....................... Well North east a bit inland following the Buller River up to Murchison on Highway 6 and the mountain passes.
You feel like you are on top of the world up here. This is just north of the Nelson Lakes area at Hope Point and we stopped here also with Julie and Mike when we were on holiday in February 2010. On the insistence of one of the locals here we also had our first go at flax flower tasting! The long flowers fill with water when it rains diluting the nectar and make a type of sugar syrup which is lovely; no wonder the bell birds go nuts for the stuff.
I digress as usual. Our next destination on this part of the trip was Kaiteriteri (drop the last 'teri' if you are a local) and one of our favourite places on the South Island. We felt quite at home driving through Motueka where we stopped for lunch and a shop at New World for groceries and then up the coast passed all the fruit orchards and lots of hop fields. I can't remember so many of them last time we were here. If you haven't seen any growing before, here you are!
I digress as usual. Our next destination on this part of the trip was Kaiteriteri (drop the last 'teri' if you are a local) and one of our favourite places on the South Island. We felt quite at home driving through Motueka where we stopped for lunch and a shop at New World for groceries and then up the coast passed all the fruit orchards and lots of hop fields. I can't remember so many of them last time we were here. If you haven't seen any growing before, here you are!
We have stayed with Fiona and Hans in their lovely B&B before, again with Julie and Mike and it was so nice to see Fiona once more. She is lovely so welcoming and remembered us very well. We didn't see Hans until our last day, a German Kiwi who is very laid back. They now rent out the 3 bed bungalow that we stayed in last time, in fact to the people who built the two houses in the first place so we stayed in unit at the front of their home which was lovely, so comfy and with everything you could think of for self catering in a small place.
As luck would have it we had the sunniest five days in the country here too which made it even more special.
We ate some meals outside here in the courtyard which was lovely and I am so envious of the plants that they grow here. It feels so tropical as they get very warm days, a little rain in short bursts and no frosts. These birds of paradise flowers are my dream thing to grow. One of them unfurled while we were staying here and they almost look like little 'animals' guarding their front door and ours.
We had a pergola over our doorway that Derek wants to replicate at our house. Can I have the plants too please?!!! And I have to show you the pool. Hans's company makes these 'living' pools and they are wonderful, no chlorine and almost like swimming in a fish pond without the fish - a pleasant 25 degrees too. It is lovely swimming about surrounded by all that beautiful planting.
I think you can tell I was quite impressed by it and when we win the lottery, I am having one!!
As you can see these photos are already taking on a different look from the last part of my blog. Lots of vibrant colour and that gorgeous aquamarine blue that seems to be the colour of all the water here. And in the lakes in and around our home too.
As usual the sea calls so after quickly unpacking we found our way to the path that leads down to the beach - oh yes, that's more like it.
As you can see these photos are already taking on a different look from the last part of my blog. Lots of vibrant colour and that gorgeous aquamarine blue that seems to be the colour of all the water here. And in the lakes in and around our home too.
As usual the sea calls so after quickly unpacking we found our way to the path that leads down to the beach - oh yes, that's more like it.
Lots and lots of agapanthus fringing the pathways and the lovely pahutakawa trees (I must admit ours is doing very well at home seeing as it is a coastal plant - maybe I should spray it with salty water to make it feel more at home). They are the New Zealand Christmas tree named because of the red and green xmasey colours and because they start to flower right before Christmas. Clever things!
There are only about 370 permanent residents in Kaiteriteri nestled in these two little bays, the rest are holiday homes so out of season it must be a very quiet place for them to live. Sounds like heaven to me.
Happiness on the faces of Mr and Mrs Baker! And it was hot.
We walked over the promontory to the other side of the cove where the camping site is, got ourselves an ice cream each and sat and looked at the holiday makers and the sea for the next few hours like proper holiday makers ourselves.
We walked over the promontory to the other side of the cove where the camping site is, got ourselves an ice cream each and sat and looked at the holiday makers and the sea for the next few hours like proper holiday makers ourselves.
The main beach is quite shelved which is great for the water taxis but not so good for the children so they mostly swim in the river that flows in to the sea as you can see in the photo above. It is a little chilly in there but the children didn't seem to mind one jot.
So at least we got here in one piece and time to relax more, chill and let life go by at a slightly slower pace.
Tomorrow Christmas Eve and adventure.
TTFN xxxxx
TTFN xxxxx