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The North of the South 2021

October 2021 - May 2024
An open-ended adventure by Amanda Read more
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  • Amanda CarnieThe North of the South 2021
    Day 13

    Elaine Bay

    October 20, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Today we headed up the Rai Valley and off SH1 towards Elaine Bay. Once we got off the main road the traffic thinned out to virtually nothing, which was just as well as we were once again on a narrow, winding road and could take our time. We climbed up and up… and up… for several kilometres until we stopped at a parking place on the side of the hill where a track led up into the bush. ‘Lookout - 750m’ said the sign so we thought we’d give it a go. Should have realised from the name of the track (Goat Hill) that you needed to be mountain goat to get up it! Still – the view from the top, looking out over Croisilles Harbour and across Cook Strait, was worth it.
    We passed through the settlement of Okiwi Bay but didn’t stop, as it was starting to drizzle and there wasn’t a lot of parking options… all the parking bays along the waterfront had signs with ‘Cars Only’ on them… most unfriendly! Most of the houses here are all shut up so presumably they are mostly baches.
    We traveled on to Elaine Bay, where we were headed for a DOC recreation reserve right on the beach. The book said there is room for 18 sites, but when we got here we found all but 1 of them was taken up by a Marlborough Boys’ College outdoor education trip! There was really only one place left for us to park, right in the middle of the turnaround, at the top of a grassy knoll… look at me!
    We had a late lunch and wandered around the bay to the wharf, where we saw two huge sting-rays basking. They must have been at least a metre in diameter. A NIWA research vessel was refueling there and we chatted to one of the crew, who said they were studying how well the blue cod stocks were recovering, and that they were pleased with the numbers of small fish they’ve found.
    Mid-afternoon the boys came back in off several boats, all in wetsuits and all boasting of the fish / paua / crayfish they caught (we have actually seen ONE crayfish unloaded, and it was at least twice as big as the one we paid $74 for at Nin’s Bin!)
    Charlie took off with his fishing gear to a rocky point 20mins from camp and spent a lovely couple of hours catching all sorts of fish… including a snapper, a blue cod, a kahawai, a mullet and a small shark. All got put back except for a couple of bait fish – we need to do some more research into the size of a takeable fish here!
    We’ve just watched the full moon come up over the bay, spreading its carpet of gold across the top of the water. Magic!    Read more

  • Amanda CarnieThe North of the South 2021
    Day 14

    French Pass

    October 21, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Had a bit of a scare coming out of Elaine Bay this morning (Mandy driving today)… the road out is a bit like going up the Queenstown end of the Crown Range road – a series of steep hairpin bends, only narrower and with very limited visibility. So it was quite “interesting” to meet a fully-laden truck and trailer unit on one of the steepest bends… We both slammed our anchors on, and came to a complete halt half-way round what was, for us, an incredibly steep left-handed curve. It looked at first like neither of us could go either forward or backward… then he moved a couple inches down, so I moved a couple inches up, and we finally managed to doh-si-doh our way round – WHEW! Thank goodness for the power of a Mercedes V6!!
    It’s around 25km from Elaine Bay to French Pass, the most northerly part of the Marlborough Sounds you can reach by road, and about two-thirds of the road is unsealed. And a vast majority of those kilometres have no shingle on them and just have rough, bare rock connecting the potholes. The journey took us most of the morning, and at times we were traveling so slowly it would actually have been quicker to walk! But we were in no hurry, and the views as we traversed the highest points were spectacular.
    We arrived at French Pass at about the same time as a pod of 10-12 dolphins, and the show they put on over the next hour or so was incredible! At times they were only a metre or two off the beach in front of us, and they leapt and frolicked as they rounded up schools of fish to then attack. We’ve never seen anything like it… remind us to show you our video footage some time.
    There’s only a narrow channel of water between us and D’Urville Island. Known as ‘the Currents’, the water here is constantly churned up as the changing tides flow through the channel.
    This afternoon Charlie clambered over the hill beside us to the next beach over, where he whiled away a very pleasant afternoon fishing. Once again he caught the same varieties as yesterday (minus the snapper) and was disappointed that he couldn’t keep the 2 blue cod he caught, having learned from the NIWA man yesterday that any caught in the Sounds cannot be legally kept before 20 December.
    We are parked at the DOC camp right on the water’s edge tonight, and this time we are the only vehicle in the park, with just a gentle lapping of the waves to soothe us off to sleep.    Read more

