Blogs from Nelson, Nelson Region, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 26

Day 64 An early start - we got a bus to the ferry terminal where we caught the ferry headed for the South Island! It was a really scenic trip. Once on the otherside, we got on the Kiwi bus that was awaiting us and stopped for some lunch at a little swimming spot. Stuart braved the water, then we headed to Nelson. It is a really pretty little town and we wanted to stay an extra night but the next bus was full so we could only stay one night. We had dinner in the bar and did some wine tasting. The girl was just reading the labels on the bottles but we weren't complaining as she gave us loads of each wine! It was funny. ... read more

the longer i am in this country the more i think everyone here is simply prone to gift giving. i don't mean gift giving in a material sense....i mean they are consistently imparting little life gifts. after melissa left i flew from auckland to nelson (on the south island) to meet up with michelle again, but had to wait for a few days before she could make it to nelson. at any rate, i have spent the past 2 nights with an great family!! marcus, jane, and 'wee' annabelle, oh an profit (the dog). remember rhondda and john....marcus is rhondda's son. he has the same sort of enthusiam for life that rhondda has. jane and marcus are both teachers....incredibly welcoming and warm....it's encouraging that they are teaching this country's young people. 'wee' annabelle is their new ... read more

Happy New Year from sunny New Zealand! Hope you all have a great 2006 with lots of fun and adventures! Well I left Australia behind and have just spent 10 days in the north island of New Zealand. I met up with my Dad in Auckland and it is nice to have some company for the next month. Auckland was a bit wet but since then the weather has been glorious! Enjoyed a nice meal in the revolving restaurant of the sky tower in Auckland, went on a hole in the rock cruise in the Bay of Islands and spent Christmas in Rotorua. Christmas Day was lovely we went on a cable car, did a luge ride, patted baby lion cubs at Paradise Valley and went to a Polynisian thermal Spa! Boxing Day we went out ... read more

Med farjan "Blueridge" aker vi over sundet till sydon. Nu har vi tankt borja vandra mer intensivt och beger oss direkt till "Sunny" Nelson dar det regnar. Vi tar in pa vandrarhem, eftersom det inte finns nagon campingplats. Vi driver runt lite pa byn, provianterar och kollar pa sevardheterna. Har bor bland annat guldsmeden som gjorde "Ringen". Han hade en mycket liten och oansenlig butik. Trots att den mycket glade vandrahemsinnehavaren intensivt onskar att vi ska fa lite solsken innan vi drar vidare blir det tyvarr inte mycket av den varan.... 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