The road north seemed to be the “long and winding road” without much change in scenery. We passed through some small villages. In the town where we stopped for a picnic lunch, we saw an unusual sign so I took Bob’s picture next to it. When we stopped at another town to have coffee, I tried to purchase some Benadryl at the local grocery for Bob’s many sandfly bites, but I was told it was illegal for them to sell it. I guess it requires a prescription.

Then we arrived at New Zealand’s longest swinging bridge. Bob insisted that we pay them $10 so that I could walk out to the middle and he could take my photo.

We finally arrived in Motueka and checked into a very nice Top 10 Holiday Park. We booked our trip to Abel Tasman for tomorrow, went to the grocery store to buy some supplies for our hike, enjoyed a half hour in the hot tub, and fixed our taco supper. Then we searched for our alarm clock; we have to meet the bus tomorrow at 8 AM!

Motueka is an agricultural center. Many different fruits are grown here, including Kiwi fruit, apples and cherries, as well as hops for Coors beer.

Abel Tasman was the first European to see this region in 1642 – over 100 years before Capt. Cook arrived. He never actually set foot on land because the natives weren’t very welcoming.