Kaikoura to Picton to Nelson

On the day the I caught the bus to Kaikoura from Christchurch, it was pissing it down, so my high hopes of seeing some whales were steadily declining. Before we'd even arrived, the bus driver announced that all water activities were cancelled and it was fair enough to be honest, it was like a water-based apocalypse out there.

When I arrived at the hostel, I thought that I would still try to make the most of the day and venture out into Kaikoura's main town centre. This was not to be unfortunately as the hostel is literally on the coast and not only was it raining heavily, but the winds were really strong too. 1 minute of attempting to go anywhere resulted in me being soaked. In fact, the reception lady told us all that a school party was also staying at the hostel but I never saw any of them. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd all been blown into the ocean.

So I was forced to stay in and for the first time on this trip, watch TV. It turns out that NZ TV is rubbish (it is an outdoorsy nation, so makes sense) and is mostly American imports. So I watched a programme called "I should have died" and that was as entertaining as it sounds. Luckily the other people staying at the hostel were really good company, so all was not lost.

The next day I went on to Picton, which is where most people head to to get the ferry across to the North Island. It's a really pretty little place, especially around the harbour area and has some nice walks too. As we had crossed through part of the Marlborough wine district on the coach, I purchased a bottle of local white wine to go with my dinner that night. The only other person in the Picton hostel was another English chap, who was nice enough but he dominated most of the conversation. I spent the evening getting slowly pissed on wine whilst he talked at me. I've had much worse evenings I suppose.

Again, just spent one night in Picton and was picked up again by the wonderful Magic Bus (not actually magical unfortunately). This bus company is bloody brilliant and after taking the Greyhound bus for the last few weeks, where the drivers are pretty surley and don't say much, they are such a ray of sunshine. Every driver I've had so far has known so much about the surrounding areas that he's passing through and cheerfully shares it with you. They also do random little stops at areas of interest. One driver stopped us by a seal colony and I nearly wet myself as I was so excited to be so close to them. We were also taken to a waterfall and lagoon by another driver as there were seal cubs playing there. If you stayed still long enough, they just came over to you and stared at you. It was such a lovely experience, I could have watched them frolicking all day.

The driver taking us to Nelson from Picton stopped off at a vineyard, we were still within the Marlborough wine district and there are vineyards absolutely everywhere, makes for a stunning sight indeed. We were able to do some wine tasting for just $2 and they also had an olive grove so I tried some of the local olive oil. It was really tasty, definitely tastes different from Italian olive oil and I was tempted to buy some, but it was a little pricey unfortunately. I got a little drunk I have to say and the long, winding mountain roads the coach took afterwards did not do me much good.

I have been in Nelson for 3 days now and it has been good to chuck my bag down somewhere for more than one night. My first day here I went out to the nearby Abel Tasman National Park, which is a huge area of parkland on the coast. After the bus ride there, you're put on a boat and taken further up the coast, from there you walk/hike your way back to the pick up point. I had an awesome time there and the route you take leads you up into the hills along the coast, so the views were something else. There were various trails down onto the beaches, so you could take those in too if you wished. I did and one beach had a small cave, which for a former reader of the Famous Five books, was jolly exciting indeed! No smugglers though. Boo.

Really loved it at Abel Tasman and wished that I had arranged to stay the night there, as they have huts dotted about the park with hammocks and things in, so that could have been exciting. Or a bit scary.

Yesterday I took in some of Nelson's local walking trails. Like pretty much all towns and cities in NZ, Nelson is surrounded by hills and mountains, so scenic walking routes are often a stones throw away. I took one route that led me to the apparent centre of New Zealand and it gave panoramic views of Nelson and the surrounding area.

For a reletively small city, Nelson has a very good cinema. I thought that I really ought to see a film made and produced in New Zealand, so I chose a film called 'Boy'. This was about a young Maori boy growing up in the 80's and it's one of the best films I've seen in a while, it was so funny. I have no idea if it has or will be released in the UK, but go and see it if it's on. Just before the end credits, the cast do a dance that merges the Michael Jackson 'Thriller' dance and the Maori Haka. Very entertaining. Whilst I was in the cinema, a lady asked me if I'd been hugged on Friday. A fairly random question but I answered no, it turns out that Friday 28th May is 'hug a redhead' day in New Zealand. How nice is that? I didn't get a bloody hug though...

Today I went on another long walk, which took me to a Japanese garden on the outskirts of Nelson. The weather has improved loads over the last few days, so it has been good to take advantage of that. It's been super-nice in Nelson but I move on tomorrow to Greymouth, where I'll be going on a brewery tour and from there it's on to Franz Josef for some ice hike action.

Will probably blog next from the Josef!