Leaving Wellington...
The morning was quite windy so the top viewing deck was closed when we were out in open water...
As we moved closer we sailed through small islands that reminded us of sailing with the BC ferries...
When we arrived in Picton we boarded our bus for another couple of hours until we reached our destination being the city of Nelson. There were vineyards as far as we could see as this is another wine region...
Beautiful rivers...
Cute little towns, this one was known for its seafood...
Arriving in Nelson we were not surprised to realize that our accommodation was again on the top of a steep hill! Here is the view from the patio which is surrounded by a very lush garden...
Up and down every day...
Nelson is a city of about 50,000 and is known for the natural beauty which surrounds it...
These are the views from a lookout in town called the Center of New Zealand, so called because it was a center point for surveying in the 1800s. It is a short but steep trail and a popular thing to do here.
Nelson is located on the Tasman Sea which is ringed by beautiful sandy beaches so we walked to one about an hour outside the city Center on a walkway by the ocean...
Families swimming from the sea wall...
Views along the way...
Parts of the long beach were almost deserted...
Others with families enjoying the day...
As with the other towns and cities we have visited in NZ, Nelson is full of beautiful gardens and parks...
The Memorial Grounds...
The Memorial Grounds...
In the Queens Gardens...
People are always out and enjoying the scenery....
I love yellow roses and these were spectacular!
People are always out and enjoying the scenery....
I love yellow roses and these were spectacular!
There was a Farmers Market three times a week, this was the smaller Wednesday one...
We had Japanese fried chicken...
The largest is in the middle of town on Sat morning but it was just being set up when we were catching the bus to leave, beautiful produce...
And lovely hand painted wool...
There was a definite cafe culture, they love their coffee...
And their craft beer, this one was located in an old church...
Another thing we noticed as we have been exploring the towns and cities are the large number of churches seemingly on every corner, don’t know how well attended they are...
Lots of shopping with carts set up around the city...
Also as in other places there are walking and cycling paths everywhere including along this lovely river...
Our final day we booked a tour to a national park, Abel Tasman Park, which took us about an hour by bus before being picked up by our sea shuttle as most of the park can only be accessed by boat...
This is where we caught our boat which took us to the top of the park and dropped us off. We hiked back down and were picked up later in the day, there were lots of people doing the same...
It was very hot and humid that day so the hike was tougher than usual, it was on a high coastal path in dense forest...
What?? Another f**** picture?
Beautiful views to the sea...
The beaches were a hike down and back from the path, here is where we stopped for lunch...
This Danish family were hiking with their children for 12 km that day...
Beauty everywhere we looked...
Here’s the last hike down, 1.6km of a very steep path to Anchorage beach below...
The scenery on the boat up and down the coast was spectacular as well, so many colors of blue and green as the day went along...
Lots of sand estuaries...
Even saw a small penguin enjoying the sun...
Beaches that went on and on...
Sailing ships...
Small sandy coves...
Lots of different rock formations...
Lots of kayakers...
Such an awesome day to be surrounded by the beauty of Abel Tasman Park...
Since there was no where to get water we carried ours but by the end of the day it had disappeared so on the boat ride back I was so glad to get a cold beverage...
Now on to the Wild West Coast...
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