Tennis is definitely my favorite sport to play and to watch, so naturally, the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells is an event that I look forward to going to every year! This event always tends to re-ignite my love for the sport and help re-inspire us to be on court more consistently.
Our mission for the day began early this morning in a race against the rising sun.
We had read about a lake called Lake Mathieson (a.ka. Mirror Lake) where you can see a beautiful reflection of Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman in the lake. This spot is definitely well known and coveted amongst photographers, as the potential for stunning, one-of-a-kind photos is high, pending weather conditions, of course. Looking forward to capturing a perfect picture, we set out early, albeit not quite early enough. Really, the magical time is before sunrise, but we didn’t wake up in time to make that. We hit the photograph areas just as the sun was coming over the mountain.
I’ve been doing a number of posts lately on our travel adventures, so I decided to switch things up. I am about to share a very personal journey in the hopes that it might be beneficial to those of who are kind enough to spend a few moments in your life to read what I share. Hey, maybe it’ll even help you live a better, more happy, and more fulfilled life if that is what you are seeking.
(Don’t worry, there are definitely many more posts about our travel adventures to come, so, stay tuned!)
For those of you who may not know, my husband and I have made some major changes in our lives recently. Both physical changes and philosophical changes.
Our last day in the Motueka region was spent visiting a local winery (check out my post on wine in NZ for more on that), and a local delicious brewery called the Hop Federation.
I highly recommend a stop here! Also, Nelson is the craft brewing capital of New Zealand, so there are plenty of good beer tasting options around too.
The Abel Tasman National Park is located on the Northwest part of the South Island.
The closest town is Motueka, and a larger nearby city is Nelson. There are a number of ways to explore the park, from day trips to week long excursions. One of the most popular ways of exploring the area is by Kayak.
Hands down, some of the most enjoyable days we spent in New Zealand included visiting wineries in different regions on the North and South Islands. We sought out many smaller, family run, and often organic vineyards to visit in the various wine regions. The wines and the people running the wineries were amazing and created a wonderful tasting experience.
Our first days on the South Island were spent wine tasting in the beautiful Marlborough region (post still to come!), and then in Nelson.
After driving off the ferry, we stopped for a great lunch in this great little deli called BV Gourmets in Blenheim (it was even paleo friendly!). Back on the road, we came across a cherry tree orchard where you could pick your own cherries. We made a last second decision to stop and had a blast picking delicious fresh cherries and them eating them the rest of the way to Renwick.
Fit To Wander 