After a night of rain, we woke to a damp, dreary morning. We set off straight away on our journey further north.
We stopped in a small village called Taperwera and checked out their tiny museum and local community centre. The museum had lots of information detailing a protest by the local ladies to prevent the railway in the town closing down. They looked quite unusual holding sit-ins on the tracks dressed in what looked like their Sunday best!
On we drove to a larger town called Motueka, where we stopped for a picnic. The sun decided to show, so we dried the soggy tent on the picnic bench across from where we were sitting. 2 young lads were convinced someone was living under the tent as we heard them talking and they came for a closer look!
A little further on we entered the Abel Tasman national park and stopped in Kaiteriteri, a southern town on the coast. It was a beautiful sandy bay with a few boats anchored in the sheltered cove. There were a number of ferries running up the coast to the secluded beaches. Feeling energetic, we took a walk across the bay and admired the view.
We still had a fair way to reach our chosen camping spot, so drove on. The road wound its may up into the mountains and then we turned off the main route. Eventually we arrived in a tiny, remote spot and pitched the tent. We both stopped for a second.... silence surrounded us! Not a car for many miles, not a bird was singing, nothing. A very unusual sound for 2014 but one that we enjoyed. It didn't take long for the birds to perk up, which was very beautiful. When dusk arrived, so did the cicades!
We stopped in a small village called Taperwera and checked out their tiny museum and local community centre. The museum had lots of information detailing a protest by the local ladies to prevent the railway in the town closing down. They looked quite unusual holding sit-ins on the tracks dressed in what looked like their Sunday best!
On we drove to a larger town called Motueka, where we stopped for a picnic. The sun decided to show, so we dried the soggy tent on the picnic bench across from where we were sitting. 2 young lads were convinced someone was living under the tent as we heard them talking and they came for a closer look!
A little further on we entered the Abel Tasman national park and stopped in Kaiteriteri, a southern town on the coast. It was a beautiful sandy bay with a few boats anchored in the sheltered cove. There were a number of ferries running up the coast to the secluded beaches. Feeling energetic, we took a walk across the bay and admired the view.
We still had a fair way to reach our chosen camping spot, so drove on. The road wound its may up into the mountains and then we turned off the main route. Eventually we arrived in a tiny, remote spot and pitched the tent. We both stopped for a second.... silence surrounded us! Not a car for many miles, not a bird was singing, nothing. A very unusual sound for 2014 but one that we enjoyed. It didn't take long for the birds to perk up, which was very beautiful. When dusk arrived, so did the cicades!
