Nelson – Phyllis

Our time in New Zealand is winding down and I think we felt it on the drive up to Nelson. We made our second quick pas through Christchurch in our figure eight tour of the south island and hit the road early for the 400 km trip up north.

The Drive

In Canada, you’d say that’s a 4-hour drive. Not so much here. There is a bit of a nice, modern motorway near Christchurch but after that its back to narrow, winding roads with constant warnings to slow down for sharp curves. Its rally car driving at its finest. In the pouring rain.

We took the coastal route on the way up. Driving next to an ocean is always nice. There is a train track running along parts of the road near Kaikōura with numerous tunnels. Even the roadway had a few short tunnels. We agreed that if the rail line was not in use, there was great potential for another trail to rail trail because of the scenery and the numerous tunnels.

We have tried to eat and drink local offerings along the way. Most of the time its all good. Sometimes the name of a treat, alone, should be sufficient warning to reconsider your choice. A store clerk recommended something called a “Nerdy Nana”. Imagine a thick, yellow, gooey, children’s banana flavoured medicine blob lightly covered in chocolate that chewed like stale gum that had subsequently gotten damp. Truly disgusting!

Its impossible to visit every town along the way. We did not get up to Picton, where the ferry from Wellington comes in, but we did pass through Blenheim. What we saw of it was newer and it was the start of the vineyards and wineries.

Nelson

Once we were in Nelson, we spent a few hours checking out the golf course and winery we planned on visiting the next day and spent a while just sitting on a beach.

One of Stephen’s friends, Alex, joined us for a couple of days. This was planned, more or less, on his last trip through Calgary. As his timing worked out, he was on his way to a conference in LA and we were quite pleased that he managed to squeeze in a few days with us.

Alex Hard at Work and Relaxing on the Boat

A Golf Game

The north end of the island has been experiencing a drought, so water restrictions are in place. There had even been a significant fire in the Nelson area while we were in the Otago region. The golf courses in the area were the brownest I have ever seen. It was dryer than Anglemont in the toughest of summers. Little puffs of dust rose up when the ball hit the ground or skittered along after a poor hit. The greens were OK.

The course layout was a bit scattered with various holes crossing each other as the designer crammed 18 holes into too small a foot print (two repeating 9’s with different tee boxes). The first three holes had incredible views of the ocean. The rest of the course was exceptionally hilly. The ninth hole was down, around a dog leg and up and down again, then up to an elevated green with sharp downhill slopes on every side. Thankfully, I don’t count my hits. I shone on the fourth hole, though. It was about 145 yards and I actually hit the green. Ken and Alex did not.

We followed the golf game with lunch and a “premium” tasting at Gravity Winery. Our host was a young fellow born in Calgary, raised in Vancouver, educated at VIU in Nanaimo, who was now on a work visa in New Zealand. We sampled a dozen wines, mostly whites and light reds. The area is not hot enough for the types of red wines that we generally enjoy. I had a Burrata Salad for lunch. Not quite as delightful or colouful as the one I had in Split, but still very good.

Alex took a work-related call afterwards, while Ken and I enjoyed a coffee on the patio.

Sailing

The Abel Tasman National Park lies just west of Nelson. I thought the easiest way to see the best of the park would be to take one of the sailing trips up the coast. Our planned cruise was for four and a half hours with a beach lunch.

Regrettably, it rained on the way up and, of course, dried up on the way back. Ken and I did manage a brisk hike up a ridge and down to another bay and made it back to the boat on time.

Onboard the boat we chatted with a couple who had managed a sheep station for a few years. The fellow had worked on farms in the Kamloops region and the NW US. There was a German family on board who I am sure we saw on Waiheke Island near Auckland three weeks earlier. It was their three children, in particular, that I remembered.

With the brighter weather on the return trip, Alex attempted to have a nap on the cargo netting at the front of the boat. It was still a tad chilly so he had to give up and ended up chatting with the rest of us.

It is possible to take the boat one way and hike the other. On a better day, I think that would have been a pleasant option, but not so much on a cool, rainy, windy day.

By dinner time, the weather was pleasant enough to have dinner on a patio in downtown Nelson. We opted for Italian with the ‘Capo’ chasing away tourists who just plopped themselves down at tables and yelling orders to the young waitresses. It was another good lamb night for me and I enjoyed watching the Capo’s entertaining control of the restaurant.

On to Christchurch

Out last day with Alex was spent driving back to Christchurch. We came down through the interior of the island and stopped at Mariua Falls and at Hanmer Falls for lunch. Once in Chch it took a bit of footwork to find a place for dinner. The city is deceptively quiet but there were large bookings at several restaurants. Odd for a Sunday evening. We enjoyed Alex’s company, his insights and his sense of humour while he was with us.

Next Post – Christchurch