Nelson Tasman, Naturally Yours
Enjoy our local vineyards.
The award-winning Neudorf Vineyard, just down the road from Atatū, is a wonderful place to watch the world go by, sipping an excellent wine, overlooking the vines and surrounding mountain ranges. You may want to order one of their matching picnic baskets - sample picnic basket menu here. In summer there are regular music events - check out their website or Instagram feed for details. https://neudorf.co.nz/
Alternatively, enjoy hand-crafted, estate-grown wines at the Moutere Hills Vineyard, matched with delicious fare made in-house at the Moutere Hills restaurant using locally sourced produce. Bookings highly recommended. https://mouterehillsrestaurantandcellardoor.co.nz/
Heaphy Vineyard - has both Heaphy Vineyard and Kahurangi Vineyard wines for tasting, along with a casual restaurant serving light food such as olives, breads, and pizzas. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. https://www.heaphyvineyard.com/
Gravity Vineyard – Wonderful restaurant with great views - probably my favourite local lunch out, especially on a still, sunny day. Bookings highly recommended. https://www.gravitywinery.co.nz/
Flaxmore Vineyards – Flaxmore make wonderful wines. After a wine-tasting, you can also enjoy a lovely vineyard walk with views (but can’t officially open your wines on the walk, should you have a picnic planned)… Check their website for opening period. https://www.flaxmore.co.nz/
Explore our three stunning national parks - Abel Tasman, Kahurangi and Nelson Lakes.
The picturesque Abel Tasman National Park with its golden sands, crystal-clear water, seal and bird colonies, stunning bush walks and kayaking options are within a 40-minute drive from Atatū.
If you only have one day, you can arrange to kayak in and hike back, or be dropped off at Anchorage by water taxi and hike back.
The Nelson Lakes National Park contains some of New Zealand’s best hikes, whether multiday or a day-long hike. You can scale the mountains around Nelson Lakes or for a less strenuous day trip, you can arrange to be dropped off by water taxi to Lakehead Jetty and walk back (around 3 – 4 hours). In summer, the lakes are great for swimming and picnicking enroute.
Kahurangi National Park - Located in the northwest corner of New Zealand's South Island, Kahurangi is New Zealand's second largest national park. In places it is an untracked wilderness, elsewhere a wonderful network of tracks lets you explore wild rivers, high plateaux and alpine herbfields, and coastal forests.
Fishing.
There are wonderful fishing opportunities in the area, especially for fly-fishing for Brown Trout. The local Motueka River has some of the highest trout numbers of any river in New Zealand, and there are a myriad of other small and large rivers offering a wide diversity of fishing conditions in beautiful, wilderness settings.
Check out the New Zealand Fish and Game website for information about licensing, regulations and getting started (https://fishandgame.org.nz/freshwater-fishing-in-new-zealand/). If you are inexperienced, then hiring a guide is the best option, which we are happy to help you with!
Explore local cave systems or do a via ferrata.
The Tasman region of New Zealand offers a variety of stunning cave exploration opportunities, ranging from easy walks to challenging adventures. Among these are Rawhiti Cave, Te Anaroa Caves, Ōparara Basin and Ngarua Caves.
“Via Ferrata” is Italian and translates to “iron way”. The term is commonly used in the European Alps for a rock climbing route with a series of iron steps and a fixed steel rope that climbers can attach themselves to for safety. It allows anyone with a decent level of fitness to scale heights normally accessible only to experienced rock climbers. It is generally considered a low impact outdoor activity.
The Via Ferrata on Takaka Hill is free to use for everyone! It can only be climbed with the right safety gear though. If you don't own this gear you can hire it nearby.