restaurant, which was very busy, for pizza. Murchison has a population of around 500, it seems a lot of them were there!  They have a hospital with an aged care facility. 

Baton Creek to Tapawera 26-3-25

We biked 40km on mostly a gravel road. First we made our way up to Baton Saddle. The air was cold on the way a I should have put my jacket and gloves on. Down the other side we stopped in at Tapawera for lunch and read about the railway that was closed amongst a women’s protest in 1955. We looked at the relocated Kiwi railway station with the history of the disused line  

We had some lunch in the cafe that was very ordinary and picked up some drinks from the bottle store that had to open early especially for us. We rode a further five kilometres to the Hidden Sculpture Garden. We stayed in the family home that was very comfortable. The garden had a number of sculptures by the owner made of wood. I had a strong feeling of Deja vue, it must have reminded me of a similar place we had visited. Most of it was uninteresting to me except for three figures about a metre high by Paul Laird. 

Motueka valley 25/3/25

 

We left Kaiteretere and rode out over the road rather than the mountain bike park. We had coffee at Mrs Smiths in Riwaka and biked up the West Bank of the Motueka River. The road was very quiet going through farm land and horticulture blocks. 

The girls had a swim in the river under Peninsula bridge but I didn’t. We visited a pottery  

We bought some fruit and preserves on the way and arrived at our destination which was a farmhouse owned by Dion and Sue  I went out with Dion and we collected some sheep from a paddock in a truck and took them to the yards for weighing crutching ready for the stock truck  We were helped by his three dogs; Senty, Bella and Flo.   The yards were next to the old tobacco kilns from the days when this was the main crop.

We were served a beef and venison lasagna for dinner   Sue had traveled overseas a lot when young and is planning another trip. We stayed in their house as the guest accommodation was full.  

Kaiteretere 24/3/25

 

We saw this shipwreck on the way out. It would be nice to do a watercolour of this. Perhaps watercolours will be my next artistic challenge. We stopped off for a pie and coffee at Riwaka’s Little Dynamite Cafe and shared a steak and ale pie and a smoked fish pie, both were delicious. We rode on through the mountain bike path which was part of the cycle way. This was challenging so we rode the downwards leg on the road and then up to our accommodation at Kimi Ora Eco Reserve.

We enjoyed a spa and swim in their pools and then had dinner at the Beached Whale, I had mussels in a coconut soup. They drove us back to the resort up the hill. 

At nightfall we walked to the glow worms. At the start of the stretch of track was a route that guided you along the 100 metres where could be seen. There were so many and it was a beautiful sight. 

I have made some changes to my blogging text recently. I am using PhotoScan from Google to scan the drawings. It corrects the shading and does the cropping automatically. Also I am using the chrome browser on the iPhone to write the blog, it is easier to use than safari. 

Māpua to Motueka

 We had a very nice breakfast this morning. Today we rode from Māpua to Motueka via the inland roads, bypassing the official cycleway. We visited Gravity winery for a tasting and a cheese board. We went on to another winery for lunch but we would have had to wait 2 hours for a table. We rode on to a pottery and then to the Moutere Inn (1850) for pizzas and beer. We road down Harley Road to a gallery that was closed and continued to a weaving studio that was open but sold out of tea towels. We had to bike back up the road to join the cycle way which was hilly but did have a toilet at the top which was a welcome relief. Down the road we visited the Burnley? Pottery and then rode to our accomodation. A recent build called Bloomfield’s. Lovely stay. The weta was made of metal and climbing up the fence. The house looked out over an estuary. 

Gayle to us into Motueka to get Thai food which we took home and shared with her and her sister Lynn. They are great travellers and had many interesting stories. 

Nelson to Māpua

 

This morning we collected our e-bikes from Nelson cycle hire at the airport. We rode to Māpua via Old Factory Corner for coffee and then to Höglund glass studio. We headed to Siefrieds Winery for lunch, but we took a wrong turn and ended up going along a farm road that got more and more bumpy until we turned around. We eventually got to lunch which we considered we had all earned!

We biked at great speed along the forest roads of rabbit Island to get the 4:10pm ferry. This is mainly for bikers to cross to Māpua. We found our B&B, Hazelwood. Very nice rooms with ensuites. We sat outside and had a beer in the guests outside area with a water feature. 

Tonight we went down to Māpua wharf and had fish and chips with a glass of wine. There was a guitarist who was rather good. 

 The precinct is much changed since we were last here 27 years ago on a trip that included staying in Joan and Bill Luff’s Nelson house. I remember just the visit to māpua but little else. On a latter trip here with Keith aged around 5 we visited Joan and Bill when she was sick. 

Wainui to Tōtaranui 21/3/25

 Today we got a ride from Jen to the Northern start of the track at Wainui. We walked up a gentle farm road that descended to an old farm house that is now a DOC hut called Whariwharangi. From there we walked along a beach or three with ups and downs between them. We walked out to separation point with great views and saw a seal swimming in the clear water. We got to Tōtaranui in time to catch the water taxi back to Mārahau and on the way rescued a couple whose ride on kayak had filled with water. We checked into Cedar Lodge again and had a fusion meal at Hawkers House. 

Pōhara 20/3/25

 We walked today from Awaroa to Tōtaranui. We crossed the estuary at low tide and then walked through forest by a stream then climbed a bit before walking down to Goat Bay then down to the DOC visitor centre. We met Jen who drove us over the steep gravel road to Wainui and then on to Ratanui Lodge. This was a nice stay with a spa pool. I would have liked mussels on the menu given we were next to a huge mussel farm. Sue and I went for a walk on the beach where I saw fossils in the breakwater rocks. We remembered we had stayed at a place here with Keith when he was 5 or so. 

Awaroa Lodge 19/3/25

 Today we had a rest day at the Lodge. We walked along the beach which was in private ownership until the 90s when a crowdfunded effort bought it and gave it to the National park. We checked out the tame eels and glowworms. 

Going to Awaroa. 18/3/25

 Today we walked from Torrent Bay to Awaroa Beach via Bark Bay. The day started with a light rain that freshened the ferns and mosses. This was a long day, 18 km. 

We were picked up by Abel Tasman Guides from the Motel and taken to Mārahau. We boarded the water taxi on dry land and the skipper drove the tractor down the ramp where a guy took over and drove across the tidal flats and reversed into the water where we floated off. A very slick operation. 

Awaroa lodge was built in the 90s and is now quite a big place. I had a tender piece of lamb for dinner. 

Flying to Nelson 17/3/25

We flew with Cath and Denise to Nelson. We got to enjoy breakfast in the Air NZ lounge thanks to Cath being a frequent flyer. 

We stayed at the cedar grove hotel. 

We walked around Nelson visiting the Suter gallery and the cathedral. We had Asian food at Mama Sans.