Apple Stay Inn Nelson

A grey and rainy Wellington was welcoming us on Friday. This was after an exceptional and unsual 5 days of sunny sky in Tongariro. Not much to complain about when the Kiwis are all saying that so far it is a chilly summer. My "em route" companion, Adam, and I had one goal (or two) in mind: a nice local beer with a good meal. The usual reward after tramping for a few days. Also, I imposed to stay in Wellington until Sunday morning after the "game" (a disaster). After the ...

... br>What I listened to: Rabbit songs by Hem – a lovely pastoral folky album which is gently moves through its sixteen sweet numbers.

What I ate: Most of the Nelson supermarket’s supply of food, and a foot long vege delight sub. I have eaten this sandwich on three continents and it is always the same. For some this would be a bad thing but for me it was nice to know what I was getting and that I was getting what I wanted.

... After chilling on the beach and having some peanut butter sandwiches I continued my walk to Torrent Bay, meeting Rachael's guided hike and ended up getting a guided walk for free!! We eventually made our way back to the Aquataxi from Torrent Bay. I got home at 6pm, exhausted and spent the evening watching television with Chanelle and Lucy.

Nelson Day 44

Today I got up rather late, but headed over to the centre of New Zealand, from the top of the peak ...

... cooked on the BBQ later. For the record it quite good eating. Back to Nelson though and some more Stag/Hen parties to attend. We then celebrated Shelle's birthday and followed it up the next day with Dave and Shelle's wedding at the Mudcastle on a very hot summer's day. Another great event and fun night had by all. Highs: Dave and Michelle's wedding and the Golden Bay trip. Lows: Saying goodbye to some people for a wee while

... we stopped to admire the seals lounging in the sun and saw a blue penguin swim on by. We started at Tonga bay and walked all the way down the track for 5 hours to Anchorage bay where we caught the water taxi back. The walk afforded us some stunning views of the sea, beaches and inland of the national park. We were really glad that we had chosen the Abel Tasman park to trek in.

... to manhandling my rucksack on and off buses and ferries. I wasn't travelling Magic today, I had gone off route by going back to Nelson for my tramp, so  had booked myself onto a Southern Link to make the 2 hourjourney to Picton and the ferry. It was possibly the most uncomfortable journey to date. The bus was small and cramped and VERY bumpy and rattly ... It was also packed with the most miserable an sulky bunch of travelling teenagers I ...

... We went out to the National Tobacco Company building, which was bought privately and the main building given back to the trust. We went around a housing estate which was mainly art deco styles houses, with flat roofs and curved walls. The tour was fantastic and Yvonne had been really knowledgeable. Afterwards I went to the iconic Masonic Hotel and tried a kiwi burger. Normal cheeseburger but with an egg and beetroot in it, yum! Afterwards I took a walk along the ...

... where a cacatoes angry was trying to steal some food to all the tourist who where eating muffin. We eat the road then to Napier: a non really passionating town with a long beach and well a long beach of stone... I hire a bike in order to see if there was something else farer and I found a long beach of stone...

... arrived by Waka or War Canoe and headed up to where the performance would be. For an hour we were entertained by the tribesman who explained their culture, about their tattoos, about how they interacted with European settlers and did what Andrew had been looking forward to all night... THE HAKA. Andrew had always loved watching the University of Hawaii football team do the Haka and he was so happy to see it in person. I have to say it was a little bit scary as ...

... milliers d'oiseaux, la plupart avec des couvées. Le Vendredi, nous avons passé une bonne partie de l'après midi dans une salle d'escalade, notre nouveau hobbie! Les WC disposaient d'une douche et après 4 jours sans s'être lavés, ça tombait a pic! Ca fait du bien de se sentir propre. Vu que la plupart du temps nous faisons du camping en pleine nature, il n'y a pas de douches. Au final on s'y fait... Qund on commence a bien puer, on va voire les ...