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.
You all know that famous saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Well, for this post I am going to let the pictures tell the story because no matter how much I can say about how amazing the Tongariro Alpine Crossing was, words just won’t do it justice. This hike is regarded as one of the best day hikes in New Zealand, and it certainly lived up to its reputation for us. Enjoy!
The Coromandel Peninsula is a must-see spot on the North Island. Whether you want to go for a pretty drive, a short walk, a long day hike, relax on the beach, snorkel, swim, kayak, paddle board, sail, enjoy a coffee with a view of a pretty harbor, taste fresh mussels, or sit in a hot, self-made jacuzzi on Hot Water Beach, this area really has something for everyone.
The following morning we woke up to the sound of rain outside. Originally, we had plans to kayak, but instead we opted for a warm Cappuccino. We walked down the street to El Cafe, a little South American inspired cafe, to have breakfast and take advantage of the free and fast wifi. We were pleasantly surprised by the delicious coffee and breakfast.
(I was too hungry to wait to eat before taking the picture)
Fueled up, we set out on our long day of driving to the Coromandel Peninsula via the opposite side of the island, as we wanted to check out the west coast and take a different route from how we traveled to the Bay of Islands.
For our first morning in NZ, we decided to cook breakfast at the hostel to save a little money. I’d say we put together a pretty tasty spread!
After breakfast, we hopped on a bus across town to pick up our rental car. We got a pretty good rate with Jucy, so we booked through them. They ended up upgrading the car for free to a newer model car (and it uses diesel, equaling fantastic gas savings!), but they didn’t have any GPS units left. Since we don’t have much of a data plan, we found out we could get a GPS at the I-site by the harbor before heading out of town, which ended up saving us a bit of money as well. Good thing it was relatively close by and didn’t involve too many turns because it is incredibly anti-intuitive to drive on the left side of the road. Basically, we think we are always doing something wrong. In the city, it felt a bit like Toad’s Turnpike level in MarioKart. However, with my navigation skills and T’s driving skills, our first attempt at driving on the left side of the road was a success, and so was our mission to get a GPS. Prepared, we set out on our road trip to the Northland, trying to stay on the correct side of the road.
Fit To Wander 