From Picton to Abel Tasman

Crossing the Wellington to Picton fjords was very impressive. In Picton, we stayed at the reliable Top 10 Holliday Park, right by the harbor and had a delicious fish dinner in the evening.

The motto for the South Island was 'Ride your own Ride'. We wanted to take more time at each location after an intense travel route on the North Island. So we set off from Picton through Nelson, a very beautiful town, towards Abel Tasman National Park. Along the way, we found a secluded, small, very quiet campground in Cable Bay where we stayed for 2 nights. Very nice for swimming despite the many stones and very beautiful evening atmosphere. On the second day, we went to Nelson to repair our glasses and buy a table and chairs. We also wanted to sit in front of our hut. In Nelson, we had a very fine seafood platter (the food here is consistently very good, influenced by Asian and European flavors).

After almost not driving for 2 days, we set off for the next stage. Via Motueka, Kaikeriteri, thanks to the travel guide, we arrived at a very beautiful campground called "The Barn", right at the entrance of Abel Tasman National Park. From here, we could book a variety of tours, guided or on our own. Very convenient!!! Ultimately, we stayed here for 5 nights for hiking, kayaking, and swimming, experiencing the Abel Tasman Coast Track in various ways.

Tomorrow, we will head to the west coast. Our next accommodation is already booked in Punakaiki, this time an apartment.

If anyone misunderstood my comment about the New Zealand driving style in the last post: I have never driven so relaxed anywhere else and haven't seen any accidents the whole time, a real change from the street battles in Berlin.