Nelson Lakes

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Ahhhh, Nelson Lakes. You only have to look at the photos to realise why we love it here! We stayed at the camping ground (preparing for a cold night), and marveled at the lake with the jetty, with mountains as the backdrop.

The only thing that killed the moment, was sandflies. They are unforgiving and everywhere!

Everywhere you look there are ducks, baby ducks and more ducks. You actually don't need an alarm clock because at dawn the birds awake, and the ducks just call out to eachother over and over again. The ducks even follow you around the tent, to the car, and in the kitchen so you are always having to watch your step.

We went on a 5 hour hike by the lake, which seemed like a good idea at the time. Only after the first hour and a half of climbing unrelentlessly up hill did we question why we were there. The view was of Nelson Lakes and the whole surroundings was very much Lord of the Rings. I kept expecting Galdalf to come out from a bush. He didn't.

Nelson Lakes was amazing. It even rained on our last night in the tent, and somehow they made it even better, as the sound of rain hitting your tent (once you've realised you're still dry) is one of the best sounds in the world.

After two days at Nelson Lakes, we headed for Nelson town (about hour and half away). Nelson is one of the sunniest places in NZ, and funnily enough, one of the most livable. I can see why. The house we are staying in is one of the friendliest I have been to, and the beach and nice town helps! May stay forever.....well, at least three days.

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