A 2 day road trip.
Written: Nov 08 '02 (Updated Jan 21 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: lovely scenery.
Cons: The rain and mist and limited kilometres.
The Bottom Line: Spectacular scenery everywhere you go.
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| hollynz's Full Review: Marlborough |
When planning a trip to Wellington recently, we decided to add a few days to our trip and head across to the South Island for a couple of days. I booked the ferry well in advance to get the ‘early discount’, checked out the net for possible sights to see, booked a rental car for two days and set about planning a 2 day road tour, taking in the best sights.
We arrived in Picton around 5:45 pm on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The rental car we had pre-booked should have been waiting for us but as we had been put onto another ferry crossing due to a delay, we could forgive the rental company for being caught short. We had to wait around for about 30 minutes before the agent turned up with our car. We ended up with an upgrade as well so alls well that ends well.
Picton is a small town ( pop 3000) nestled into the valley floor and surrounding hills at the top of Queen Charlotte Sounds. To say it is scenic is an understatement, the main street runs for about 5 or 6 blocks and there are a couple of motels, some restaurants, cafes, the local pub and lots of souvenir and art & craft type shops.
There is a huge range of accommodation available here to suit all budgets from backpackers hostels, B & B’s, motels of varying ratings and price, home stays and motor camps.
We booked into the Tourist Court Motel on the main street; the room was a blast from the past and was like walking into the 1960’s. The carpet was a bit threadbare by the door but with a totally self-contained two-bedroom unit for $70 (NZ), we were quite happy.
We went for a walk down to the waterfront and I was impressed with how smart and tidy the whole area was, the waterfront is a well maintained park and flower gardens and we sat and watched the Interislander Ferry come into dock.
We headed across the road to the local pub and had dinner. It was a bit like walking into the ’ Fawlty Towers ‘ set with a flustered owner taking over cooking duties for the night, as the regular cook was absent due to bereavement. There were only two other couples in the whole place but he managed to lose the dinner orders and about 15 minutes later, appeared all flustered and apologetic as he retook everyone’s orders. When going to pay the bill, we had to ring the service bell three or four times over 5-10 minutes, I was expecting him to come rushing out, ruddy faced yelling “ Yes,Yes, can’t you see I’m busy!” in Basil Fawlty fashion.
Day One
The next day we drove to the Harbour View Lookout. From here we had a great view of the Interislander Ferry heading out and the surrounding area of Waikawa Bay and Picton itself. There is a series of walking tracks that range in distance and difficulty which we thought we might explore if we had time to kill before our ferry left the following day but for now, we had 500 kilometres of driving to do so off we went.
We drove the Queen Charlotte Drive which wound its way over the hills with some fantastic views overlooking the Queens Charlotte and Pelorous Sounds. This road would be best driven from the other direction as most views were obscured from our side. There are plenty of pullouts along the way though.
There are all sorts of cruise the sounds options, packages and guided tours available if you want to explore the area in depth or if you are into serious hikes, walk the Queen Charlotte Track.. Check out the Visitors Information Centre in Picton to see whats on offer
We arrived in Nelson around lunchtime, parked up in the city centre and checked out the shops for an hour or so. Nelson is the big city of the district with a pop. 40,000 or thereabouts. It is well known as an arts and crafts region with a strong alternative flavour. I was actually surprised to find such a big, bustling city; I had always imagined Nelson to be a small, quiet coastal village with a few craft shops. True to form the weather was hot and lovely and we walked around the Cathedral gardens to stretch our legs.
We left Nelson bound for the Abel Tasman National Park
This park is one of the most popular National Parks in all of New Zealand. Named after the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman who anchored in the area way back in 1642. He had a serious run-in with the local Maori tribe and lost a few crewmembers before heading back to sea again.
The park is New Zealands only coastal park and without any vehicular access, can only be explored on foot or by water. There are many walking tracks with huts and campsites or alternately, hire a kayak and explore by water. There are guided tour options or freedom hires where you can go it alone.
If time is a factor, there are various boat trips on offer, quick cruises or cruise and walk combos. We just walked the beach and enjoyed the serenity and spectacular location. It must have been early in the season as we more or less had the whole beach to ourselves, there was a lone kayaker going past at one stage and one of the tour boats came in but that was it, no-one to be seen anywhere.
We left the park and headed up the Takaka hill, we only had 500 kilometres at our disposal which was rather annoying at this stage, we would have liked to have carried on over to Golden Bay but that would have pushed us way over the limit, on reflection we should have hired from another firm which offered unlimited kilometres for a slightly higher price. We were looking for the summit lookout and when we came to a signposted lookout, assumed that we had reached the summit. We were disappointed that we only had views of Tasman Bay looking back over where we had come from, ( great view though) I was hoping to see over to Golden Bay on the other side but as it was, we headed back down the hill.
We found a room at the Abel Tasman Motel in Motueka. For $70 we had a room with two beds, one double, one single, couch, TV, electric kettle, cups and coffee,tea,sugar supplies and bathroom. We were welcome to use the fully furnished kitchen and laundry facilities as well.
We sorted ourselves out then decided to head out to see what was happening in town. Motueka (pop 5,500) is a rural service town with wine, pip fruits , hops and tourism as it’s main means of survival. The main street runs for quite a way with restaurants, cafes, bars, fast food joints, arts & craft shops and regular shops. We had a bite to eat before walking back to our room at nightfall, another quiet town which I imagine in summer would be full of young tourists and travellers looking for work in the orchards.
Day Two
The next day was overcast and showery as we left Motueka. We headed inland from here bound for St Arnard and the Nelson Lakes.
Nelson Lakes National Park
TheSouthern Alps mountain range begins at this park with the northern peaks rising dramatically around the lakes. The park covers 102,000 hectare and is centred around two lakes, Lake Rotoiti and Lake Rotoroa. There are plenty of walking tracks from easy lakeside walks to serious mountain climbing trails. We had hoped to walk the easy tracks but the rain started settling in to a steady fall, the mist dropped and obscured the views and the sand flies started biting enmasse, we reluctantly left and carried on towards Blenheim.
The drive from here was along the Wairau Valley which started as a road snaking between towering hills which my hubby said reminded him of the Scotland, the hills were rounded and gentle not the usual craggy hills I am used to seeing in the North Island. As the miles passed the valley became wider and the hills more New Zealand like in appearance. We started passing vineyards and sheep, cattle and deer farms once more.
Arriving in Blenheim we were met by blustery winds. We headed into the town centre and spent a while exploring the shops etc. With a pop 26,000 I was surprised to find a reasonably large town centre. The whole district is well known for it’s outstanding Marlbourough wineries and if you are a keen wine buff, you can visit all the wineries yourself or join a ‘wine trail tour’.
We made our way to the beach instead and walked the stoney shores of Rarangi beach for awhile before heading back to Picton.
We had a bit of time in Picton before the ferry was due to leave but as the wind was extremely blustery and it was showering at the drop of a hat, we decided to pass on the walking tracks around the area.
If we had more kilometres to play with we could have explored the Waikawa Bay area and beyond but we handed the car in with 498 kilometres on the dot.
We spent the next hour doing a bit of shopping before walking down to the ferry terminal and heading home.
Luckilly the wind had died down and we slipped away into the Queen Charlotte Sound with calm waters and a setting sun.
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More New Zealand reviews
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Recommended:
Yes
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
hollynz
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Member: Christine
Location: New Zealand
Reviews written: 144
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~ In memory of Barbara ~
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