NZ's South Island-the top

Here we are again in a motorhome, our favourite form of holiday transport. This time, we’re using it to tour New Zealand’s South Island.  

The motorhome for our South Island trip - Vwhā

We found a great motorhome hire rate with Britz, and when we went to pick up the motorhome in Wellington, we were upgraded to a Maui motorhome with the same layout. We have a full kitchen, bathroom, a U-shape lounge with table, and a drop-down bed. 

The folks there gave us a wonderful deal and excellent service. 

We have decided to call it Vwhā (V for Vanni after our first motorhome and whā is Maori for 4 – it’s our fourth van). 

We’ll be on the road for 6 weeks. The plan is to drive along the west coast of the South Island down to Stewart Island, then back up the east coast with many stops along the way. 

The planned route around New Zealand’s South Island

But to begin at the beginning…

We’d bought a 3-day walk on the Abel Tasman Track, one of New Zealand's great walks. Because that leaves from Nelson at the top of the South Island, we thought we should make the most of it and do the rest of the South Island too. 

We’ve travelled New Zealand - the place we call home - many times, but not recently. Now, with COVID deleting overseas travel, we felt the time was right to do New Zealand again.

After picking up the motorhome in Wellington, we drove straight to the Bluebridge ferry to take us across Cook Strait. Around 3.5 hours later, we were on the South Island and driving to Havelock, on the beautiful Queen Charlotte Sound. 

Queen Charlotte Sound, NZ

Havelock, with a population of around 600, is known as the “Greenshell Mussel Capital of the World.” It’s set in a lovely location on Pelorus Sound at the mouth of the Pelorus and Kaituna rivers. 

We arrived quite late, but wasted no time in finding a quaint café for a meal of greenshell mussels. 

The next morning, we walked through the small township, being reminded that it was once a gold mining settlement.

A couple of days later, we drove east, passing through the tiny settlement of Canvastown, to reach Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve.

Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve, NZ 

We stopped to stretch our legs and decided to do one of the many walks on offer there. 

It was a beautiful walk alongside the Te Hoiere/Pelorus River under the canopy of hearty native trees. An hour later, we found ourselves at the Reserve café where we had lunch, enjoying the shade on the hot day. 

Leaving there, we drove north-west to reach Cable Bay. After weaving our way through a few small settlements and a loose heard of sheep, we finally arrived at this picturesque spot.

Cable Bay causeway to Pepin Island, NZ

This small settlement has a pebble beach on a causeway that connects to tiny Pepin Island. The causeway separates the beautiful bay and estuary. It’s a very lovely place. 

We spoke to one of the locals who told us the story behind the current name – it was the first international telegraph cable. Laying the cable from Sydney to Cable Bay, took 11 days and transmission began on 21 February 1876.

It also has an interesting pre-European heritage, showing a Māori presence as far back as 1150 CE.

Reluctantly leaving beautiful Cable Bay, we drove on toward Nelson, our destination for the night.

Marg at the Founders Heritage Park, Nelson, NZ

As we drove into Nelson, we came across a detour due to roadworks. The detour took us past the attractive-looking Founders Heritage Park, so we stopped for a look around.

We found it quite interesting. It’s a whole village of re-constructed historic buildings, set in a beautiful established garden. The layout and garden gave the feel of a real live village. It told the story of Nelson’s colonial heritage, and local characters.

An hour or so later, we drove on into Nelson city to find our campsite. We were planning to spend a few nights here to explore the place. Unpacking our electric bikes at the campsite later, we found the battery on Leigh’s bike damaged so our rides will be short until we can replace it.

Lovely produce at the farmers market, Nelson, NZ

The next morning, we walked into Nelson City. Our first stop was the fantastic market. You could buy anything there, from fresh and home-made produce, to arts and crafts of an innovative nature….and it was so buzzy.

After a couple of hours, we left the market area to explore other areas of this lovely city. Our walk took us through the historic centre, the river area, and several art galleries for which Nelson is famous.

Our favourite was the Suter Gallery where we spent an hour or so. Then we enjoyed lunch in their café, overlooking the lovely Queens Gardens.  

A few days later we drove north, stopping briefly at Rabbit Island, a regional reserve. After admiring its beaches, we ended up at Moutere Inn, NZs oldest pub. 

