Blogs from Nelson Region, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 9

After a lovely nights sleep I go out for a run this morning, along the seafront, back to Thunanui beach. I sit on the beach for a while and enjoy watching the early morning haze over the sea, with the mountains peaking above the haze in the background. I have a nice chilled day for once, making the most of wearing normal clothes and not walking attire. After doing some laundry and sorting my kayaking trip in Abel Tasman for a few days time, I enjoy fully exploring Nelson in the sunshine. The most notable points include the bead museum, filled with thousands of jars of beads - I was tempted to try and make something in there, but my creativity failed me, and my need for the toilet won, so I headed out to find ... read more

Wu slaapun in un tent. Dat is un soort huisju fan stof. Du tent is groen met greis. Hij is heul mooj, maar niet soo groot als ons huisju in Neederlant. Allu spullun passun ur in en wu kunnun ur allumal in liggun. Maar de fietsjus moetun buitun blijfun en ur sijn ook geen meubuls. Geen taful, geen stoelun en ook geen betjus. Wu slaapun in un heule groote sak. Firlu segt dat ut un slaapsak heet. Firlu heeft un matju waar su op ligt. Dirruk slaapt op du gront. Wij slapun liefur bij Firlu in du slaapsak, dat is feul sagter for onsu billutjus. Wu slapun heul faak in du tent, beinaa ieduru nagt. Dat findun wij heul leuk, want ut is fet spannunt en feul leukur dan slaapun in un betju. Als wu gaan ... read more

Today we met at 8:00 for breakfast tastefully prepared by Paulina. There was an assortment of homemade breads, muesli, jams and jellies, fruits. She offered us a Ginger, lemon and honey drink which was very good. Everything was made with good health in mind. Having only 1 full day in Nelson, we asked Paulina to give us some ideas and she had plenty. First on the list was a stroll through the Saturday Market which showed off the wares, art and food of the locals. It was small, but vey enjoyable. Next, we went to the Queen's Gardens where we saw a duck flotilla coming towards us expecting to be fed. Luckily for them were other people who obliged. The Gardens weren't overly large, but there were 12 different types of trees that were featured. In ... read more

We set off from Wellington bright and early and jumped on the Interislander ferry. The crossing was very calm which came as a surprise given the stories we had heard from previous trips. The ferry pulls around the headland from Wellington and crosses the sea fairly quickly. The next two hours are spent navigating through the Marlborough Sounds before pulling into a pretty little town called Picton. We had some great views when crossing as the water was really still and the sun was shining. We even saw a couple of dolphins pass by. Once we had reclaimed our rucksacks (yes - on a ferry in NZ you have to check-in your luggage) we found our Magic Bus waiting just outside the ferry office and set off for Nelson. The scenery had become endless fields of ... read more

Summer has finally arrived. I have dug out my shorts. The ferry trip from Wellington was very smooth. Which is Not always the case. The best is the last hour coming in through Queen Charlotte Sound. We are now in Nelson on the South Island. The sunniest region in New Zealand. Today was a planning day. Tomorrow we will drive up to Able Tasman Natl. park and do a coastal walk. We have experienced a earthquake when we were in Wellington. Nothing major but quite strange. Here are some images from our crossing yesterday As always Lowell... read more