Day 6 Headed for the West Coast

We left Nelson headed toward Abel Tasman National Park. The Park can only be explored on foot or by the sea, so we were going because we were told it was a great ride and we had enough time. The first hour was nice as we rode past orchards and vineyards. The next 1/2 hour was fantastic as we took the winding road through Kaiteriteri, a seaside village with a pretty beach that is also a place to catch walking and boat tours of the park. The next hour was even better as we wound our way up Takaka hill (mountain to us). The view from the top was grand.

After a latte at the cave on top of the hill we wound our way back down and rode through the Motueka River Valley. It was a beautiful day and we had a beautiful ride ride along the river past several vineyards.

While fueling up in Murchison we got some advice from a local biker on the route to take to Greymouth where we were spending the night. We took the suggested road and were glad. As we rode through the 3 different mountain ranges, along the Buller River and through Butler Gorge we were treated to fantastic view after marvelous view. All around us was thick native bush, never cut, never damaged.

By the time we reached the coast it was pretty foggy and we were not able to fully experience the dramatic rock formations along the coastline. We did however stop and take a 15 min. walk down Truman Track to a rock shelf that gave us a satisfying taste and panoramic view of the Pancake Rocks.

We reached our destination for the night, Oak Lodge, just north of Greymouth about 7Pm and were met by Alastair and Shirley Inman our hosts for the night. They just took over the lodge in July after selling their 700 acre sheep farm. We had nice visit and a cold beer, thanks Alastair, before going into town to pick up some Chinese takeaway.