Wed 10 Feb - Checking Out Murchison

 A slow start to the day as everyone is in recovery mode after all the adventuring with Dad.  Matty and I were the early birds, so we went for a walk to explore the thriving metropolis of Murchison.  Found a lovely wee store that sold just about everything!  Bought a double walled drink bottle for Nana, and went on a short walk to her motel to deliver it.  Here is Matty investigating the pond at the motel to see if it had any fish.

He and I popped in to a museum too.  Turns out Murchison had a massive quake 2 years before the Napier one.

Spent the afternoon seeing a few local highlights:

#1 The Mataki Willowgrove Walk beside the river.

#2 The Kahikatea Walk.  This was cool, heaps of really tall trees, even one that have fallen over and was completely rotten in the middle.  Zach had fun picking up chunks of it, drop kicking them and watching the bits fly everywhere.  Boys!! So different from girls!

#3 Maruia Falls, this was a wee drive out of town, but an amazing sight.  Turns out you can freedom camp there. Kids found it really interesting how the waterfall created two whirlpools on either side and had pulled debris into the centre of them.

Starting to appreciate how many cool rocks there are everywhere we go!  Such a contrast to the North Island.

Tues 9 Feb - Goodbye Robin, Hello Murchison

Very sad to see Robin go home again early this morning. Stocked up on groceries in Nelson before hitting the road for Murchison.  Abbie drove the van this time, following the rest of us who were in the camper (as Nana was feeling a bit under the weather).  A rainy trip but the most amazing scenery.  So many glades, super fresh and green looking.  Loved it!  Could happily drive this road often!

We all noticed many of the trees had black trunks and branches as if they had been burnt at some stage.  Later discovered this is the damage that wasps are doing!

Pulled in to our very first NZMCA (NZ Motorhome and Caravan Association) park for the night in Murchison.  People were very friendly and helpful.  Got a great park next to the washing lines.  Perfect as all the sheets needed washing the next day, and the forecast was looking fine.

Enjoyed an amazing salad dinner, but sadly had to finish our bottle of wine on my own :( Missing Robin

Mon 8 Feb - Super Clear Springs & Salmon for dinner?

 Two great local Takaka attractions to check out before we leave today.

#1

This water is some of the clearest in the world.  You can see down 63m in it!!

#2 What's for dinner??

Unfortunately, despite valiant efforts, even by Nana!!, not salmon :(  They proved very difficult to catch.  I was partly glad though.  $29/kg and because there were only a few left in the pond they were so well fed, they were up to 4kg!!  Very expensive dinner!  Proud of all the kids, they really got the hang of casting out their line (after a few untangles).

Some great views on the way back to Nelson, even saw some hops growing.

Top of Takaka Hill is scarily high!!

Sun 7 Feb - Mega Roadie, to the end of the road

 An absolute cracker of a day!  Abbie and I had a bit of fun with hats and these cool cloud formations.

Our mission, to get as close as the road allows, to Farewell Spit.

Brief diversion to check out this Ballroom Cave we heard about from the Tango Club. Up Cooper Road! (for those who don't know my maiden name is Donna Cooper)

Google maps takes us over a bridge of the most amazing river!

So turns out Google Maps took us on the most direct route to Ballroom Cave, but it was to the rear of it, which turned out to be someone's private farm land!  A quick hello to the cows and we decided to abandon this mission.

In trying to get back on track toward Farewell Spit we discover what (for me) has been the BEST FIND of the whole trip!!  A place so after my own heart!  I would LOVE to have a place like this on our land!  SOOOO amazing!

Have to put in a few pics to help you grasp the coolness level of this place (feel free to scroll past if it's not your thing :) This incredible place has been in their family for 5 generations!!!

They even had K-bars and toffee milks!!!!

The amazing couple at The Langford Store put us on to our next chance discovery: Salisbury Falls.  If the water hadn't been so FREEZING we'd have all been in for a swim, but we chose to be on the reserved side since we were all just recovering from a cold.

Lizette, trying to look like she's enjoying the water, but her legs were stinging!!

Collingwood stopover.  Nice picnic by the beach. Refreshing watermelon, with pip spitting competitions of course!!

This beach is only ankle deep for so long! If you've got great eyesight, you might spot Lizette and Zach way out, and Matty making his way back.

Finally we get to Farewell Spit, Lizette finds another "Freddy" for Matty to share.

So many stunning views on the way home!

And of course the perfect end to a day of adventures is pikelets for dinner!! Mmmmm!