Through the vineyards

Ruby Bay looking toward Nelson

Mapua was our destination about 40kms away.  Bev and I were meeting Rob at Toad Hall and it was thought it would be about 7kms. It would have been the case if we had ridden there directly.  Instead the trail took us along the Motueka estuary which, on yet another cloudless day, was very beautiful in the relatively early morning sun.  Eventually we met a very patient Rob who had already had his coffee.  Along the way we passed the wreck of the Janie Seddon, a rusting hulk, that had been a troop ship in the two World Wars.  When we last passed by it was sitting on a sandbank about 500 metres away from its current position. 

Janie Seddon behind me

Toad Hall is quite a destination.   It is a café, a deli and a fruit shop all in one and is popular with both locals and tourists.  It helps that the GTT goes past it.  Rob was sitting patiently enjoying the sun when we arrived nearly an hour later than intended.  Taking photos takes up time!


Toad Hall

We bought some lunch at Toad Hall to have further along the trail when it was closer to lunch time.  

The trail took us past the Riverside Community.  I had thought it had been founded in the 1970's as a result of a government policy to support communal living as a result of an election promise to perhaps encourage young people to support Labour.  However, a read of their website revealed that it was founded by Christian Pacifists in 1941.  It is New Zealand's oldest intentional community.  If you want to read more go here.  

The major climb for day followed a gravel road past the community.  It was a bit of a grunty climb until we reached the high point.  The view from there was superb.  Photos unfortunately do not give the scale and grandeur of what we could see.  While recovering from our exertions, although not so much me, we met a family of New Yorkers who chatted with us briefly.  The husband had been born NSW and his wife said that she also had an Australian passport.  They were in the process of getting an Australian passport for their son with the aim of being able to emigrate if things got even worse in the US.  

Lunching

The downhill ride to Tasman was quite exhilarating with us being able to reach good speeds.  We stopped in a little park in Tasman where we had our rather nice Toad Hall lunch.  We climbed out of Tasman and then dropped down into the lovely Ruby Bay and soon we were in Mapua where we found our accommodation which, coincidentally, was the same as what we had stayed in three years ago. 

We found a nice place on the waterfront to have a drink before then getting fish and chips from The Smokehouse.  It is a very popular place.  We ate on the waterfront as the sun went down.  We then moved to a nice wine bar where we had a drink to finish off our  last evening on the trail.    

Ruby Bay

Art work at Mapua

Looking toward Nelson


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