Nelson
Trip Start
May 07, 2008
1
56
90
Trip End
Jan 06, 2009
Nelson,
South Island,
New Zealand
Monday, October 20, 2008
Well, we left Murchison and made our way to our next destination: Nelson, for one night only. Nelson is named after Admiral Lord Nelson, no less. On the way to Nelson, Merve and Shirley highly recommended, almost insisted even, that we visit Abel Tasman on the way.
Abel Tasman is a 225sq km National Park on the South Island. It is a Walker's Paradise with forest treks lasting between 1 hour and 4 days where you can trek from one end of the Park to the other end. The whole park is also situated around endless golden beaches which is another big draw. You can birdwatch or climb up and look down over the ocean. You can take a small boat-taxi to nearby islands. You can kayak, cruise or sail the waters. Stunning place.
We got there and headed to a café for a cuppa while we discussed what to do
Bridge over the estuary at Tasman Abel
. Conclusion: a short walk through the Forest. However, the short walk was indeed so wonderful that this short walk turned into 3 hours. You had to cross the estuary via a long narrow bridge then you start to ascend the rough track through the forest with breath-taking views of the ocean and other islands along the way. We detoured down to secluded beaches where we came across beautiful birds who were nesting on the beach. The beaches were soft, deep, golden sand strewn with boulders and seaweed and beautiful seashells. (David: And the odd wigwam collection of flotsam)There were twists and turns on the forest track which took you over trickling streams, past scenic viewpoints with benches where you could sit and stare at miles of aquamarine ocean winking in the sun, past wading birds, past exotic flowers of eye-blinding colour. We passed slow strollers, fast power-walkers slurping energy drinks from tubes wrapped around their shoulders and emerging under their armpit sort of device! We passed old grannies gossiping in their Nike trainers and zip-up anoraks as they puffed and ambled up steep track, we passed groups of friends chatting as they jogged past, leaving us with a whiff of their body odour and shampoo.
By the time we returned to the café where our car was parked, we were knackered but armed with yet more fantastic blog photos
A big wading bird!
. (David: The start of the track consists of a large wooden building that you walk through. Makes it feel like you're about to go on a Disneyland ride.)We got to Nelson around 6pm and went straight to a Lonely Planet recommendation. Sussex House was fabulous Victorian house with creaky floorboards, a guest living room with a piano in it and shelves full of the Canterbury Tales, History of England and Shakespeare plays. The owners were both teachers and of English origin. They had lived for quite a while in France so they spoke fluent French and had a stack of French CD's for guests to enjoy. Lovely people. Although David will challenge this in the next couple of paragraphs!! (David: Will I?)
After we had checked in, we went for a walk in the Botanical Gardens on the way to a restaurant for dinner. The Gardens were stunning with exotic flowers, peaceful areas for contemplating life and a little bridge over the river where ducks congregated and begged for bread. Nelson is a lovely place. The situation is gorgeous, by the river and with a beach nearby. However, once again, 7pm and the place shuts down. It becomes a ghost town!! Bizarre. We eventually found a restaurant though - an indian restaurant. The food was absolutely delicious but the female waitress had never heard of Sag Paneer and when we told her that we had gone to India and eaten it there, we were met with confused looks and shoulder shrugs!!? Oooook..
2 birds having a natter on the beach
.The next morning, we had breakfast which was a simple continental while we listened to some French music on the stereo. I was in Heaven. David, the owner, came in and introduced me to Georges Moustaki, a French singer born in Egypt. Moustaki is a singer/song writer and his music is very poetic and just beautiful. David (the owner) was a great character - he got told off by his wife for wiping the CD with the breakfast tea towel!! Then my David and him got into a heated debate about the UK and immigrants as we were all having a discussion over breakfast about immigration around the world. Perhaps I should have been paying more attention but I was too busy listening and daydreaming to the beautiful French music blasting into my ears. So I will let David explain all to you. Be prepared: he may rant a bit!! (David: Ah, I see. No I won't rant. But he was a typical example of several English people we've met on our travels. Racist bigots. (Lois: Don't hold back, darling...!) He started by explaining to me that England has been ruined by immigrants and there is nothing 'English' left anymore. According to him, England has been ruined by the Blacks. Glossing over the fact that he was an immigrant himself living in New Zealand, I got one of his large English Empire books down and opened it on a page that showed a picture of a 'Traditional English Gentleman's Drawing Room'. I asked him, "Do you mean as Traditionally English as this?" He said: "Yes, exactly like that." At which point I took great pleasure in pointing out the following: The Indian elephant-foot umbrella stand; the Persian rug; the African masks on the wall; the turbans; the Moroccan lamps and the Chinese wallpaper
David and the horizon
. After also pointing out that 40% of English is made up of French words (my personal favourite) I then finished with the observation that England has always been a pretty cosmopolitan place (if cosmopolitan can include stealing stuff from around the world). In response to his disgust at 'blacks' swarming the country in the 50s I showed him a picture of a Jamaican platoon that fought in WWI for Britain (most of which died) and made the point that here is a nation that lay down their lives for Britain and were then invited into Britain to fill a labour shortfall only to be faced with racism and bigotry. What they deserved was respect and a thankyou. To give him his due, he did actually seem a little ashamed at this point. Anyway, end of rant.) (Lois: I agree with David but still think there are too many immigrants in the UK too!)Anyway, after Breakfast, we were still all friends!! And we checked out and headed onto our next destination: Picton, from where we would catch our ferry onto Wellington and the North Island.
Love, us xxxx
