From Nelson to Kaiteriteri you can cycle on a car-free scenic double track. The Great Taste trail was a pleasant surprise for us as we made our way from Nelson to Motueka. Unfamiliar with this piece of trail, Sabrina and I were happy to finally use our treaded tires and escape the monster logging trucks knocking us off the road.
This wooden section runs from just outside the Nelson Airport to Richmond. Thankfully we hit it on a sunny day, it had been cloudy every other day we were in Nelson.
This is a cartoon reader-friendly map of the Great Taste Trail. This we found out later is indeed a very tasty journey if you do it right being as it passes through some of the surrounding wineries, breweries, and restaurants in Nelson. Our good friend Abbi is studying in Auckland and recommended we take a brewery bike tour from Kiwi Journeys. We had our hopes on making it further by bike than around Nelson so we didn’t take a guided tour, but Abi made the tours out to be a wild ride. Highly recommend taking a tour from these folks. Ironically enough the owner was around on the Queens Birthday to generously help me box up my bike and take said box and myself to the Nelson Airport.
Go kind kiwis!
This is Andrew, in Kiwi Journeys. He didn’t talk much because he was so focused on closing the shop early to spend the holiday (The Queen’s Birthday) with his wife and two children. He founded the company in 2012. Kiwi Journeys do one day up to one week tours on the Great Taste Trail. Thanks Andrew for taking me to the airport.
This is what a large section of the trail also looks like. Lots of cows and sheep in the wee distance, along with horse trails. And all kinds of poop!
This day we just rode from Nelson to Motueka about 30 Miles. Here’s Sabrina lookin sassy on a bridge crossing.
And another.
Sheep, cows, and birds are the kinds of animals that we would generally see around New Zealand. However according to locals even with the sheep population so high, lamb is still an expensive dish. As soon as I put my heavy bike down, they all ran away. But oh lord it took everything I had not to hop the fence and hug a sheep. Sabrina held me back. Good friend.
Along the Great Taste Trail about 5 Miles from the Mapua Ferry I had to snap a pic of an Easter island double also known as: the tiki emoji 🗿. It was in fact a dream come true. A real life celebrity here guys.
Coming back from Motueka the next morning it was brisk to say the least. It had just stopped raining and Sabrina and I were pushin' it just to feel some blood in our fingertips. But thankfully for the first few miles we were graced with this amazing view:
And this one
It was a crispy good morning.
But hey, the sun came out.
All in all wish we could’ve ridden longer on the Great Taste Trail it was quite the escape from highway traffic with all the coastal views you could ask for. We had to cut the ride short up to Abel Tasman national forest because of weather, but we only had to bike half an hour in the rain to a hostel in Motueka. What a great two days of riding with Sabrina. And we ended it right staying at a hostel in Nelson that has the best goddamn free pudding in the world.
If you want the hostel name shoot me a msg everyone there was super nice. In total we spent four nights in Nelson, one night in Motueka.
Good people. Mickey on the guitar had the best voice. Most of these folks are on working holiday in Nelson. A very tempting concept that they nearly persuaded me into joining.
Wellp. That was the Great Taste Trail and some of Nelson for ya!
Any questions about the trail, tours, or the area it’s fresh in me brain so email me!
Till next one. Toodles!
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