A Little Manor Nelson

... i neonati. Il giorno successivo
andiamo a camminare nell' Oparara Basin. E' una zona al nord ovest dove
si concentra una fitta vegetazione e dove la potenza del fiume ha
scavato un arco naturale. In questa zona la presenza delle SandFlies
non ci da tregua. La sandflies sono piu' piccole delle zanzare,
assomigliano a moscerini e per questo non gli dai molta importanza ma
in realta' sono molto piu' fastidiose delle zanzare perche ...

... museum. I can thoroughly recommend the cafe's bacon and egg pannini though!

From Havelock it's only 70km to Nelson, our stop for the night. We were there before 3pm, and checked in to Trailways Hotel at the side of the Maitai River. It was nice to be able to wander round the town before they closed the place for 5pm! Some of the shops were getting a jump start though as it's Labour Weekend coming up (so Monday is a national holiday). I am seriously glad we're in a ...

... about Maori life and answered all our questions. No photos allowed though. Was awesome!! Played games. Played poker til 1am! Then tried to sleep, but we were all sleeping in one room and someone had horrific snoring, so it took a while to get to sleep!
9th July - Had eggy bread for breakfast mmm. Then got the coach to Rotorua. Dumped our bags at the hotel. Went to the supermarket. Then went to Whakarewarewa pronounced ****adaywadaywa. Saw geisers! And hot ...

... with a river running through forests with a sheer rock face. One part of the road was carved into the rock, so there was a huge overhang over the car. We stopped for lunch in a park in Lyell, where we got attacked by sandflies and chickens tried to steal our food. We passed fields, sheep, cows and deer before reaching Motueka. It was pouring with rain, but we found a nice hostel and had pasta bake for dinner.

... we took the "long way" as the sites on our drive through Picton and beyond were completely breathtaking. This is one of their key wine regions and it was even more beautiful then Napa in my opinion. We eventually arrived in Nelson and have paused here for a nice cafe lunch and sweets and then to the grocery to stock up a bit. Tomorrow we head to Abel Tasman National park for a two day/overnight hike and kayak adventure! Sweet As!

... from all over the globe hung around the whole place. It had a really homey feel with a great fireplace... so it was a good spot to stop for a few days until the rain stopped. We used their bikes one day and cruised around a bit... After a few days there we drove north again to Nelson. (lots of driving in the last week!) Nelson is part of the Malbourogh Wine District and is also the start off point of the Abel Tasman ...

... OIT de Takaka., que esta a uns 10 kms+-. Farem una ruta a traves d'un bosc on s'enregistraren escenes de LOTR, Mount Evans. Es una ruta sense asfaltar, el bosc es una estranya combinacio de formacions rocoses i diversos arbres i arbustos. Es bonic. Tambe es fan excursions amb mountainbike. Malauradament el temps no ens acompanya i, comenca a ploure molt.... per tant, en comptes de fer una caminada pel bosc, visitarem les coves "Ngarua Caves", plenes d'estalactites i ...

... sleep on a mattress right next to the other person. 7 people in a row all together on 2 levels. 14 people in one room. It's a giant bunk bed. But I bagged the mattress next to the wall, he he and poor Paul (sorry dear) had to sleep practically touching an Israeli guy. There's nothing like getting to know someone. The Israeli couple were fun. I hate to make sweeping generalisations, but seriously, every single one we've met has been demanding and over bearing. One girl we met ...

... only punctuated by birdsong, the odd lamb and the sound of growing fruit (we were on a fruit farm!). After locating our accommodation, our lovely host and his son came to chat to us for a while before we got settled in and starting dinner. The lodge was beautiful - overlooking an orchard with hills in the background, and surrounded by nothing but greenery and animals. Real rural idyll. After dinner and packing, we went to bed ready for our early morning ...

... to set eyes on New Zealand (and my home state of Tasmania for that matter) in 1642, the national park has a very popular three day bushwalk around the coast’s bays and inlets. I decided to venture along the southern end of the track for an hour or so to get some exercise. The check-in and check-out logbooks in the information hut were filled with the names of walkers, the date and time and where they were ...