Blogs from Nelson Region, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 42

In the words of Catherine Tate's nan ... "WELL!!!" But it's OK. We're alive. We survived. You might not have been worried but for a while we didn't think we'd ever see you again. Here's the tale of Wednesday 1 March in our own words ... An energetic day in store - "3-in-1 Adventure Day" along the Marlborough Sounds (Queen Charlotte Sound to be precise). Jet-skiing, sea-kayaking and mountain biking. Grand. Left our oasis of calm at 7am and drove to Picton to meet up with Nigel (owner) and Craig (guide) who were to be our sole companions for the day. Kitted up in wetsuits again (could almost grow to like them - not) and off to the harbour for adventure #1: jet-skiing, a first for both of us. Whoooopeeeeee. Fun. Lots of. And a baptism ... read more

The first thing I'd say about driving up the west coast is WATCH OUT FOR the sand flies! They are annoying little hard black bugs that spring up on your legs as you dance in a phone booth trying to shake them off. Their bites are more itchy than mosquito bites, and stay for more than a week. Once one starts to itch you find yourself standing like a monkey scratching here and there. Why a phone booth? We drove up from Queenstown, booked a room at Hopitika, and had to call back to confirm at 6pm but there was no reception. For two more hours, no reception. AT Haast the places were filled with some sort of conference of farmers (?!?) aand advised us that all places were booked. So we tried our long distance ... read more

Our wonderful secluded bach on the beach What to say? Warm, sunny, alone on a remote beach we had to do what we liked. We kayaked, collected cockles and ate them, catered for ourselves with amazing sunsets. Amazing sunrises with similar for the new moon - an August moon for us. Three days of bliss. (Although the weather was custard for the middle day allowing us to explore in our rented car up to Farewell Spit and the usual touristy things. Lovely. (Photos later)... read more

I know it's been a long time since my last blog, It seems I start every blog this way. Where too begin? We've continued having a blast, seen some great places and just had tons of fun. We left Taupo and headed to Napier on the east coast. It's a place known for Art Deco architecture, wineries and fruit orchards. We spent four nights just lounging around, walking around town, and going to wine tasting at a few wineries. Dave had stayed behind in Taupo because he had taken the van to Napier while we did the three day hike in Tongariro National Park. But we had a substitute ready, Dani who we met at the Beachouse in Fiji was working at the Stables backpackers so we decided to stay there. She was a good sub, ... read more

We're having a much-needed lazy Sunday today - recovering from the carnage that was the Wellington Rugby Sevens tournament....also known as the world's biggest fancy dress party! See future blog.... No where we we...? Oh yes, we'd just finished the Queen Charlotte Track and were getting on a bus to Nelson for new year. You'll be glad to know that I'm in no mood to go into detail with this blog so here's a quick summary of our wee Hogmanay holiday in Nelson. We were invited by a friend of mine from work called Lotty and her fiance Brett who were invited themselves by Lotty's old work mate Sally who now lives in Nelson and we'd never met before. Sally and her hubbie Mike had stayed a day longer at their bach (holiday house) on the ... read more