Murchison to Motueka

Murchison is in the Tasman Region and was named after a Scottish geologist, Roderick Murchison. This little town is known as the "white-water capital of New Zealand" because of all the rivers in the area. It is also the only place in New Zealand, and one of a few in the world, known for natural flames (eternal flames) in a forest without any trees or bushes burning. According to the brochure it has been burning for almost a hundred years.

We stayed at Murchison Motorhome Park where Ferrari met a ginger called Barry. I was told Barry is very tame and doesn't pick fights. I heard a howl in the middle of the night and in pitch blackness, with only the torch light from my phone, followed the tracker app. I found Ferrari lying curled up and the ginger standing in front of her. He ran when he saw me and Ferrari followed me to the motorhome. We left Barry in Murchison the next day and drove to Motueka. This is a lovely town on the North West Coast of the South Island. Much bigger that I initially thought. There are hop farms all around and is home to the beautiful Takaka Hills that separate Tasman Bay and Golden Bay. "Hills" is a total understatement though and the pass is probably one of the highest I've ever had the pleasure of driving - more about that in the next post.

There was no Barry in Motueka, but two greys were eager to make Ferrari's acquaintance. Long Hair belonged to one of the neighbouring houses and Short Stripy Hair belonged to the park. This time, she simply avoided them by spending the night with mum. After sleeping most of the night, she was a little harder to get hold of the next morning. I found her about a block away, walking through people's properties as though she owned it😺.

Beautiful campground just outside Murchison where we stayed for a night.

Murchison museum

Lovely Top 10 Holiday Park in Motueka.

Motueka street view.