Day 2: Wellington - Picton - Abel Tasman National Park
The BlueBridge ferry, a great ride across Cook Straight (with cafe, a movie theater, and great views) landed in Picton on the South Island and my chariot was waiting. A road trip is for sure the best way to experience NZ if you want to get off the beaten track. That said, I decided that driving myself, on the left side of the rode, steering wheel on the right side of the car, may cause stress for the locals. As pure luck would have it, I recently discovered a backpackers bus service called Stray Travel who have been AMAZING to plan and travel with. They go everywhere I want to go, and even a few places I would never have though of, and even offer backpackers accommodations in awesome locations. They offer a number of different passes for travel from 3 days to 30 days, all good for 1 year. You can hop on and hop off at will. They will guarantee you a bed in every hostel they recommend and stop at for the night. It’s up to you if you want to stay, at your cost, in their chosen hostels, upgrade yourself to a different type of room in the same hostel or you can choose your own place to stay at any location.
All my dealings with them have been stellar, I highly recommend checking them out: https://www.straytravel.com/
NOTE: I chose and highly recommend the “hop on/hop off” option and it was ideal. They offer a Stray Journey package inclusive of activities in every location but you can choose to add all the same options with the hop on/off pass and aren’t obligated ahead of time
So today I arrive at Abel Tasman National Park for 2 nights staying at The Barn located right at the parks border. On the way there we stopped for a wine tasting since we were driving right through the Marlboro area, world renown for their Sauvignon Blanc.
“The explosive flavours of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc have dazzled wine critics throughout the world, setting the international benchmark for the style. There had never before been a wine that crackled and spat its flavours at you from the glass,” says Oz Clarke on NZ Sauvignon Blanc speaking at the 2016 International Sauvignon Blanc Conference. I’m not sure I had his experience of the wine spitting it’s flavor at me but it was good enough to buy a bottle!!
