Blogs from Nelson Region, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 45

Hello again from Takaka, Lots of pictures in this one, so be sure to click on "Full Entry". I've spent a few days at the Shambhala hostel, and it's been a truly rejuevenating experience. As I mentioned before, it's a totally self sufficient place. It relies solely on environmentally friendly methods: composting toilets, rainwater collection for water, wood burning stoves, and solar power. The owner, Jon, is a practising Buddhist and has built the hostel, (including a yoga/meditation room) in a very unobtrusive way. The result is an extremely peaceful and natural setting that promotes a lot of great conversation between guests. The actual hostel is about half way between the towns of Takaka and Collingwood on the Golden Bay. These small towns are actually just a row of shops along the main roadway. They serve ... read more

We'd found a hostel in the Lonely Planet that was a short walk from the beach, and headed straight down to the beach for our first sunbathing session. It was a great beach and we lazed around for a few hours watching the kite surfers and doing crosswords but not venturing into the water as it was freezing! One of Lin's goals coming to New Zealand was to do a Paraglide. Having done parasailing in Bay of Islands, this was the next step and she arranged for a trip with Nelson Paragliding. Her instructor Stuart drove us from the Hostel to the jump site in his 4wd jeep. He told me if they lost height during the glide, I'd have to drive it down the steep road on the hillside (fun and scary at the same ... read more

17.11.05 Got up and went back into town to try and spend some money, as had no luck yet. Got some bottoms then went for our ferry to the south island. Mel was worried as we had been told it was a very rough crossing. It was very calm. It took us through the Marlborough Sounds which were pretty. It took us 3 hours 20. Arrived in Picton and I (me not Andy) went to get my hair trimmed. Then got settled into our site. 18.11.05 Woke up to Andy singing happy birthday, got my card and pressie (wallet) from Andy. Drove the 2 hours to Nelson along the coast of the Marlborough sounds, stopping frequently to admire and take photos of the beautiful bays and landscape. Arrived in Nelson and had a walk around town ... read more

We dragged ourselves away from the creature comforts of Louise's accomodation and headed for the South Island via the ferry to Picton. We got the coach from there to Nelson and made plans for our epic journey along the Abel Tasman coastal track Great Walk.... read more

Well, we said goodbye to Wellington, and now we're down on the South Island for the remainder of the trip. Our first stop was to Nelson Lakes National Park, the first park you come to on the South Island when coming from the North Island. This place was deserted since it was still Spring conditions, and there was quite a bit of snow on most of the slopes(we found out the hard way). We came over on the ferry last Sunday and stayed the night in the village of St. Arnaud, got up early the next morning and started the 1,000 metre ascent of Mt. Robert. Mt. Robert used to be a ski field, but was closed due to it "remoteness." It's a two hour hike from the base of the mountain to get to where ... read more