Golden Bay - Motueka Day 1 & 2

Finally, after 4 months of work, one in the vineyard, and three with Harvey Norman Blenheim, NZ.. it's time to take a break and go for a holiday. 2 of my friends came back from their Fiji and North Island holidays and joining 3 of us here for the next trip. Our plan was spending a week around Motueka - Golden Bay region, and the Abel Tasman National Park.

This is must be one of the early backpackers job, hanging their worn out shoes on the fences. From there, it became a tradition for most backpackers who pass by that area.. hanging more and more shoes! It was an interesting sight!

We left Blenheim on Tuesday morning… and our first stop was Nelson. Our initial plan was to stay a night in Nelson, but it's boring here.. besides, we came here before, and nothing much to do. Had our lunch in Nelson Oriental Restaurant, which is just so so... dont really recommend anyone to go there.

So, after some shopping at Kathmandu and lunch, we head straight to a small town called Collingwood, near the Farewell Spit of the Golden Bay.  This old man from the construction site was pretty happy to be taken photo. 

Halfway through, we stop by at Seafried Winery and Cellar Door, the first winery we've visited in NZ, and here we are again…. for the grape juice, not wine! LOL… at $5 a bottle, it's a nice juice! Don't blame me… i'm not a big fans of white wine here and the red is just so so… As we were wine tasting, i went on to sign the visitor book and guess what, it's either nobody (i mean, few..) visited them or those visitors just not interested to leave some comments. My 2nd signature and comments is still on the very same page. Hahaha.. after 4 months, still same page, what a pity!

So after the wine tasting and bought 6 bottles of grape juice, we continue our journey...We pass through Motueka town, and the hilly road started. It was pretty crazy and winding.. corners here and there non stop. Some are pretty tight. How i wish I'm here with a motorbike. Cornering heaven! LOL

We have to drive up the Takaka hill before going down to the town itself. A pretty amazing sight i would say… simply breathtaking!! 

We stop at Takaka town while looking for the address and vacancy of backpackers. The first choice was The Innlet, as recommended by some friends. However, to our disappointment, and answering machine took our call… saying… they are still closed for the winter! WTF!!! No choice but to look around the BBH booklet for the next backpacker. We chose Somerset Backpacker in Collingwood, as it got pretty good rating, free breakfast and near to Farewell Spit. It was a good decision. The owner, an englishman, Chris and japanese wife, Hiromi greeted us with warm welcome. Both of them are so friendly, and the place was homey. Nobody stay there but us, all 5 of us! That is cool! According to them, the season just about to start, and they just reopen for 2 weeks. Cool! We're in luck!

It was already evening when we reach there, so we decided to get some rest for the next day.

It was not a lovely morning the very next day. We were greeted by light rain and clouds! Deng! But the free breakfast was yummy! Homemade bread and local bush honey is just so tasty. Cant stop eating slice after slice. Coupled with a cup of hot coffee, it made my day a lot nicer! Hehe..

Joy, greeted us in the morning with his soulful eyes.. begging for foods but we are not allowed to! He is one of the clever and obedient dog! The owner show us, that without his permission, Joy wouldnt eat the dog biscuit right in front of him. That's a cool trick!  She was saying... No... No... No.... then Yes, there goes the greedy Joy.

The two girls were afraid of Joy, but Joy mean no harm! He's just too cute! haha.. Sitting there watching the two girls as he patiently waiting for some foods. Sorry Joy, we cant do that! You're obese!

 As the rain begins to slowed down, we start preparing and head to Farewell Spit. Chris and Hiromi was kind enough to show us what's nice to visit around there with an informative piece of yellow map and places of interest. Our plan was to visit Wharariki Beach, Cape Farewell and Pillar Point. Wharariki Beach, rated one of the most beautiful beaches around New Zealand, was indeed amazing! There's one thing to keep in mind though, make sure to visit only during low tides. That's the only way you could maximise the beach exploration.

I'll update the blog with Day 3 and Day 4 photos pretty soon, it takes a little bit of time as our internet connection in the backpackers is so unstable and slow! Haizzz.....