Marg at Moutre Inn, NZ’s oldest pub 

The pub dates back to 1850, and has a great selection of local wines and craft beers, all made within 10 km of the pub. We had originally planned to visit nearby Moutere and Neudorf vineyards. However, they were closed. 

Leaving there, we drove through Motueka, a village of around 8000 people, known for its local produce.

Leaving there, we took the coastal road north, passing through the pretty beach town of Kaiteriteri. This is a small coastal settlement with a beautiful beach of turquoise water and golden sand. We found it buzzy, with plenty of cafes and boats. 

Kaiteriteri beach, Nelson Tasman, NZ

We walked around this vibrant wee place, and then we were back on the road driving further along the coast. Our next stop what the attractive beach settlement of Sandy Bay. After admiring the water birds there, we drove around a bend and found our next destination - Marahau. 

Marahau is the gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park, and we were doing a three-day walk on the Abel Tasman Track – one of New Zealand’s 10 great walks. We had bought the walk online and it provided good accommodation, meals, and luggage and water taxi transfers. We were really looking forward to it.

The next morning, we were on a water taxi heading to the National Park. 

After passing the 120-million-year-old Split Apple Rock (a giant round split stone), we were dropped at the golden stretch of beach called Anchorage Bay. 

Us as Anchorage Bay, Abel Tasman National Park, NZ

We walked from Anchorage back to Marahau that day. It was a fabulous walk, taking us though beautiful native bush, and past many beaches and bays. 

We descended from the track to visit several of the golden-sand beaches before arriving back in Marahau in the late afternoon, tired but satisfied with our 20-kilometre walk. 

After a spa, a lovely meal out, and a good sleep, the next day we were back on the water again in another water taxi. This time we were dropped at Bark Bay, further north in the Abel Tasman National Park. 

Lovely bush shade on a hot walk along the Abel Tasman Track, NZ

We laboured up a very steep and drawn-out hill to the path above the bay, and were rewarded with a shady canopy of trees. 

Our next reward was a view of lovely Mosquito Bay, a stretch of golden sand and aqua water that is only accessible by boat. The next bay was Tonga Quarry. Contrary to its name, it was a lovely beach and we stopped there and enjoyed a picnic lunch. After that, we reached Onetahuti Beach, then headed inland. 

The next few hours were a wonderful part of the walk, deep into the forest with mature native trees.

Throughout the trip, we had seen many native birds, but the flightless wekas (Māori for hen or woodhen), really captured our interest. 

Marg and a weka on the Abel Tasman Track, NZ

These inquisitive birds steal stuff from your bag, or your lunch and run away with it – we saw them everywhere along the walk.

Our objective for this leg of the walk was to reach Awaroa. Around 15 kilometres later coming out of the forest, we eventually arrived at the Awaroa Lodge where we were to spend the night.

Our bags had arrived before we did, so after a refreshing shower, we changed and headed to the bar for a well-earned beer.

The beach at Awaroa, NZ

We went for a walk down to the pristine beach later, and tested the water temperature. While it looked very inviting in the sunny weather, the water was too cold for us to swim. 

That evening, we dined at the Lodge Restaurant and enjoyed the company of the several other guests who had also trekked there or arrived by yacht. The Lodge is surrounded by pristine waterways and native forest, and can only be reached via a walking track or boat. 

This part of the trip felt quite luxurious and we were very glad we’d bought the trip.

The next morning, our walk was to take us from Awaroa to Totaranui. The first part was really challenging as we had to cross Awaroa Inlet before high tide. 

Awaroa Inlet, Abel Tasman National Park, NZ

This called for an early start and a one-kilometre walk across a vast expanse of shelly sand, interspersed with tidal rivulets. We were slowed by constantly wading through knee-high water.

However, on the other side, the walk through the forest was lovely, with virgin beech and rata trees, clinging to the sides of the walking path and cliffs.

After around 12 km, we reached Totaranui and had time for lunch before catching our water taxi back to Marahau.

Leaving Marahau later, we agreed that we’d had a great walk. It was well organised by Abel Tasman Guides and the Abel Tasman Aquataxi, and the accommodation and meals at Abel Tasman Lodge and Arawoa Lodge were great. 

Our next stop will be along New Zealand's Ruby Coast.