Camp Day At Kaiteriteri + Little Kaiteriteri

After yesterday's vigorous Abel Tasman hike, Saturday it was time for an in-camp caravan clean-up and showers day. Given the small amount of counter space in the caravan and my propensity for chopping large amounts of broccoli for breakfast, we carried food and utensils to the camp kitchen to give it a whirl. Shared toasters, cooktops, refrigerators, and wash-up sinks.

In the expansive camp kitchen

Look at all that broccoli

(not on the caravan floor)

We ate at a picnic table in the sun. Toast a treat for me.

The dish washer has an easier time of it too, especially cleaning the French press we're using to make coffee.

Then it was off to showers, clean-up, organizing, a few repairs, and where did the day go?  Possibly sitting in the warm sun letting hair and towels dry. Kaiterteri is said to have more sunny days than anywhere else in NZ.

We got talking to a woman in the campground who is fourth generation in this Nelson area. Her grandma once rode a horse up the mountain daily to teach school. The woman told us the campground we're staying in is part of a trust established by the family of Bill Rowling (30th prime minister of NZ). The family owned much of Kaiteriteri and the trust includes the campground, with all fees directed back into its maintenance and improvement (hence the killer kitchen and, as she put it, "ablution stations").

The best part of this campground in our view is across the street, spectacular beach and Abel Tasman Coastal Track along the shore.

In high summer (January) the little town is jammed with visitors. For us right now, it's a quiet camp, our neighbor to the left apparently parked but not occupying the caravan.

Mid-afternoon we walked to Little Kaiteriteri, on the other side of this cliff, via a path with lots of stairs that takes you up and over. The jutting cliff separates the two beaches only because of the deeper water. It's a contiguous beach around that bend...and the next one and the next one.

Little Kaiteriteri appears to be made up largely of homes sited on this sliver of coast.

The homes are piled atop one another up the hillside.

 

 Several beach access paths lead from the walkway to the sand.

On this stunningly clear warm day, a glory.