Grand Tour South XII

There was already plenty of heat in the day when we awoke and packed the tent. Destination for the morning was Puponga where we took the Coastal Panorama 4WD tour to Cape Farewell and views of Farewell Spit. It was sunny but the wind was a strong southerly at around 40 knots, whipping up a huge sandstorm on the sand spit below. It was an awe inspiring panorama, the deep blue white crested swells marching up the coast, the white sand spit stretching into the distance towards the hazy blue hills across Golden Bay, further round there was Puponga below us with the green farmland leading into the Kahurangi National Park and completing the 360 degree view, the white cliffs of Cape Farewell plunging to the Tasman Sea.
Back at the car park the wind had whipped up a storm and coated the car in a fine grey dust. We brushed the worst off the hood and folded it down for the trip to Nelson. We stopped at the Pupu Springs the crystal clear water was tempting for a paddle but that’s no longer allowed. Out of the bush and back at the car, the heat was intense, the shade of the trees on the Takaka Hill kept things cool but past Motueka, the sun beat down and the holiday traffic crawling along stopped us getting good airflow to keep the heat at bay. Panting, we eventually pulled up outside Shortbread Cottage and sought out the shelter of our room. Cooled and rested we walked into town for lovely dinner but the heat of the day had taken its toll so we retired early. Just dropping off to sleep we were woken by voices outside, and someone trying to break in. It transpired that our room had been double booked and the other party had been told that key would be in the door. The manager sorted things out and was most apologetic to us in the morning.
We had 3 days in Nelson so we explored the city and the nearby attractions. A trip to Mapua saw us trying to work out how much artwork we could manage to squeeze in for the trip home and the Hoglund glass blowing studio saw me trying to fit another small package in the cavity between the inner frame and the outer skin of the bodywork. The poor car was going to be packed even tighter for our trip home.