Southward bound
Trip Start
Feb 11, 2008
1
43
58
Trip End
Jun 30, 2008
Nelson,
South Island,
New Zealand
Friday, May 2, 2008
The ferry trip, as with most across the world, was non descript until you approach the haze of land to the south which develops and comes into focus to become an incrediby beautiful abundance of towering cliffs, rocky inlets and blue, blue water! For the last hour of the trip we were struck by the majesty of the Charlotte Sound, clicking our camera at more and more gorgeous scenery. The damper came as we approached Picton when the heavens opened and rain fell sideways across the bay
Tony on the ferry to the South Island
. We pulled up at a campsite in Picton which was a bit like being in "hicksville" as there was only us and two American girls staying there as tourists, everybody else was a permanent resident and the various caravans, and even a battered bedford lorry converted into a wooden shack, sprouted satelitte disks and tv aerials. The following day when the rain blew away and the sun came out we drove Tilly along the Charlotte Drive, a near vertical climb, winding along the side of the hills with a sheer drop on our right straight into the Charlotte Sound beneath us- incredible!! We made our way along the coast in the direction of Nelson (one of the oldest established pioneer towns in the South and is a great little town, filled with colonial buildings and little cafes, restaurants and bars) where we wanted to stay at a campsite next to the Brook, a fast flowing river racing down from the hillside into the town. We parked up and took a lovely walk to the falls at the end of a short 45 minute walk and listened to the sound of the bell birds and the tuis, amongstthe other birdlife, singing their little hearts out! The Tui is one of the many protected birds in NZ, and here they were everywhere. Their song is a series of notes sang one after the other and is a delight to hear. The other birds we are glad to see more of are the blackbirds, which remind us of home, the cheeky sparrows who have NO fear of humans and will happily fly into the communal kitchens at the campsites and help themselves to the crumbs on the work surfaces. It's great to see so many yellow feathered kingfishers here too. They are often seen perched on the telphone lines near water and open fields as the kingfishers in NZ are not fussy what they eat and will take insects from fields and hedgerows as well as small fish from water. The other delight here in the south as well as the north are the hawks, which are usually seen picking on the dead possums which line every roadside, but they will flap up and glide away (usually in front of the van causing us to slow down rapidly) across the landscape.
