Vanessa and Graham headed out from Nelson first thing in the morning to get an early start on their hike through
Abel Tasman National Park. The Abel Tasman is the only national park that I'm always hearing about even though there are several in New Zealand. Neither Vanessa or Graham had hiked the whole thing before and were very excited to do that as part of their trip.
The rest of us had a breakfast in Nelson and then headed up to Marahu to pick up Violet, Vanessa's car. Vanessa and Graham's hike was one way, from the southern end almost all the way to the northern end, and we were picking them up at the other end. Not surprisingly, we encountered beautiful views and lovely scenery on our way to pick up Violet.
After getting Violet and leaving her in Takaka (so she take a well deserved 24 hour rest), we headed up to Collingwood in Golden Bay. There is not a lot in Collingwood or the teeny tiny surrounding towns except...right, beautiful views, lovely scenery, and pristine beaches. After checking in at our backpackers, we grabbed our picnic lunch and head to the beach.
After finding a non-windy part of the beach, we had a spectacular afternoon lying in the sun (moi), collecting shells (Jim, Katie, and Mijin), and driving just a bit further north to see the edge of the bay (Todd).
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| Mijin, Katie & Jim collecting shells |
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| Views of Golden Bay |
Sadly, as you may have noticed, none of us enjoyed swimming in the bay, because there appeared to be a major jellyfish convention. There were a ton of black circular jellyfish (about the size of dinner plates) just hanging out in the first 10 feet of the water. Yech. And there were a lot that had gotten beached on the sand as the tide was going out, so you had to be careful where you were walking.
Maybe this helps explain how breathtaking everything was...that despite the water being filled with jellyfish, we still had a perfect afternoon. Just 'being' in all these places was enough. We also determined that we need more words for
beautiful,
pretty, amazing,
gorgeous, and
yum. Travel writers we are not.
After dinner at the local pub (the only place to eat in town), we enjoyed more New Zealand wine on the patio of the backpackers to a roaring discussion of US politics and a few games of chess. A perfect end to another perfect New Zealand road trip day.
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| Instructing my pawns what to do..when you play both sides, you win. |
The rest of us had a breakfast in Nelson and then headed up to Marahu to pick up Violet, Vanessa's car. Vanessa and Graham's hike was one way, from the southern end almost all the way to the northern end, and we were picking them up at the other end. Not surprisingly, we encountered beautiful views and lovely scenery on our way to pick up Violet.
After getting Violet and leaving her in Takaka (so she take a well deserved 24 hour rest), we headed up to Collingwood in Golden Bay. There is not a lot in Collingwood or the teeny tiny surrounding towns except...right, beautiful views, lovely scenery, and pristine beaches. After checking in at our backpackers, we grabbed our picnic lunch and head to the beach.
After finding a non-windy part of the beach, we had a spectacular afternoon lying in the sun (moi), collecting shells (Jim, Katie, and Mijin), and driving just a bit further north to see the edge of the bay (Todd).
Sadly, as you may have noticed, none of us enjoyed swimming in the bay, because there appeared to be a major jellyfish convention. There were a ton of black circular jellyfish (about the size of dinner plates) just hanging out in the first 10 feet of the water. Yech. And there were a lot that had gotten beached on the sand as the tide was going out, so you had to be careful where you were walking.
Maybe this helps explain how breathtaking everything was...that despite the water being filled with jellyfish, we still had a perfect afternoon. Just 'being' in all these places was enough. We also determined that we need more words for beautiful, pretty, amazing, gorgeous, and yum. Travel writers we are not.
After dinner at the local pub (the only place to eat in town), we enjoyed more New Zealand wine on the patio of the backpackers to a roaring discussion of US politics and a few games of chess. A perfect end to another perfect New Zealand road trip day.
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