We are struggling getting items for bargains because we don’t have all the time in the world. It is the fast vs cheap! We need to spend some money to get it done faster. We have found a few items at the local dump but we also ended up buying things that don’t work.

Every day we go for a ride, my legs are pretty sore but I am getting more confident. I haven’t been on a bike regularly in over 20 years! I do get nervous as it is all new. Rowan was following closely behind me and a bit further out on my first attempt up a hill on a very busy road. A lady yelled and beeped at us to be in a single file. Rowan promptly yelled back a few words that should not be repeated. That is the first and last time so far that we have had a dickhead driver.

Number one on my list of accessories are tassels. Rowan says I will get annoyed with them, but I don’t care. If I now have to live with a sore butt and legs I am going to do it with tassels. I find a $6 bargain at the warehouse that are sparkly and every 5 year olds dream. I did think about noisy spoke beads but they will drive us nuts.

Jenna leaves today to head to Christchurch. Before the weather turns, we quickly pack up the tent. By the time our stuff is in the car the rain starts. The kitchen only has outdoor seating. We decide to head to a cafe for food and coffee. Breakfast is really good, much better than yesterday’s. Jenna needs the post shop to get a parcel sent to herself so her bags are not too heavy. Jenna drops us off at Kelvin and Paula’s house and we say our goodbyes. It will be strange not travelling with her anymore.

Rowan and I spend the rest of the day doing jobs. We get clothes washed and clean up a few things. The kids are happy to have us here, especially Lucy who adores Rowan. An easy meal tonight of pizza!

Our journey is going to change from here. After traveling with Jenna we have enjoyed a new level of freedom. In hindsight south island hiking would have been a better start for us.

Rowan and I are adding bicycles and we will complete our journey with them. I wish it was electric but we are going with human powered ones. We will be able to complete our tour of Aotearoa by our own steam. This week we will be helping Kelvin and Paula with their pop top caravan and getting gear sorted. We are doing it on a budget. Our aim is under $1k for both of us. So far we have a bike for me $80 and a large frame bike for Rowan $200. Now to get safety gear, panniers, clothing. And probably other gear we never would have though of!

For Jenna’s last day we thought we better have some fun. We started at breakfast in town, it was mediocre but the coffee was fantastic. Then we went to the Nelson Museum, which was great. We got talking to the staff for a while. I got a message from Kelvin that he is having a stall across the road at the markets.

The markets are really small compared to last time. Kelvin points out I was probably at the Saturday Market, not the Sunday one. I find a zebra hoof and show it to Rowan. We talk about it with Kelvin, who tells us to go get it.

From the market we go find sushi and head to the park next to the water to eat it. We end up reading our books and then heading to Kelvin’s house. At Kelvins, I use the vacuum and clean out the inside of the car. Jenna and Rowan help.

From Kevin’s, we head to beach because it won’t be long until our dinner reservation and no point going back to the campground. We go to Mama San for dinner which is an East Asian restaurant. The food is delicious.

We are done fairly early which is fine and we head back to camp for hot chocolates.

Kelvin has a stall at the local swapmeet, we head off to see him and of course shop around. I relieve Kelvin for a bit so he can go shopping and I sell a few of his goodies. I wasn’t thinking but of course I got to see Jase, a good friend who lives in Blenheim. He sells amazing curios and his stall is always really professional. We ended up getting a screwdriver and a naughty stamp from him. We also saw Nick a dealer from Christchurch. Rowan rummaged in a jewellery pile and got a few goodies. It was a fun few hours.

After the swapmeet we took Jenna through her first car wash since she was a kid. In Germany you need to get out of the car. No way near as fun! Then off to the supermarket for some supplies. The rest of the day we chilled at the campground, went through our goodies and read our books. Tomorrow is our last full day with Jenna.

The rain came, there is no shelter here at the campground so we packed quickly and got moving. Because we are so close to Pelorus Bridge we decide we need to do a full circle, back to where we started. A very atmospheric drive up in the clouds. We got to the cafe at Pelorus and got some morning tea. The place has changed quite a bit since we last visited. They only do cabinet food now, I am guessing low numbers through covid.

We ended up having a very late lunch at a burger place around 3pm. Making life easy we headed back to the Matai Valley campground. Rowan cooked up some small steaks and potato salad for dinner. We had a small meal because we were not hungry form the late lunch.

I wake up for the sunrise and find Rowan did sleep outside all night. We watch the sunrise, it is fairly mild because it is very cloudy. Jenna wakes with a migraine today, not good. It is quite a bad one so we just chill a bit for the morning. Not long though and she agrees we should go explore. Google reckons an hour and a half. It takes us more like 2 hours. Because we stop to take photos. I was hopeful for a beautiful spot to relax on the water. Reality is you get to the end of the road and Port Ligar is private no access. At the end of the Bulwer Scenic Reserve is private properties. There is a small goat track in the reserve that may take you down the the beach. With all that anticlimactic ending we turned around and headed back to camp.

