Motueka

Motueka is a lovely place. It has the temperate climate of Nelson, but not the hills, a beautiful coastline and just a lovely feel to the place. It is not a large town, but has most things you would need (although not a Spotlight store for me). The main purpose of our visit here was to visit my Aunty Elma (Ellie) who is getting a little frail. We rocked up to see her on Thursday though, only to find she was out on a bus trip – so still getting out and about a bit which is great.

We stayed over in the NZMCA Park her and it is in a lovely location right next to the Coastal Inlet walkway. I took the opportunity the next morning of getting some sunrise photos, before the man even opened his eyes.

When we finally did get organised for the day, we made our way out to Ruby Bay to spend time with my cousin Dee, her husband David, and daughter Sarah, with two grandies Leah (3 years old) and Bethany (3 months old). They were beautiful little children and I had lots of cuddles, jigsaw solving and book reading.

David is retired now, so his garden is looking pristine. Dee is still working 4 days a week, so it was great that she gave up her Friday to spend time with us. Thoroughly enjoyed the visit.

The next morning we took a wander down by the waterfront, and once again the dogs got a long walk and some paddling in the sea. The wharf area was quite busy with people and dogs wandering around, having a coffee and enjoying the spectacular day.

We continued along the beach until we got to the wreck of the Janie Seddon.

The ship was built in Glasgow in 1901 and purchased by the NZ Navy. She was the last surviving NZ war ship to have served in both world wars, and it was rumoured that she was the first ship to fire her guns in the second world war. After the war she was purchased by the Talleys fishing group, but as a coal fired steamer, she proved unsuitable for fishing, and also because her size was too big for the shallow Tasman Bay. She was retired from service in 1950, and was moored just off the beach. She sank after coming to rest on top of her anchor on a low tide, which created a hole in the hull, and she has sat there ever since.

There were several boats moored just off the beach, just like the Janie Seddon. One is particular made me smile because it was called Teresa’s Dream. I think if it was me it would probably have been called a nightmare rather than a dream.

We got back to the van to have a quick bite to eat, a cup of coffee and a RAT test each, before going to visit Aunty Ellie. This time she was home, so we had a lovely visit, with a few laughs and lots of cuddles.

We will have one more night here and tomorrow we are off, heading south again.