  • Amanda CarnieThe North of the South 2021
    Day 15

    Back to Elaine Bay

    October 22, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We pulled out of French Pass just after 9am, and were back in Elaine Bay about 2 hours later. This time Charlie was driving, and being the Friday before a long weekend there was quite a bit more traffic, which we always seemed to meet at the narrowest parts of the road!
    What a difference a couple of days makes… This time when we pulled into the Elaine Bay campsite we were the only ones here. All the college boys had packed up and left this morning so we had our pick of sites.
    Another day, another forest walk. This time it was the Piwakawaka Track out of Elaine Bay, which winds over the hill through native bush to a small beach around the corner. About 2 hours return, including a break on the beach for a drink and a snack. The track ended just past an iconic kiwi bach which is accessible only by boat. With no spouting, but a water tank filled by a pipe from a nearby stream, and built of corrugated iron patched with old-style Hardiplank, the bach has been in the family for nearly 100 years according to the chap we spoke to. The Sounds must be full of these amazing little bolt-holes, and their owners are so lucky to have them.
    It’s been beautiful again today, and I’m even turning a little pink after all this sunshine. The combination of daily exercise, fresh air and sunshine, and peace and quiet, means we’re sleeping really well. Over the last week the only sounds once we turn out the lights have been the wekas and the moreporks calling to each other across whatever bay we’ve been in. We’re parked next to a family of wekas tonight who have three cute fluffy little chicks, and we’ve had herons and wood pigeons feeding right beside us. It’s like a David Attenborough episode!    Read more

  • Amanda CarnieThe North of the South 2021
    Day 16

    Back at Pelorus Bridge

    October 23, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Our morning tea stop today was at Okiwi Bay – a relatively large settlement compared to the other bays we’ve visited. We sat on the waterfront with our coffees and watched the boats coming and going… and another huge ray glided along in front of us in less than a metre of water. Once the sandflies started biting we knew it was time to hit the road again!
    We arrived back at Pelorus Bridge late morning and spent the day catching up: 2 loads of laundry, a quick clean of the vehicle, refilling the water tanks, planning our route for the next few days, and checking our messages. We’ve had either no – or very limited – cellphone coverage while we’ve been in the Sounds, so apologies to those of you who have tried to contact us. It has been great to get your messages via text, but almost impossible to connect to email, and there has been no way to make calls. Hopefully this will improve over the next couple of days.    Read more

  • Amanda CarnieThe North of the South 2021
    1
    Day 17

    Nelson Region

    October 24, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    Sunday 24 October
    After a very peaceful night at Pelorus Bridge and a cooked breakfast, we headed towards Nelson. One the way we saw something I cannot recall ever seeing in NZ before – a herd of buffalo!
    Our first stop was at Cable Bay, the site where the first cable between Australia and New Zealand was laid, in 1876. The cable originally came ashore near Nelson because the South Island was much more important than the North Island at that time. When the cable station came into service it caused great excitement as it meant that people here could send a telegram to England, taking only 4 days for their message to arrive rather than up to 6 months for letters! In March 2001, Telecom installed a new 200km fibre-optic cable from the same place across Cook Strait to Levin. We walked up a steep hillside to a lookout point, but I jiggered my knee on the way up so we didn’t do any more of the track. I’ve been hobbling on and off for the rest of the day.
    They say Nelson has the highest number of sunny days anywhere in the country. Sadly today was not one of them. Although the forecast rain did not arrive, we’ve had low cloud and occasional drizzle all day. After a big supermarket shop we drove through to Tahunanui Beach, where we took a packed lunch onto the beach. Charlie only managed to eat half of his filled roll before a seagull swooped down from behind him and plucked it out of his hand! He was left with nothing more than a single slice of tomato, and a big splat of mustard down the front of his shirt! Harrumph!
    Our parking spot tonight is ‘Stoneridge’, a semi-rural property in the Moutere valley where we are surrounded by paddocks and vines, and a rather unusual mob of self-moulting sheep.    Read more

  • Amanda CarnieThe North of the South 2021
    Day 18

    We (nearly) hit some Wineries

    October 25, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We took the road out to Rabbit Island this morning. The Council-owned island is 8km long and around 2km wide, and largely covered in pine forests, but the long seaward side of it is a lovely sandy beach. Although it was overcast to start with, by mid-morning the cloud had cleared and we had a very enjoyable walk along part of the beach and one of the forest tracks. The gates to the island are closed off during the hours of darkness, and no camping is permitted, but there are heaps of cycle tracks, parking areas, picnic spots (some with barbecues) for people to use during the day.
    Our plan was then to hit the wineries for some tastings, and Seifried being the closest, we tried that one first. The gates were open, the signs were out, but the doors were locked so we turned round and headed for our second option: Rimu Grove Winery near Mapua. We found the right road, but no signs and we later found out the vineyard has changed hands and no longer does tastings!
    We hit gold with our third attempt though. We drove down to the wharf at Mapua, to find Rimu Wine Bar, where we were hosted to a wonderful hour of tastings by the ex-owner of Rimu Grove. Patrick now makes wines for many of the local growers as well as his own label. Needless to say we bought several bottles, and also had a delicious platter lunch over another glass of wine in his restaurant.
    The wharf had a great vibe – it was buzzing with people and all the hospitality businesses seemed to be having a good day. We wandered around in the sunshine for a while taking in the sights before heading off to our park for the night: a large Council-run camping ground called the McKee Memorial Reserve, which is right on Ruby Bay.
    We have struggled a bit to find appropriate places to stay in the Nelson region. Sadly it appears that the Council is not very welcoming to visitors. Freedom camping is not permitted anywhere other than designated carparks in the CBD (which must be vacated by 7am), and everywhere you look there are signs saying NO motorhomes / dogs / parking / fires / camping / rubbish / entry, etc. We have seen publications that clearly state their preference is for ALL visitors to stay in commercially-run accommodation (and pay through the nose to do so) and highlight the fines that will be imposed if the rules are not followed. And there are no DOC campsites in the region either, so that means our options are quite limited. Needless to say we won’t be spending too long here.    Read more

