Lynne and I walked down to the Mapua Wharf the night before New Years eve last year . The weather was perfect, and the Wharf was buzzing on this ideal summer’s evening. Here’s a short video clip to celebrate the magic that night.
ps: Thanks to the TDC management and all the businesses on the Wharf – you all should be VERY pleased, and proud. Thank you for creating such an amazing ambience for such a great variety of people.
Several guests have asked about opportunities for running/jogging directly from the front door of accommodation in Mapua.
Definitely! Indeed , better than definitely! The simplest is to just to head out along the Great Taste Trail – but you can head in two directions , East or West. …and never have to be on a road (well, almost never!!)
First, how far /how long you want to jog/run (or walk!) – 30 minutes? 60 minutes? a couple of hours? And what sort of surfaces – hard pack trails or sidewalk style .
There are several options. The simplest is to just to head out along the Great Taste Trail – but you can head in two directions , East or West.
East…Taking the ferry across to Rabbit Island (2 minutes!!) from the Mapua Wharf
you can run for 20 minutes along the cycle trail along a mostly dirt hard pack track – not the mose attractive visually becasue of loggin done a few years ago, but replanting has started. BUT after this 20 minutes you can cut to the beacj at Rabbit Island and you have 10km+ of stunning hard pack sand running….almost have the entire beach to yourself. Beautiful !!
OR you can head West out of Mapaua . This is pretty, although its mostly along a paved , wide sidewal used ofr cycling and walking…util you reach Pine Hill Crescent. The Great Taste trail climbs here – not a steep hill, but the kind hill loving runners will enjoy. This part is stunning visually – rolling hills tussock gum trees….then you emerge out on a ridge that has views to die for across the water to the East and over foothills to Mount Arthur to the West . Great stuff! Here is a vimeo video that will give you the flavour from a bike!
Mapua Junior School put on a wonderful “masked parade” on Wednesday (Oct 30 2019) , starting from the Alberta’s Golden Bear Jellyfish end of the Wharf, making a couple of “laps” so the crowd of moms dads grandparents and friends could experience the colourful creativity of masks costumes and kids…. The entire school then met together for a picnic at Waterfront Park and a choreographed photoshoot along the Waterfront Park esplanade – Waimea foreshore, estuary and Richmond Hills creating a stunning background canvas. Proud kids, brothers, sisters, moms, dads, grandparents , and friends all round!
The embedded video clip can be found on my Vimeo site and downloaded or shared with friends and family . More info and pictures here at friends of mapua mapuawaterfront
This is our third time staying in the Orange apartment. We love coming back and enjoy the luxury of this accomodation as you have everything you need – no different than being in your own home with access to great walks and attractions that this region has to offer.
We always come for a week and plan our stay to explore a bit of Abel Tasman, Motueka, enjoy lovely cuisine at Forsters and wine tasting in the area.
John and Lynne are lovely hosts/
Dubravka published this post in a comment in another part of our website – i’ve copied it to our Review page so that it is easier to find
There are an amazing number of cafe and restaurant options in and around Mapua: food, coffee, wine tasting, craft beer. They don’t call the cycle Trail the “Great Taste Trail” for nothing! The Wharf, the Village, the Leisure PArk, and of coruse the Wineries in Upper Moutere, Kina and the Waimea valley.
…on the Wharf
The Jellyfish, on the Wharf – open year round. The newly refurbished Jellyfish is great!
The Appleshed, on the Wharf – open 7 days a week, year round. (Mapu41south guests receive a 10% discount voucher at the Appleshed with purchases over $50)
Do yourself a favour: try breakfast or brunch on the Jellyfish , catching the morning sunrise and sparkle of the Waimea looking towards Rabbit Island, then and evening meal or dessert at the Appleshed, catching the setting sun over the Waimea basin to the south. Then reverse the order on another day. 
Alberta’s on the Wharf on the Wharf in the new Shed 4 complex – smoothies, ice cream, coffee, healthy food – our fantastic neighbours, Julia and Klaus, are the new owners. You must try their flamed salmon on a Friday night!
Hamish’s on the Wharf – great burgers shakes and fresh fruit ice cream at family affordable prices.
The Smokehouse on the Wharf is everyone’s favorite fish and chip shop, and has a wide variety of premium smoked seafood (buy your ketchup at the 4 square in the Village to save a few shekels) – Golden Bear and Rimu Wine bar are happy with you eating your fish ‘n chips on their premises as long as you buy a drink too. A win-win.
Golden Bear Brewery on the Wharf – open every day from 3pm and from 12pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday – music during the summer> Friday nights is buzzing the whole year ’round, as locals and visitors alike gather to socialize.
Rimu Wine Bar on the Wharf – open all year round. Terrific selection of “wine trees” for tastings with an amazing selection of regional wines and good wood-fired pizza (Mapua41South guests receive one 15% discount voucher for the Rimu Wine bar) ! Family friendly (as are all the cafes and restaurants on the Wharf) .
Did you know?- you can enjoy a beer or a glass of wine with your fish and chips right on the Wharf. Both Jim at the Golden Bear and Patrick at the Rimu Wine on the Wharf bar welcome you to buy your drinks with them, buy your fish and chips from the Smokehouse then bring the goodies back to eat at their venues, with their drinks!. Fantastic cooperation between businesses here. A win win strategic solution for customers and these sellers!
..in the Village
The Java Hut
– Paul and Manu serve up great coffee – a definite favorite with the locals, and visitors in the know. Great for that early morning caffeine fix (open from 7-30am) .
Sprig and Fern Mapua – open 7 days; Mon-Fri 2pm till late, Sat and Sun from 12pm to late.
The Mapua Village Bakery is now up and running, after purchasing the space formerly occupied by The Naked Bun. The coffee is good (Jason is back as baristra) , the range of breads and other baked goods is fantastic, and they have a gourmet baked pie menu that would have to be the most impressive I have seen in my 40 years at New Zealand – 2 A4 pages, freshly baked, and all at reasonable prices . My favourite though is the Danish pastry ….so good I wrote a blog post about it!! BCanadian I’d also give their apple pie a 9 out of 10!
in the Leisure Park…
The Boat Shed, in the Leisure park – open from 10:30am till late , Thursday through Sunday. At times the blue colours to the sky and the sea are simply stunning – as this photo attests. Great coffee.
…nearby in Upper Moutere…(during winter months please check winery websites for opening hours….)
Neudorf is now open for tastings – bookings are adviseable for small groups so that you can receive vip style treatment .
Mahana – Wine tastings typically open , 11am-4:30pm weekdays, 10am-4:30pm weekends (brunch too) . The kitchen was closed during the winter but is now open and under new management Forsters at Mahana
Kahurangi Estate – open 7 days a week from 10:30am-4:30pm for wine tasting, but food options limited until the summer arrives: olives, almonds or biscotti are available with the wine tasting or, as part of Kahurangi’s special “Port board” (3 imported Portugese ports) – check website during the winter for opening hours.
Moutere Hills vineyard and cafe is open Friday Saturday & Sunday , with meals in the wine bar on Friday nights-check website during the winter for opening hours.
Moutere Inn – 7 minute drive away , on the upper Moutere Highway – NZ’s oldest pub, 13 local craft beers on tap, great food.
*Note : most of these great cafes/restaurants are open every day of the year and are no more than a 4 minute walk from us here at Mapua41south 🙂
Of course there are many other great things to do in Mapua and the Tasman Region over the winter (besides eating and drinking) and we will let you know about some of these in one of our next blogs!
