ok I have been a bad blogger this month ... good excuse, have been on holiday tripping around Nelson and Bays.
What better time to tell you about the organic treats the region has to offer...
We stayed at the Sunset Valley Vineyard which was a very tranquil and relaxing spot, and an organic vineyard established 15 years ago in the Moutere Valley. I already knew and loved their wines, so it was great to visit the spot where the wine (I find on on the shelves at CS Organics) originates from!
We lunched at the Riverside Cafe, Lower Moutere which is home to NZ's oldest commune. Beautiful setting and freshly prepared food including vegetables and salads from their own organic gardens.
Next on our list to visit was Arcadia Organics (Motueka), a long-established organic shop with a fantastic selection and delicious cafe. We also discovered the Pulsing Patch - a roadside organic fruit and vege stop (Riwaka - just outside Motueka). The small shop also sells a variety of herbs, spices and bottled fruit.
We also indulged in beer (well, not me) at Founders Organic Brewery in Nelson. The beer was apparently very good.
After the luxury of Sunset Valley, we headed to Kaiteriteri Beach and camped under the stars.
An overall good experience was somewhat marred by being situated right across from a group of 4 chainsmokers , so we abandoned camp for most of 2 days until they left (Soapbox: All campsites in NZ should be non-smoking or have smoking "areas").
Other organic treats included visiting Takaka which has even more organic shops and cafes.
We had a need for some baby balm to sooth rashy skin, and came across a balm that incredibly we hadn't seen before - "Pot of Gold". Wow, that stuff is great! 
Three cheers (we love) those fabulous folks at Arcadia Organics and Golden Bay Organics who had our flyers out on display.
We recently send our flyers all over the country to every organics store and cafe you can imagine, so we can get word out to you good folks, I like to see that I'm not wasting effort & paper (even if it is recycled).
... and why the centre of New Zealand? Quite literally, Nelson is. After 3 days of dancing in Nelson at the "Ceroc Summer Camp", Hayley (owner of Ceroc Nelson) marched us up the steepest hill she could find to the official "Centre of NZ". Luckily, the view was just awesome!
