2 posh nights in Nelson

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Dear all,

Since I last wrote we have left Pohara Beach and driven back over the crazy mountain! I call it a huge mountain but its known as a hill here! Anyway the drive was fine and we headed to Nelson for our 2 nights in a motel. The motel was walkable from the city centre which was much easier than staying on a campground and driving in each day. Not that Nelson is huge but parking a campervan isn't always easy.

So we checked into our motel which was really lovely. We walked into town and wandered around shops, had lunch in a cafe and I even managed to walk past Starbucks without going in! We found an old church which was converted into a bar and much to the delight of Ash it sold many craft beers.

Our first night in the motel we didn't sleep that well. We both thought we would love the luxury of a proper bed but actually we missed the van. Next day we got up and headed into Nelson again. We went to the cathedral which was slightly odd. It was built about one hundred years ago and then later a hideous steeple/bell tower/ eye sore was added. I think that seeing the magnificent Canterbury cathedral on a regular basis has made us Cathedral snobs and we like proper old ones. (Sorry any Kiwis that are reading this!!)

After the Cathedral we went to Nelson Museum. It was a small affair but we found out some interesting stuff about Maori culture and New Zealand. We also saw the oldest fossil in NZ which is 500 million years old...slightly older than their Cathedral!

After a meatpie lunch we wandered a bit more. The weather was turning so we found a cinema and watched "Oblivion". It was about the end of the world and had Tom Cruise in it. It felt strange to be in town doing normal activities such as going to the cinema.

This morning we left Nelson and the motel and drove back down the coast to Kaikoura. We will spend the night here before heading to Hamner Springs. Here we will sit in the natural hot volcanic springs. The weather has now begun to turn a bit and its raining today. Winter is coming. We are both really glad to be back in our cosy camper though and are looking forward to sleeping in here tonight. Ash is now reading a book about a bush hunter and he is getting more and more ideas about living out in the wild! But don't worry, we love New Zealand and we love our Campervan but we have decided its too far away for us to live here!

Right, I'm cooking beef steaks for dinner tonight. Love to you all, hope that the weather there is getting better!

Wend and Ash xxxxxx

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