Nydia Bay

Taking advice given to us by a craft gallery owner, we ventured to the Marlborough Sounds. Down a long and twisting road in the dark, to a campsite occupied with sheep we crept into unseen territory. As the sun rose we found ourselves staring at lush treeferns, hanging gardens, and mirrored bays at the quiet start to a remote track. An hour in we came across exposed mudflats teeming with cockles, mussles and oysters. A lunch of fresh oysters, just out of the water, and cockles dug for dinner, we crossed a saddle of wet trails and misty birdsongs. We camped by the sea, wich was calmer than a lake...not one lap of a tired wave. We rose early with the mist to make sure we would reach our bay of bounty by low tide. We took our limit of fresh greenlip mussels (50 per person per day! 150 for cockles and 250 for oysters by the way.) and hiked out to find a gift of fresh feijoas waiting at our van. This country is so generous!