New Zealand - Nelson

Unfortunately the weather seemed to follow us all the way to Nelson on our afternoon bus, with one slight alteration- it got a LOT colder. First stop in Nelson to get myself a hat; it really was that cold.

After that essential action we sorted out our next day trip to Abel Tamsen National Park, named after the Dutch explorer of similar name. We did however end up feeling slightly deflated, as we realised we weren’t going to have any chance to venture around Nelson and see what it’s like- another downfall to planning everything in advance.

Anyway from this point on you will be glad to know I have a guest writer for this entry- Jenny.

The day of our walk at the Abel Tamsen dawned misty but dry. Thankfully it wasn’t too cold; after an unsuccessful frantic search for a cheap fleece the afternoon before, I had nothing warm but my 6 layers + waterproof. We had a very informative 1 - 2 hour long bus journey to Kaiteriteri, during which I tried desperately to stay awake to listen to the driver- a very interesting, knowledgeable and passionate Kiwi. On arrival at Kaiteriteri the boat took us to Anchorage Bay. A little stomach lurching for us both but there was a cute dog to distract us. By this point it was raining, and it was with some trepidation that I stepped onto the yellow sand. The walk took us through the bush and up to the hills, this being the hardest section of the path, though giving great views of the surrounding area. A little breathless after trying to keep up with Richard (as usual) we hit level ground and the path continued this way for the remainder of the walk.



The time passed quickly with the stimulating conversation I kept up with Rich. Joke. Communication was difficult with him half a mile in front of me, and with our matching waterproof hoods up. The only challenging parts were when we left the main path to Marahua for a couple of the bays that line the track, the kind which on a beautiful summer day you could easily lose hours on. In the drizzle, we lost probably only about 10 minutes on each. Having only seen a few other walkers, the beaches felt very remote and very wild, and very beautiful. We sat on the rocks on one to eat our hummus and lettuce sandwiches (again), whilst being watched by a very big seagull.



Near the end of the walk we bumped into a bunny. The cute, cuddy kind. It was happily munching on grass on a path, and had no problem with our presence, even when we stood right next to it. It didn’t seem to be blind or deaf, it was fully grown, plump, with glossy black fur and I’m sure I could have picked it up. So. Either NZ has very tame, fluffy wild black rabbits, or we walked away from someone’s long lost pet.



Four and a half hours and approximately 13km later we were still feeling good, if a little wet and cold. Being such an easy walk the time passed very quick. We had passed through thick, lush bush and over beautiful waterfalls. The only sounds were the sea, the rain dripping through the leaves and the very occasional bird. The end of the walk brought us out into the open and over a couple of long wooden bridges over shallow water. We had about an hour or so to kill before the bus picked us up. A quick walk through an interesting sculpture and carving garden, opposite which was a warm looking café for a much needed hot chocolate..

Back to the cosy hostel for yet more (but free) hot chocolate and cake for our last night in Nelson. Shame about not being able to spend more time here, but up early tomorrow for the long, long journey to Franz Josef.