Orange Apartments Nelson

... town a couple of hours away. When we got there it was heading toward sundown, but we decided to attempt to grab another lift anyway. We struck out and ended up having to stay a night in Nelson, which was all right. The next day we got up bright and early and went back out to our chosen spot on the edge of town, stuck out our thumbs and within two minutes someone stopped and offered us a ride all the way to Blenheim, another hour or so away. I ...

... travelers) to come and stay with them, usually on a farm. The visitors work and do anything the hosts need in exchange for room and board. So, we spent the day contacting people in the area hoping that we wouldn't have to leave the South Island just yet. After no luck, we decided we need to keep moving and we headed to Picton.

WE REALLY DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE THE SOUTH ISLAND!!! It's soooo incredible!

... to the recommended 'Tail of the Dragon' for some fun. I went for a run for an hour round the village. The showers weren't a concern to me, infact that and the scenery reminded me of cross country running at school in the UK. In the evening the hosts at the lakeside lodge B&B cooked us a delish 3 course meal with wine. Salmon and home grown vegtables. To top it off the Sav Blanc and Resling was wonderful, served at the perfect temperature. Yummy.

... Bay (a pebbly beach) and then heading to Kaiteriteri, which is the first of many golden sandy beaches along that section of coast, where we stayed for the rest of the afternoon. This was our last day in New Zealand (Day 31) and we spent the evening in the apartment packing our cases.

Just arrived in Nelson. Frank left on Wednesday to cross to the North Island. he caught a fish yesterday on the Manawatu river. I will be here for four nights. Tonight there is an art and craft fair in town and I will get to it! Had a wonderful day yesterday being guided around by Fran. We went to Havelock for lunch on the sound- the ...

... hoping for more luck only to happen across signs for Split Apple Rock. We'd heard this was worth seeing and so we followed them, parked up and walked the five minute trail down to the beach. This was well worth it and revealed a massive round boulder split almost exactly in half and deposited - as perfectly as if placed there deliberately - on a plinth of rocks just off the beach. It was nearly 6 now and we had the beach to ourselves so we walked along ...

... of when we were taking a taxi and the door fell off as we were speeding down an old dirt road. haha. But it did the trick...it got us from Picton to Nelson with no problems. The last half-hour of the drive was really neat. It reminded me of driving to Tofino in B.C. It was one of the windiest and curviest roads I've ever been on. A constant zig-zag on the edge of a mountain going downhill in this little naked bus! haha. But the last part of the ...

... by Kiwis the banter was great! They even saw the funny side when I told them all to stand and show some respect during 'God Save the Queen' as she is their Queen too....! Christchurch is perhaps the most 'english' of NZ's cities and Sarah was delighted when we stumbled upon The Twisted Hop ale house. Despite having never tried traditional hand pulled ales before Sarah insisted I sampled a few just so I knew why she enjoys her Sundays in the Town Street ...

... frolicking in the sea I boarded. Its a three hour journey to Picton and most of that time I was outside on the starboard deck dolphin watching. They were extra playful; jumping around, splashing, diving around the ferry's wake (apparently they can double their speed in a ships wake). The cheeky scamps were hard to photograph though. They'd come up for a few seconds then disappear as quickly. At Picton I caught my Intercity bus (equivalent to the UK's National Express ...

... took the road over the Crown Range, stopped for a coffee at the Cardrona Hotel, and approached Wanaka along the Cardrona Valley, which provided a spectacular approach view of the lake. Here I felt the need once again to get on the water. Dorota once again resisted, so I booked up a jet boat ride for one at the excellent Wanaka 'iSite', (which I now realise is not an optician, but a tourist information centre). 30 minutes later I was jet ...