- Starting the trip, the Bay of Islands, and the Muriwai Gannet Colony
- The Coromandel Peninsula
- The road to Wellington
- Northeastern South Island — Wine Tasting, Abel Tasman, Nelson, and Havelock
- Kaikoura — marine life everywhere!
- Christchurch, a stay on the farm, and the TranzAlpine Train
- Starting down the West Coast — things are starting to get real!
- A glacier’ing we will go!
- Queenstown
- Milford Sound and Fjordland National Park
Today, we got a very early start, getting on the Interislander Ferry across the Cook Strait and the Marlborough Sound to New Zealand’s South Island. After a spectacular sunrise, we enjoyed a very calm transit of about 3.5 hours enroute to Picton. Some of our group snoozed, but there was just too much to see to miss it. Pulling in right around noon, it was obviously time for some libation. After all, we are in the middle of the Marlborough wine district, so we wandered over to the Allan Scott Family Winemakers, a true family owned and operated enterprise. They specialize in Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Pinot Noir. After a little tasting, we enjoyed lunch (and some more wine) at their restaurant. While everyone was ready for a nap at this point, Moira the slave driver took us out to the nearby Pelorus River for a lovely walk along the river and an amazingly long suspension bridge. After that, we found our way into the Abel Tasman National Park where we spent a couple of evenings.
The next morning, we were out to kayak in the Tasman Sea within the Abel Tasman National Park. This is New Zealand’s smallest national park, but it is also considered the best. The golden beaches, turquoise, waters, and beautiful scenery make this an amazing place to visit, whether hiking, camping, or kayaking. We met our guide who had a lovely breakfast prepared for us. We were off to Adele Island, a bird sanctuary and protected colony for the resident New Zealand Fur Seals Kekeno. Paddling was very easy and we saw a lot of seals in the rocks. After our return, there was still time for walking along the beach and Deb’s obligatory shell/sea glass collecting. She even recruited Lauren.
From there, we spent some time wandering around Nelson City and surrounding areas. This seems to be a bit of an art mecca, with lots of galleries, street art, and museums. Right outside of Nelson City is one of the strangest museums I have ever been to — The World of WearableArt (WOW) and Classic Cars Museum. Just the combination of those things is pretty odd. The wearable art actually comes from all over the world and there is an annual competition in Wellington that gets strong international presence. On our way out of the area, we stopped in Havelock, once a historic old gold mining town and now “The Greenshell Mussel Capital of the World!” They’ve really decorated the town well and it has become a tourist destination.
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