Back at camp, we had a late lunch. Then we headed just up the road to a walkway where there is a lookout and beach access. The lookout wasn’t that exciting and the beach was smaller but really nice because no one else was there the whole time.

We slogged back up the track and headed for the next lookout. This one was much easier to access and I couldn’t help but jump onto the dolphin.

Of course the others needed to join in! Back at camp we got chatting to the neighbours and ended up talking to them all night. A couple from South Africa who have been living in NZ for 12 years. Rowan and I had a swim in the ocean and a cold shower to get the salt off.

I have never been to French Pass before and I have always wanted to explore the area so when the suggestion was made I jumped to say yes. Rowan has been there a few times but only when sailing his yacht. The road is mostly tarmac which is more than we expected. We got high up in the clouds and the views were fantastic. The wind was gusty and we could tell we were in the sounds. Majority of the land is private so you can’t get down to the water edge. In Okiwi Bay is the first chance down at the water.

We booked the DOC site for two nights so we can explore a bit more tomorrow. The DOC site is basic with cold shower. Only 18 sites are there. There is no phone signal which I love apart from the fact I can’t call my Nana for her birthday. I didn’t realise what day of the month we were up to let alone they day of the week. Sorry Nan!

We came across a block with my mums initials. I am upset she didn’t tell us we could stay at her property haha

In the morning we finished off any leftover jobs we needed to do. Rowan had a bit of paining on the tin roof and I put another coat on the boat. Jenna helps trim the horse hooves and then we headed into Motueka. We checked out the op shops and headed to our friend Kelvin in Nelson.

Kelvin & Paula are good friends who we often stay with when we are in Nelson. It was great to catch up with Kelvin. We will come back and stay when Jenna heads home. About 5pm we head off to the Maitai Valley where Nelson Council has a campground. It is a pretty basic place but good enough. We have no reception out here but it will be nice to spend a few days here.

Once it got dark we realised we had set up camp right under the street light for the campground. Hilarious and annoying all at the same time!

We had a pleasant stay at Mārahau, the rain came in the night. This continued for the day. Off to the Motueka Markets where the majority of people were packing up and heading home. We got to meet Harmony, Jenna’s friend, who we will stay with for a few days. Harmony normally sings at the markets and used to have a horse trekking business in Mārahau. Next to the supermarket for supplies before driving 30min into the hills behind Motueka.

Up in Graham Valley Harmony has an off grid place with a few little buildings and buses for extra people. He often has woofers help out on the property. There are 5 horses, 3 dogs and countless chickens. One of the chickens even has baby chick’s. It is horribly wet and very drab in the wet. We chat and drink hot drinks for the afternoon. There is more heavy rain coming so we take a break in the rain to get our gear inside the little cabin. There is a small river near by to have a swim. It is incredibly cold and I don’t last long at all. Rowan, of course gets right in! We have an early night.

Harmony needs help with a few things around the property, so I get the task of painting the boat, which is used as a dog kennel. Jenna is working the horses. Rowan is sorting out a tin roof. The place is a lot better without all the rain. It is quite basic, a bit too basic. Rowan and I would like to do a similar thing one day just with more comfort. We go to the river to wash up before dinner. It is incredibly cold. My feet feel like they are going to fall off. After dinner, Rowan helps with lining a roof with tongue and groove. He says he needs another swim and feels all gross. Tomorrow we head off to Nelson.

I woke early to watch the sunrise. It was quite and peaceful for a while. It didn’t last long, the camp is pretty busy but not full. It can accommodate up to 850 sites!

We headed off to Takaka for some kai. On our way out we saw a farmer and his amazing view! Rowan stopped the car to take a photo and he realised what we were doing and posed lol.

We end up at the same cafe for lunch. It is a Saturday so the place is packed. We order only from the cabinet this time to save waiting for the kitchen. We planned to get a frozen berry yoghurt thing on the way out but they are short staffed, so it won’t serve till 2pm. Oh well! The local market is on so we head over for a look. The area is definitely getting more and more expensive. The local Fresh Choice is small yet has $115 bottles of Bolinger in the fridge.

Back over the Takaka Hill, we head to get petrol and frozen yoghurt before heading to Mārahau. This time we will stay somewhere that is not the barn smelly place. We got to Macdonald and realised tonight they are hosting Salmonella Dub. We decide not to camp there in the noise and head to the final option close to the beach. The place is dated but well maintained. We get one of the last sites. We order Fat Tui again but ask for a specific time of 6pm. We are all set up at camp then we head to the beach to read our books. I don’t end up reading. Instead, I talk to Eddy in Indonesia and he shows me the progress of the cafe.

Off for dinner we arrive and they say Hello Kate, the guy remembers my name haha. Our food is waiting for us. Yum, it is much better than last time. You can tell the rush is not here this time. After dinner we head back for showers and listen to Salmonella Dub from our camp. It is good, I can only just hear it so it is easy to sleep. I have seen them live before and felt no need to see them again. It was sold out anyway!