Beaches Motor Inn Nelson

... towards Nelson. The Hertz desk recommended I take in the scenic Queen Charlotte Drive route and the views were jaw-dropping. Thanks Hertz &#8211; a good start to my South Island experience.<br><br>Working my way west via Havelock, where I stopped for a coffee (again with a chocolate treat &#8211; so it definitely wasn't my charm!), I arrived in Nelson late afternoon and took a stroll around town. The town and region is ...

... bed at low tide and getting our feet wet again. It wasn't all bad, of course: it was still beautiful and we saw plenty of cool stuff, like Cleopatra's Pool, a big pool formed by a mountain stream surrounded by granite boulders and rock formations. If it hadn't been winter I would have jumped right in, and as it was I was tempted, but the water was frigid. When we finally got to the next hut, we found two people already there (the second and third Americans I've met so ...

We made our way to the Interislander ferry early Thursday morning. It was a large but efficient endeavor to get all the vehicles checked in and lined up to board the very large ferry. Finally it was our turn to drive up the metal ramp and Jessica exclaimed "Gotta get those cheeky bulls on the big metal ship Mrs. Boss!" (Australia movie reference)... very funny and very appropriate. Unfortunately, weather was not ideal and we had a lot ...

... inviting bays to swim in, some with turquoise coloured waters, interesting rock formations like arches and caves. There are also loads of shags and other sea birds plus fur seal pups oozing cuteness. The paddling was easy and most people could do it. The campsites were basic and well sited and all by a beautiful, beautiful beach. Many people walk or kayak the Abel Tasman in 3 or 4 days or you can just do a one day section. There are many ways of doing it and ...

We arrived in Nelson ahead of schedule as we were bundled into an express bus and checked into Fern Lodge. It was a nice pub hotel with a good hostel attached to it. We spent the afternoon walking around the town and saw the gothic cathedral which we were not too keen on. We saw the goldsmiths where the 'One Ring' was forged from the Lord of the Rings films. A short walk up a ...

From Greymouth we headed further north towards Able Tasman National Park. On the way we stopped at Punakaiki to see the pancake rocks. The Pancake Rocks that Punakaiki is famous for, are limestone formations that began forming 30 million years ago, when lime-rich fragments of dead marine creatures were deposited on the seabed, then overlaid by weaker layers of soft mud and clay. The seabed was raised above ...

... Sounds fahert, musste ich dann leider Picton und all die anderen Orte ignorieren (neein, fuer den Rueckweg aufheben) und bin direkt nach Nelson gefahren, wo Petra (eine Freundin von der Sprachschule) schon im Doppelzimmer (noch mehr Luxus) auf mich gewartet hat. Am naechsten Tag haben wir uns dann mit einem Wassertaxi zum Abel Tasman Treck bringen lassen. Leider konnte ich den Taxifahrer nicht ueberzeugen mir seinen Job zu geben :-( (kleines ...

... one of which looked liked it was the set from Jurassic park and to be honest was just colossally cool! Easily my highlight of the morning.  We stoped in a little town (there are SO many of them here) which was fully of dreadlocked hippies and tie dye shops before going to the pier to get on a boat. The water was rough and therefore we got chucked about really badly, it was not fun, listening to one of the people chunder for a few hours wasn't great either! However the ...

... haben, hi** muss man bei Ebbe durch. Auch an diesem Tag sind mir recht viele Tagesausfluegl** entgegengekommen. Die Boote fahren doch recht viele Straende an, ist zwar fu** die Tagesaufluegl** gut (da sie sich so mehr v**teilen), ich haette ab** nichts gegen we***** Ausfluegl** einzuwenden gehabt (und dabei ist sogar noch Wint**saison...). Habe dann meinen Campground doch recht frueh **reicht, haette sogar noch die zweite Tidenueb**qu**ung machen koennen ...

... br>Maar een beetje saai vond ik het toch ook vaak wel. Ondanks dat alles mooi en prachtig is.... neh, denk niet dat het echt mijn nieuwste hobby worden gaat.<br>Erika had me met haar Zwitserse bergwandelstokken op het eind zelfs ingehaald en het laaste stuk liepen we samen op. Eindelijk: in de verte het cafe dat het einde van de Tasman markeerde!! Maar hier wat ik toch heb geleerd: trek aan het einde van zo'n tocht nooit je schoenen uit, hoezeer je er ook naar snakt. Mijn blaren ...