  • Amanda CarnieThe North of the South 2021
    Day 19

    Still on the Winery Trail

    October 26, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Another largely frustrating morning on the search for wine tasting options in Upper Moutere. We’d picked up a 2020 wine trail publication from the information centre in Nelson on Sunday, but it hasn’t been very helpful. We firstly arrived at Neudorf Estate late morning, and although the cellar door was open, they were not doing tastings. They could, however, sell us half-glasses of any wines we’d like to try! So we picked three and sat out in their very nice garden area – we were the only people in the entire place!
    We then tried to find Kahurangi Estate, which according to the brochure provides “a selection of locally-sourced food” as we thought this would be a good place for some lunch. It turns out the winery has been sold and the new label provides neither food nor tastings! By now we were getting hungry, so we turned to option 3, Moutere Hills winery, which has a very nice restaurant. We followed heaps of winery signs to get there (there seemed to be one on each of about 8 corners) and finally reached the winery up a long driveway… only to find it was closed!
    By now we were getting REALLY hungry, so we thought sod it – we’ll go back to the wine bar on the wharf at Mapua that we went to yesterday. And had a great time. They have an extensive wine list and do tasting ‘trees’ – which allows you to try up to 5 wines. You’ll see from the pictures that I did the sparkling selection and the chardonnay tree, while Charlie did a selection of reds (he was driving!) We also had a wood-fired pizza. And of course bought a few more bottles to take home!
    Tonight’s stopover is another park-over property (POP) owned by an NZMCA member in the Upper Moutere valley. We are parked in a quiet leafy glade surrounded by park-like grounds and birdsong.    Read more

  • Amanda CarnieThe North of the South 2021
    Day 20

    We Reach Kaiteriteri

    October 27, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We traveled through to Motueka this morning, where we did a few chores and a little shopping. I’ve bought a walking pole to help support my knee, which seems to have a bit of torn or floating ‘stuff’ that pops out of alignment every now and then causing huge amounts of pain and swelling. Most inconvenient! Charlie also bought some fishing gear so that he can attack the fish as we get further north.
    And so here we are in Kaiteriteri – what a beautiful spot! We are staying in a motor camp for a couple of nights and our site is right on the beachfront. At happy hour we took our drinks across to the beach and sat there watching the world go by. We watched as a brand new John Deere tractor towing an amazing boat pulled up next to the boat ramp, expecting that the tractor would back the boat in. Next thing, the boat had reversed itself off the trailer, turned around and headed straight down the ramp into the water nose first, then paused while the wheels got pulled up, and then it motored off over the horizon! Charlie thought it was hilarious that they thought they needed a tractor, when it didn’t even leave the tar seal! We’ve just seen it come back in, and the whole procedure was reversed. The tractor was driving out of the car park with the boat on, within three minutes of it reaching the shore, and the boat passengers didn’t even get their feet wet!    Read more

  • Amanda CarnieThe North of the South 2021
    Day 21

    A Rest Day in Kaiteriteri

    October 28, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    A ‘day of rest’ at Kaiteriteri – sadly it wasn’t the best day for photos, weatherwise… these ones were taken the next morning.

  • Amanda CarnieThe North of the South 2021
    1
    Day 22

    Marahau: Gateway to the Abel Tasman

    October 29, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    After another overcast but mild day yesterday, this morning was one out of the box. We checked out of the camping ground, parked on the Kaiteriteri beachfront and brewed up a coffee… we really didn’t want to leave this beautiful spot!
    But we reasoned we would be coming back this way on our way south, so hopefully we will spend some more time here. We headed for the start of the Takaka Hill, and veered off to the left down the Riwaka Valley where we parked and set off through the bush to find the Riwaka Resurgence – where the river emerges from under the Takaka Hill at a consistent 9 degrees all year round. The water here is so pure and clear you can see every stone on the bottom, and you cannot tell how deep the pools are. It was a truly awesome spot.
    We drove on around the coast until we arrived at Marahau, the very last stop before the start of the Abel Tasman Track, one of NZ’s ‘Great Walks’. By now it was drizzling, so we decided not to attempt any of the track today, but we do have big plans for tomorrow… We checked into a rather alternative-looking campsite which is walking distance to the start of the track, and wandered down to a café/bar for a drink and to check out their takeaways menu (tonight is fish and chips night!) There is hardly anyone else here, so we are looking forward to another peaceful night in the wilderness.
    Happy hour was spent looking out over the start of the track and Tasman Bay beyond, surrounded by natural bush and tuis flitting all around us and singing loudly. It was warm and sunny with not a breath of wind, but the clouds that had been hanging over Takaka Hill behind us all day put on a rather dramatic show. Another magic spot.    Read more

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