Anakiwa: Undiscovered Gem of the South Island

We stumbled on to an undiscovered gem in the Marlborough region (the northernmost area) of the South Island: the tiny little town of Anakiwa, New Zealand.

Anakiwa is situated on Queen Charlotte Sound, and it's about halfway between the towns of Havelock, where we had one of the best restaurant meals of our lives (more on that in a moment), and Picton, where you catch the ferry to the North Island. Here's Laura, patiently explaining to me yet one more time exactly where we are:


This little town doesn't even get a mention in the guidebook, and you can only get to it after a really fun (or stomach churning, depending on your perspective, of course) drive across skinny, steep and curvy roads. And as we have come to expect, there are plenty of places to pull over and enjoy a stunning view.




In one inlet, we were treated to a sight that you can only find Down Under--black swans! Readers of this blog who know Dan will know of his special affinity for this particular animal.


We stayed in what was supposed to be a budget youth hostel, the Anakiwa Lodge, part of New Zealand's excellent hostel system. But this place was more like a glorious bed and breakfast, with a huge king sized bed, full kitchen, free internet (something we've found to be highly uncommon here in New Zealand), a big jacuzzi/hot tub, and most importantly, rooms for only ten or so guests.

Here was our view out of our window in the morning:


Last but not least, our host recommended a restaurant in nearby Havelock, NZ that was so good that you should make a side trip just to eat there: The Slip Inn (at first we thought he said Sleep Inn, but it was all straightened out once Dan asked him to spell it out for us).

We had local, steamed green-shelled mussels and locally caught scallops. The green shelled mussels are particularly striking--their shells (not the mussels themselves, fortunately) are a bright, almost electric green, and they are delicious.




A little wine, some great food and great conversation, and a relaxing view of the marina. It was another good day in New Zealand.




The Slip Inn
At the Havelock Marina
Havelock, NZ
03 5742345

Anaikiwa Lodge
9 Lady Cobham Grove
Anakiwa, New Zealand
03 574 2115

Morning in Motueka

After a tourist group we were sharing our hostel with left early this morning, we had the entire place to ourselves, and Laura struck up a conversation with our hostelier.

He was yet another introspective New Zealander who had all sorts of interesting things to say once you drew him out a bit. He gave Laura a rundown on the various ways to access Abel Tasman National Park (more on that in a moment), and then shared the story of how he came to own and manage a hostel here in Motueka, NZ.

Originally, he and his partner had hoped to open a traditional motel, but the financing fell through. He talked about how crestfallen they were.

But then a smaller, cheaper building became available, suitable for a hostel rather than a motel, and they leased it and opened a YHA-affiliated hostel (YHA is one of the largest and best-quality hostel chains in New Zealand--more on New Zealand's excellent hostel system in a future post).

It turns out this was an even better fit for them--he said they wanted to interact with their guests more than he would have been able to at a traditional motel, and running a hostel was just perfect. A seemingly huge disappointment, a small twist of fate, and this guy's been living his dream ever since.