We are excited to start exploring the beauty of the South Island, so on Tuesday morning after breakfast William points the car toward the town of Kaiteriteri, a gateway town to Abel Tasman National Park. We pass vineyards, orchards, ranches and shoreline between the small towns on our route.
When we arrive in Kaiteriteri we find a beautiful beach. In addition to the swimmers/sunbathers people are kayaking and some boaters have anchored for lunch. We enjoy the beach for a little while then decide to continue driving toward the park. The road twists and turns through the forested mountainside, getting so narrow that I could touch the cliffs out the passenger window if I wanted. The pine trees give a wonderful scent to the air. We eventually find Sandy-Bay Road which returns us to Highway 60 below Kaiteriteri.
Heading back toward Nelson we take a slight detour in Tasman, stopping first to see the Moutere Inlet then making a stop at Kona Cliffs Winery. It's a small family run vineyard and winery producing <800 cases a year. I do a tasting while William takes some photo's. I put the wines in the "drinkable" category. I've tasted much better in our travels.
Further down the road we come upon Ruby Bay. What a difference in beaches from what we saw in Kaiteriteri. Rather than powdery sand the beach here is all smoothed rocks. We walk for a while the resume our trip back to Nelson. It's been a fun day of exploring.
Further down the road we come upon Ruby Bay. What a difference in beaches from what we saw in Kaiteriteri. Rather than powdery sand the beach here is all smoothed rocks. We walk for a while the resume our trip back to Nelson. It's been a fun day of exploring.
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