08/02/2023 From the North Island to the South Island
Difficulties getting ferry tickets
We woke up in so much pain from yesterday’s eight-hour-Tongariro Crossing hike. Luckily, we didn’t need to do much today other than taking the ferry to the South Island.
Bye bye, North Island
When we caught the ferry in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital, at 1.30 p.m., we relaxed on board in very comfortable seats and with a great view over the Cook Strait (which connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast).
Almost four hours later we arrived in Picton on the South Island, on which we were going to spend another three weeks.
We stopped at a Thai restaurant and treated ourselves to a proper dinner (and not just cheap supermarket food on the side of the road 😉). It was delicious!
Beautiful South Island
We drove along the beautiful countryside with lots of hills and vineyards. After two hours we stopped at a cute car park next to a forest, where we set camp for the night aka setting up our mattress in the back of the van.
09/02/2023 Nelson
What to expect
Nelson
Things you learn to appreciate on the road
When we arrived in Nelson early in the morning, there was one thing we needed to do first: using the public shower! It’s great that every bigger town offers public showers for NZD $2-5 – besides providing public toilets for free. (Germany should definitely take this as an example!😉) It’s really the most normal things in your every day life that you learn to appreciate on the road.
Once we felt like human beings again, we were ready to meet the outside world. So we spent the morning in a cute café called Bobby Franks Café.
Explore the city centre
Afterwards we strolled around the quaint downtown that gave off a very relaxing vibe.
Walk through Queen’s Garden
Then we walked around Queen’s Garden with its nice sculptures and flowers in order to get to the next attraction.
Stand in the centre of New Zealand
Nelson is situated in the centre of New Zealand. After walking up a hill for 20 minutes, we made it to the centre, which overlooked the city centre of Nelson, native bush land and the ocean. It was gorgeous and once more confirmed the positive picture we’ve already had of Nelson.
Relax at Tahunanui Beach
Since we were still tired from the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, we grabbed our favourite take-aways (sushi for me and pizza for Blake) and went to the most popular beach in Nelson: Tahunanui Beach. After watching sunset at the beach, we both agreed that it was a pretty great first day in Nelson.
10/02/2023 Nelson
Slight change of plans
I was quite excited for today: The plan was to rent bicycles again (like we did in the Hawke’s Bay area) and ride to different wineries and breweries as there are so many in this region. However, we woke up to rain and lots of thick clouds. So maybe renting bicycles for NZD $60 each wasn’t the best idea.
Check out Richmond
Instead, we drove to the nearest smaller town called Richmond, where we found a cute café (“Coffee on Queen”). Once the sun came out again, we decided to check out the craft breweries and vineyards on our own without bicycles (after paying off the parking ticket we had just received).
Have an award-winning beer in a brewery
First, we went to a local craft beer brewery in Richmond, called “Eddyline Brewery”. They had even won an award (“Golden Gumboots”) for having the best IPA on the West Coast.
We both enjoyed the beer with funky names like “Happy Camper”. This is why it was just fitting to buy some beers for the evenings in our camping chairs.
Visit a vineyard
Then we took a beautiful drive to “Gravity Winery”.
We loved the view over the vineyards with the ocean in the background while enjoying a glass of wine and talking to the locals.
Watch sunset on Rabbit Island
In the evening we drove to Rabbit Island for sunset and dinner at the beach. We made a mental note that the gates to the island would close at 8.30 p.m. and that staying overnight on the island was not allowed.
Stuck on an island?
But somehow we were so engaged in our conversation at the beach that it was 8.26 p.m. when we remembered that we had to leave. Never have we ever put together our stuff so quickly! We sped to the gates of the island and luckily, the gates had only been half closed at that point. So much for our time management – again!
11/02/2023 Nelson
Buy lots of goodies at Nelson Market (on Saturday)
We couldn’t leave Nelson before doing one more thing in the morning: visiting the Nelson Market.
What is it with markets and me? The first time I was in New Zealand I didn’t even know they existed. And now we are planning our days around the markets (and around Blake’s sports games, but that’s another story). I love strolling around the market, I love trying the free tastings and I love talking to the locals at the market. Blake doesn’t share my enthusiasm as much, but at least he comes along, which I’m very grateful for. Besides the market in Hastings on the North Island, this market in Nelson might have been the greatest one yet in New Zealand. Half an hour and lots of goodies later we left the market since we had to be somewhere at 10 a.m.. And this time we definitely shouldn’t be late!
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