The Great Taste Trail – Nelson to Mapua - 1 February 2021


The weather forecast for our Great Taste Trail cycling looked great for the four days we would be on the trail.  Fine weather and light winds. It was accurate with a clear sky and a crisp start to the day.   Quite a contrast to the one fine day and then three days of rain on the West Coast.  However, what an experience that was and I would not have missed it for anything. 

We're on our way

Our first activity for the day was to drop our bags off for the company to deliver to our accommodation that night.  It was a very relaxed start with a coffee with H at a riverside café before then heading off around by Nelson Port.  The off road path was a bit narrow in places so we went onto the road for a little while.  It was a really nice ride alongside the sea which was flat and calm.

 

It seems that dogs can read in Nelson

The trail took us parallel with Tahunanui Beach and then past the airport alongside the estuary to Richmond before  the Great Taste Trail splits. At this point we went toward Mapua where we were staying for the night.  A sea breeze had sprung up keeping things just pleasantly warm.  The track was well used by a range of ages and ability.  About half the cyclists were using e-bikes.  It is a Grade one trail (the easiest) and being flat is great for all ages and abilities.  Kiwi Journeys had recommended a café off the track so we diverted around lunchtime to a little café set in a pretty cottage garden with pet rabbits included, called The Grape Escape. It was one of few open apparently due to Nelson anniversary day.

 

Riding the boardwalks

The trail followed the edge of the estuary toward Rabbit Island (a destination for Nelsonians for picnicking and swimming).  We went across board walks, along stop banks until finally getting to the island and then waiting for the ferrry.  Along the way we also stopped at  a vast beach which had surprisingly few people on it despite being a public holiday. 

The old VOR navigation station
Then it was onto the ferry landing at the western side of the island for our trip to Mapua across one of the Waimea River outlets.  That area is a large delta and very tidal.  We had about 45 minutes to wait and spoke briefly with a couple of people who were cycling together.  They weren’t the most communicative despite Bev’s best efforts to get them talking.  Finally the ferry arrived and we crossed to Mapua.

Loading the ferry

On board the ferry

 Our accommodation was next door to the ferry landing and was rather nice with a very friendly host. 

 

That evening we sat outside and ate fish and chips from The Smokehouse (a restaurant in Mapua).  It seemed the right thing to do for some reason as it was such a glorious evening.   Afterwards we watched a little TV, or should I say Bev started watching and then promptly fell asleep!

 

Distance cycled: 40 kms  Riding time 2h 34m





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A farmers market and back to Nelson – 31 January 2021

Image
  One of my favourite farmers' markets is the Marlborough version.   It is not as big as the Hawkes Bay market.   For a long time it only had Marlborough producers but now several producers from Nelson come over and vice versa.   We had a nice wander around and it was a pity we were not heading back Wellington as I would have loaded up with vegetables and fruit.   In the end we had a nice cup of coffee,   something to eat and bought some nice preserves.     In Nelson we stayed again with our friends.   We visited Kiwi Journeys which was nearby, had our briefing for the Good Taste Cycle Trail ride.   The information they provided was very good and their customer service is as good as we have experienced.   The bike mechanic even had a look at our bikes; fixing up a brake and putting air into tyres as well playing with the gears.   I have not had that done before when we have used our own bikes.   We t...
Read more

GTT – a day of two halves – 3 February 2021

Image
  We had a relatively early start as the distance we were riding was longest of the ride.   We had to be at Ngatimoti – about 25 kms away for a pre-booked lunch and after that transported to Tapawera.   The was thus, Kaiteriteri to Ngatimoti and then Tapawera to Wakefield.   The Kaiteriteri entrance The previous day in the Mountainbike Park Bev’s brake cable had come away from its housing.   I managed to fix it satisfactorily, but I thought it might be wise to have it checked by a bike mechanic at Kiwi Cycles which was conveniently located where we were staying.   To get there, we had a short but very steep climb out of Little Kaiteriteri and then down to the bike shop.   The mechanic advised that that the cable needed some work but it was safe to ride in the interim.   Then it was back through the Mountainbike Park.   Bev was much more confident than yesterday and I also enjoyed it more - not being so exhausted.  ...
Read more

Waiting for a car……….. 27 January 2021

Image
  We were hoping the car might be finished today.   I had been told that the car was ok but when idling it apparently sounded like a tractor which had them worried.   All the fault lights were out so that at least was good.   They said they were doing more investigations and that they would let us know what would be happening.   The hotel gave us a late checkout, so we packed ready to go then wandered off to the boulanger in the shopping centre to have a snack and a coffee.   We had brought our books   to read so did that sitting in the shade (it was about 28 degrees).   Finally at 2:30pm we realised we wouldn’t be able to proceed with our travel plans for the day.   We wandered back to the hotel and informed them we were staying.   There was no problem booking an extra night.     The weather then decided to change as predicted and the temperature plummeted.   The rain came in but we were warm an...
Read more