Murchison

The lack of a fridge came back to bite us this morning as the cool box had failed to keep our soy milk from going off. So, dry muesli and overripe bananas were on the menu before we made an early move off from the Totaranui campsite. Retracing our steps along the long gravel track out of the Abel Tasman park, we eventually passed Motueka and popped back out onto SH6.

Sadly, all shops were closed again in a repeat of Good Friday's lockdown, but we did manage to stock up on vegetables at a Sunday market in Motueka. Oh, and we picked up some ridiculously artisanal sourdough hot cross buns to supplement our meagre morning meal.

#HotCraftBuns

The road west to Murchison was smooth and fast, allowing us to cleave our way efficiently through the valleys and arrive shortly before 1pm. The weather was as warm as the reception we received from the owner at Riverside holiday park, who sounded Canadian, but assured us that his was the provincial Kiwi accent of this particular area.

Welcome to Murchison. Population: 498

Murchison is an old gold mining town surrounded by stunning hills, replete with deer, perfect white-picket-fenced 'homesteads', and a tiny red-roofed church.

After a quick walk along the river we strolled into town, passing the bowling green, which was being rolled flat in a scene reminiscent of Stepford Wives.

Pesky moles

We cooled off with an enormous ice cream from the local tea rooms, which the lady seemed to take as a challenge to pile as much as she could onto a fragile wafer cone.

Back in the camp, a group of young students were returning from a day's kayaking and were preparing for the night's revelry. This is apparently an annual 'spring break' occurrence. After last night's moon viewing and the shift from daylight savings, we put together dinner and aimed for an early night.

Asian grub in Murchison

I fried tofu, egg, green beans, chillies and red peppers with some soaked 'bean thread' noodles and a peanut-based sauce. It seemed to go down a treat with K, but the real treat was her Easter gift to me.

Choc-hop-tastic

A bar of chocolate inspired by craft beer from (where else?) Wellington, flavoured with Nelson Sauvin hops and Gladfield toffee malt. It was fantastic and almost made up for the fact that no shop would sell us the beverage equivalent on Easter Sunday.