Nelson Excursion

Greetings and Happy 4th.

Today is a lovely sunny day (though Bob tells us a cold front is moving in and we are indeed still in winter for 2 months... bugger). We are taking the sunshiney day as an opportunity to do laundry! We haven't tried the washing machine yet. I have washed towels and a pair of pants in the sink but the washing machine will be a new treat I am sure. As soon as Brian gets out of the shower I will have someone teach us how it works. Then of course we hang them up to dry. I have seen others do laundry and I think that it washes and spins but does not dry, so we have a clothesline.

We are also cleaning up the room and reorganizing our stuff because we returned last night from an overnight, 2 day excursion to Nelson and Picton. We left Monday morning around 10 (after I had a delightful gmail chat conversation with Hillary and Brent simultaneously... like the good old days, only on a computer this time). We drove past Renwick, the small town closest to the vineyard and on through Havelock. We stopped here for coffee and to get some maps at the I center. There are little information shops all over this country. Havelock is known for its mussels, FYI.

After Havelock we proceeded toward Nelson. It is only about 100km away but it took a bit longer than anticipated because of the windy mountain roads, the lack of power steering and frequent pull overs for sightseeing and letting those who drive faster pass. Brian is doing very well driving on the wrong side of the road and man-handling the steering around the tight little turns of the mountain roads. We occasionally made scared faces when we met huge logging trucks on tiny turns or narrow bridges but we made it to all destinations safely. I am still building up the courage to drive... I think I can handle a trip into Blenheim. So that will be my next obstacle to conquer.

Nelson is situated on the northwest part of the south island, on the Tasman Bay (howlout to Wolf Taffy). We missed the first roundabout leading us straight into town so we kept driving along the coast and stopped at a beach where we ate our lunch (Brian's homemade egg salad-- the mayo here is no miracle whip or even anywhere close to having flavor so he added lots of spices and it was yummy). After lunch we went to the Japanese Garden which is a public garden that was donated to Nelson by its sister city in Japan. It was absolutely beautiful and peaceful. There was a light rain so the picture-taking light was perfect. We spent almost an hour there just walking around on all the bridges and stepping stones and enjoying the atmosphere. We then drove to a cemetery which overlooked the bay. GORGEOUS. I found it interesting how it was divided up by denominations. There were some old stones and amusing names.

After the garden and cemetery, we visited Founders Brewery, just down the road. It is the only certified organic brewery in New Zealand. We enjoyed a tasting of their 4 beers (all of which we BOTH enjoyed) while waiting for a tour. The two young men running the show were friendly and knowledgeable (and ladies: attractive! so come visit!). We then ventured to the main part of town and saw a movie. Brian agreed to see the chick-flick if I promised not to make him watch The Notebook. I agreed. So we saw Starter for 10, a British film. And he even liked it. HA. We walked around the corner to a Thai Fusion restaurant... delicious! Then we drove around and found a cozy residential street to park and sleep in the cramped back of the Hilux. I fit pretty perfectly, Brian was a little tall to sleep comfortably but we managed.

Tuesday morning we drove back to the center of town for breakfast at a cafe on the river (which was nearly empty during breakfast and was much fuller as we left town a few hours later because the tide had come in). We walked around town, stopping in some shops and visiting the Anglican Church on top of a hill. Then we headed to the site of the first rugby game in NZ and up a trail to the centre of NZ. It was sort of a biggest ball of twine attraction, but there was a lovely view of the city on the bay. We went back to the Japanese garden to enjoy our lunch and see how different it looked in the sunlight. I preferred it the previous day in the rain.

On the way back home we took the scenic route to Picton. It was a winding road in the mountains, with cliff lookouts to the water. Beautiful blue water. We walked around Picton, read magazines in the library (our cards are good there too, and we can return books to either Picton or Blenheim... so cool) ate ice cream cones, visited shops, and then went to dinner. We went back to Le Cafe, the restaurant owned by Peter who is friends with Marj and Bob. We drank a bottle of wine and enjoyed some warm bread and pasta as well as a great conversation with Peter. Brian will likely be playing and singing at the cafe now and again this year.

After dinner we planned to park in a public lot in Picton that advertised camper vans should park there but we then saw more signs saying overnight parking was not allowed. So we went back home the vineyard and stayed up til almost 10--the latest night of our stay so far. Whoo.

Well it is time to figure out the washing machine and perhaps upload some photos. Our Nelson excursion was really fun and we look forward to the next little trip.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July, may you survive will all body parts intact.

Cheers!