Motueka - Nelson Lakes National Park

After visiting Cape Farewell, I stayed overnight again in Motueka, and the next day started off well: I woke up at 6 AM to the sound of cars starting and driving away. At first, I thought they were people who had booked an early water taxi for the Abel Tasman Coastal Track. Then it hit me: It’s Sunday, and there’s a weekly market at the Freedom Camping site where I was parked. Within minutes, I packed my things, found a parking spot on the side of the road, and actually wanted to rest a bit on the mattress. However, I was just too awake for that by then.

After an extensive phone call with Markus, I went to the market and quickly discarded my plan to drive straight through. I found it so absurd that people were dressed up in Christmas attire playing Christmas carols, selling flowers and seedlings, and that one doesn’t freeze in a T-shirt and shorts.

I bought a very delicious Indonesian dish for lunch and a boysenberry ice cream (a cross between a blackberry and a loganberry), and afterwards discovered that there was even pizza and a 'bratwurst grill'. When I tried to pay for my vegetables at the fruit and vegetable stand, my card did not work (debit cards were not accepted). The vendor immediately said I could just come back next week to pay. Luckily, I was able to pay in cash, because I am not supposed to be in Motueka again next week. But it’s incredible that he gave me such a trust advance just like that.

In the afternoon, I drove to another Freedom Camping site in Motueka, the one by the sea, which had been full yesterday. There is a saltwater pool that is separated from the sea. It was built many years ago because there seem to be many sharks in the area. The benefits are that, firstly, you can swim both at low and high tide, and secondly, you don’t have to be afraid of being attacked by a shark.

The next day, I wanted to hike the Paddy's Track in Nelson Lakes National Park on the way to Westport to get a good view of Lake Rotoiti. Unfortunately, it rained quite heavily the whole way from Motueka to the small town of Saint Arnaud at Lake Rotoiti, and the weather forecast had also predicted thunderstorms for the afternoon. Therefore, I consulted at the DOC Center whether I should undertake the hike or rather skip it. The answer was: I should try it calmly and turn back if necessary.

Somehow, I had quite a bit of luck again because there was no thunderstorm and the rain had passed. During a small break on a bench with a great view of the lake, three men joined me. In conversation, it turned out that one is a retired teacher, one is his former student, and the other is his son. Apparently, they have kept in touch despite the teacher originally being from Scotland, teaching the student in Singapore many years ago, and now living in New Zealand. And it gets even crazier knowing that the former student is actually German but grew up in Singapore and now also has a Canadian passport :D

After the hike, I continued another 160km with a short coffee break in Murchison and through the Buller Gorge to Westport. There, Ken, whom I met on the Queen Charlotte Track, greeted me at his holiday home.