We started the day reasonably early so we could do as much as possible on our last day in Nelson. Following breakfast we pointed the rental car towards the Abel Tasman National Park (about 1.5 hours drive away) and set off in sunny conditions. The drive took us through Richmond and two more towns of diminishing size until we arrived at the end of the road and the start of the walk.
The Abel Tasman National Park is located in the north west corner of the southern island of New Zealand. It is roughly on a similar latitude to Launceston in Tasmania. There are a number of walks in the park, with the most popular following the coastline. They can be tackled as multi-day walks, camping at any of the numerous camp grounds along the track. Alternatively you can use water taxis to drop off and pick up at various destinations along the track, returning you to civilisation at the end of each day and back to the track the next morning.
The water taxis were interesting to watch. They fill with passengers behind the shops that sell tickets to set destinations in the park. They are then towed by tractor with all passengers seated in the boat, down the main street, across to a ramp that leads to the beach, then across the sand flats to the ocean where the boat can be launched and on its way. Returning taxis work the same, only in reverse. At low tide the tractors had to negotiate about 400 metres of sand flats before the boats could launch.
The walk we did was to a sandy beach about 4.5 kms into the park, making it a round trip of some 10 kms (including side tracks to lookouts,etc). We were surprised at how many European backpackers were walking the tracks – lots of Italians, Germans and Scandinavians, with a sprinkling of visitors from the UK and USA. There were also a large number of visitors getting about in sea kayaks, with many resting on every beach we walked by. The waters were generally well sheltered, making it an ideal place for a paddle.
We returned to the car at around 1:30pm and set off in search of a late lunch before trying a few of the local Nelson wineries to see how their wines compare to those from the Marlborough region. We grabbed a quick bite to eat in a bakery in Motueka, where the locally-made pies and quiches looked too good to pass up. It was then back on the road to find the Neudorf winery – it produces an excellent Pinot Gris which we can’t buy in Australia. A case is now on its way to Melbourne following our visit! This was followed up by a visit to Seifried winery, where their Sauv Blanc was a stand out. They also had a limited quantity of Austrian- and German-style whites made from grape varieties rarely used in these parts of the world.
A final stop was required at the supermarket before returning to our rental house for pre-dinner drinks followed by a BBQ dinner and fresh strawberries bought from a roadside stall near the wineries.