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Sunday 6th May Another bright sunny day. (from here on, the words in this blog are taken directly from Marys' diary. Much more reliable than my memory as this is a retro blog)
Drove away from Nelson at 9.30am along completely changed waterfront: high tide had covered the rock formations, calm water - quite pretty but no chance to stop for a pic. Headed straight up a steep winding mountain road again in the Richmond Range pass and here we nearly got taken out by a speeding semi which came up behind us and had no intention of slowing down. Lucky there was a small 'pull over' on the verge of a hill pass and no sooner had I braked and pulled over he roared past and nearly swiped us off the edge! We were amazed at his speed going down the steep bends and not long after we past him backing into a lime quarry further down the hill. Apart from one other similar incident we only had good comments for the majority of Kiwi drivers.
Soon we came down into flatter farmland country and once again enjoyed the picture perfect green fields with cattle and sheep
grazing against the mountains.
Stopped for a coffee break (& recovery!) at a little town in Rai Valley where we enjoyed the warm hospitality that only country people seem to possess. This appeared to be a section of the road that must attract touring motor cyclists as several pulled in to the cafe while we were there and we later saw many more on the road. The road from here on was much the same, in and out of hilly country and long flats of pastures. Most enjoyable. Then on across the Pelorus River bridge with its scenic picnic spots and cafe. A great spot for trout fishing here!
At the town of Havelock we had a decision to make. There are two roads from Havelock to take to get to Picton. One is thru the mountains via Queen Charlotte Drive and the other, via a long southern route to Rapaura, across to Spring Creek thru the Marlborough Wine Region and turn north up to Picton. Both appealing!
We chose the scenic route via Queen Charlotte Drive (the name Charlotte always strikes a chord as my mother and grandaughter are so named) and because our advice from
our tour contact, Ron in Picton, told us that both routes took roughly the same time but he suggested the 'Charlotte' drive more worth the effort.
But first, we stop and enjoy Havelock, the "Mussel Capital" of NZ. What a charming little place. First we diverted down to the scenic marina and soon had the cameras clicking away at the stunning waterfront and boats where there is a huge commercial seafood industry (read mussels) which the fishing boats bring in from the numerous waterways in this lovely area. The town itself is so pleasant that we soon started to regret staying in Nelson for 2 nights. Instead, we could have stayed here and got stuck into the seafood. Later back in Christchurch we discovered that our friend and host Rosemarys' mother is buried here in Havelock. Had we known we could have payed our respects. Next time Rosemary.
In Havelock we were taken by the novel and attractive signs, cafes, and colourful little buildings that adorn the main street. This is clearly a town that knows it is good and their pride shows. We will come back here one day as there appears to be a great little
camper holiday park down by the marina. However, perhaps not in peak summer time..........autumn will do just fine!
So...you would think we have had enough of steep mountain driving but no, we opt to turn left out of Havelock and head on up into Queen Charlotte Drive to Picton. Good move.
From Marys' diary: Even more stunning scenery (and challenging driving) along cliffs overlooking QC Sound...brilliant sunshine, little fishing villages, lots of seals playing in the water below and boats carving their wakes out in the deep blue water far down below as far as the eye can see. Looking back from a vantage point just out of Havelock we got a great view of the town and marina with the sun in just the right spot, lovely.
Stopped for a picnic at a scenic lookout further around the Drive and reheated some leftovers on the camper stove and then just sat outside and enjoyed the view. We eventually had to keep going as we wanted to reach Picton with a few hours of day to spare.
Arrived in Picton fairly late and straight away booked into the local "Top 10" campervan Holiday Park. Lovely spot
and one of the best we have stayed in. This park is really nice and set up for families and single backpackers and has spotlessly clean toilets and shower facilities. Can't give it any better rap than that! Add in a "state of the art" waste dump station and in walking distance to the beautiful marina.....great. Oh! and forgot to mention this park has one really nice little facility...a small section in the camp kitchen set aside where you can 'offload' unused or excess food or kitchen items, groceries etc, that you can't take any further but are quite useable and unopened. This is , we assumed, because a lot of campers are terminating here and getting on the ferry or whatever! We donated some stuff and in the spirit of 'goodwill' liberated an unopened packet of crisps!
After parking in our spot we rang Ron and got directions to meet him at his place down on the waterfront only 10 mins walk away. Lovely afternoon but getting cool (cold!) Finally after working out our instructions we met Ron on the arched footbridge in front of his house. Very scenic waterfront and boats galore! After our introductions we wasted
no time in walking across the road to a nice cafe on the waterfront. A top bottle of wine later, we had in mind a feed of "Fush & Chups" and just by chance next door to the pub was a F&C shop. Perfect.
We then met Rons partner, Paula, as she came off the ferry from work and we all went back to their place on the waterfront for a drink (or 3) of wine and lapped up their stunning views of the marina out thru their lovely sunroom. We met their cat and talked over wine until it was time to go for F&C's. Farewelled Paula and went over the road to order Blue Cod and kamara chips. While waiting for the order, Ron, Mary & I strayed intro the adjacent Irish Pub.....could have stayed here much longer but the fish was waiting and the day coming to an end. Time to grab the feed and head off back to our cosy Crowded House. It was getting cold. Having not brought a jacket and still in a T shirt, it was a long walk back to the camper park which was really only 10 mins away.
The Blue Cod was delicious.
A great day. and one we shall not forget in a hurry.
Tomorrow, we head south to Hanmer Springs. See you on the way.
A&M.
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