Secret location revealed

We left Chch on Sat morning and headed north. We managed to stop at Reefton for lunch - saw the patron who said "you look familiar . . ." Lunch consisted of a chicken / mushroom pie. Yummmm.
Then a quick stop at the local info center and back on the road. Discovered from Reefton it was still 3-4 hours driving to Nelson. No sweat - roads where empty and dry - so this little Nikki Lauda wannabe made good time.
Got overtaken by a greyhaired elderly gent driving a big grunty Merc.



I had to laugh - he got pulled over near Richmond just short of Nelson by a traffic cop and said elderly greyhaired gent did NOT look happy!!
Anyhow the weather was overcast and cloudy in bits - really moody in parts - and absolutely stunning! NZ is indeed a beautiful place to live and we are extremely lucky to be here.






We snapped this little icicle just short of Reefton. The picture ain't doing it justice -the formation was over 2 meters in height! Inside the Reefton info center was lots of displays for outdoor stuff - national Parks etc etc. Found some sample of NZ timber and life cycles of native fauna and flora.







Also found this Bushmans quote about our Beeches - if you are colour blind you got major problems!!!

CONFUSED????





















Yes we did leave Chch in stunning sunshine - pity it did not last.









See how the mood changed??
















If you have a good look here you will find our own NZ version of the "Desperate Housewives" all three of them in fact!!! Can't imagine for one minute why they would be bored at home.


Found the motel in Nelson soon enough and went out for a meal and bunked down for the night, after watching the All Blacks fumbling their way past Italy.

Sunday 28 June
Out of bed early-ish and eventually got breakfast sorted. Quick wash and we were of to Motueka to see the local market. Well the 9!!! stalls did provide some form of entertainment - but of course we keep comparing this with our own Riccarton market!! Anyhow not much to see and most shops closed so headed back towards Nelson when we saw the sign for Seifreids Winery - and seeing Pam likes their Gewurztraminer decided to stop and taste their samples. Some HICKS later . . .
Hmmm - NICE stuff. Bought 4 bottles which no doubt will be soon gone! However they do mail order for some specific wines = not available in Chch, so that might come in handy at a later stage.
From there we headed into Nelson proper and found the local tourist info center - asked a couple of questions - loo-stop and we were of again. Wanted to see the the "Center of New Zealand". We found the park soon enough - oddly enough - it was near the park where the first ever Rugby match in NZ has been played way back in the 1870's!! Walked across the hallowed park!!! Very muddy now from Soccer play.
To get to the center of NZ you have to walk up a steep hill - on zig - zag walkway - all of 147 meters. Mamabear was huffing and puffing her way up slowly. Guess my daily regular 12 km walks came through in terms of fitness!
On top got grand view across Nelson City and harbor - amongst the clouds and a very strong and cold wind. After reading the signs and obligatory photos we headed back down - much easier.
Center point is probably 55 km further NW of Nelson - but it IS the spot where the first official survey point of the South Island was laid.
Anyhow from there Lunch - yeah McD. - they have the Kiwiburger's back for short time - so it was quick and easy.
After this we headed back out to Motueka way - and stopped at Hoglunds - a glass blowing factory. They had nice stuff there - but I could not bring myself to pay $7000 - for a piece of molten Sand.
HOWEVER - they do a hands on glass beads making session - and will and can take our scouts - provided we "supervise" them and are prepared to pay the asking price.
Hmmmm this might be a camp in Feb - we could camp at a local camping ground etc etc. By that stage we had enough of the wind - so headed back to motel - for a bit of rest b4 dinner.
Ended up pizza take-out - which was very nice - the guy runs a wood fired oven and we had good convo with him - re closed similar business in Chch while waiting for pizza to cook. Seems you need a special Italian oven . . . . ^^ - anyhow - one pizza and one bottle of lovely slosh later - fell into bed while realizing that we will need to check the weather forecast on Monday and see if we come back via Kaikoura!

Monday 29 June
Usual routine - up with wakeup call from PC - then breakfast and shower etc - then packing up.
Went to pay our bill and Lady at counter said she wondered if she was going to make it to work - she lives in Malbourough Sounds - a long way to come to work. She also said she heard that snow was falling in mountains so Mamabear was dead keen on getting back home via long and safe way - Blenheim and Kaikoura. Stopped on the way in Nelson and found the chocolate patisserie that sold all sorts of nice stuff - sent in Mamabear while I waited in car - not wanting to be party of big calorie rich stuff! Then headed of - to be met immediately with strong winds and heaps of rain. Road empty again - for most part a few lorries on the road and had to make my FIRST overtaking maneuver for the weekend!!!!
Eventually made it across the hills into Blenheim country and from there to Kaikoura - where we stopped for lunch! Wet and windy all the way!! See the weather map - we knew from TV news that parts of the North Island got a soaking - about 100 - 150 ml!


Anyhow - all safe back now - and need to face up to the next few days at work / scouting / home life etc .

Have fun

PS . - I did 1200 something kilometers this weekend - and well lets just say we travelled - urm - fast-ish but not as fast as we could have in europe!!