Blogs from Nelson Region, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 10

Went in to Nelson town today as they have a weekly market, it was full of crafts and foody stuff so we had a good time. The sun was shining and it felt warm, the first day of summer. We then drove out to a winery that is owned by a friend of Richards. There are about 20 acres or more of vines producing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling. We sampled some and bought some, and our hosts helped us with our travel plans for the South Island the name of the vineyard is called Greenhough and its sold in the UK so look out for it. We then made our way back to the beach and enjoyed a bit of sunbathing the first in New Zealand. Returned to Nelson and booked up a ... read more

This converted church of ales is worth a visit..Tastefully converted with a selection of NZ beers & get this..the staff will order you takeaway delivered to the bar - it did seem to be mainly locals though so we did stick out... read more

Wow, it is sooo green here and it's raining!!! Haven't seen rain like this since I left in March. Funny the things you miss. Was listening to Kim Hill on National Radio this morning at the European Book Fair where she was interviewing one of the key people who put the NZ Pavillion together. So much of the writing that comes from NZ is rooted in our passionate relationship with the landscape. That just rang a bell with me and is so true. How I miss the sea, the hills, the look of the landscape. Should that stop me from leaving here and exploring different parts of the world? No, because I can always come home to this magnificent beautiful country of ours. Took 6 days and went to League City just south of Houston and ... read more

I headed off early this morning for the long journey back across the South Island to Wakefield nr Nelson, where I was staying for the night before getting the ferry the next day. This route pretty much took me back across the way I had come the day before but using the more northern route of the Lewis Pass! Firstly I headed up the coast before cutting inland. The terrain on this route was amazingly very different to Arthurs Pass. The land was rolling green hills like a higher and steeper version of the Quantock Hills. The Lewis Pass cut through large pine forests before climbing up over the mountains and back down to the northern coastline where Nelson is situated. On the way I saw loads of signs saying Stop Didymo and Frack Free Canterbury ... read more

Saturday 5th May We were up early on Saturday morning to drive in from the Tahuna Beach Holiday Park to the centre of Nelson to go to the much celebrated morning markets. Didn't need an alarm, the aircraft taking off over our van woke us up! This is why we made our "mad dash" up from Kokitika yesterday and in doing so we missed out on seeing some places that we originally had hope to see. We had read in quite a few different places that the Nelson Sat markets were "the best...etc". So in need of some last minute gifts before we went home we decided to give it a go! We got going early as we wanted to take Crowded House into the town and park somewhere near the markets and had discussed with ... read more