December
27th December 2005
We decided to head north to Nelson. Both ways of doing this trip have been recommended to us, through the mountains past Hanmer and up the coast through Kaikoura. For this trip we decided to head up through the mountains.
We headed North just after lunch but had we been realistic we probably would have left earlier. The drive took us longer than 6 hours with stops for meals, coffee and photographic opportunities.
It was overcast for most of the journey but that has its own charm with the clouds settling as a low ceiling on the mountains. I would advise anyone doing this trip to top up with fuel at Culverden as there are few opportunities to do so afterwards. On our journey we found that the petrol station at Lewis Pass was closed due to malfunction. Luckily we had started out with a full tank and we made it through to Murchison without problems.
The countryside is spectacular for the entire trip. Heading north out of Christchurch on highway one you pass through rolling green farmland before turning left onto highway seven and through the Weka valley. There is a railway line that runs through the valley and, for those that love the romance of the steam era, a steam engine regularly takes a passenger train for a winding trip though the valley.
Past Hanmer Springs and through one of New Zealand's spectacular braided river valleys is a little thermal resort called Maruia Springs . We stopped here for a coffee and to see what was on offer. There seemed to be accommodation and private spas built on the thermal springs. This place looked perfect for a relaxing retreat, sitting as it does on a river amidst spectacular mountains far from towns and cities.
By the time we reached Nelson it was well and truly time to set up the tent but we discovered to our dismay that the local caravan and tent park had closed at 6:00pm. We headed back out of town to a little campground called Edward Baigent Reserve that was free and well maintained. I can recommend this to campers. It is somewhat hard to find. It is not well signposted on the main road. You are only allowed to stay two days at most but the site has running water, a small stream, picnic tables and composting toilets, all in a secluded park on the outskirts of Wakefield.
We settled in for the evening, setting the tent up in the long summer twilight while Marisa prepared dinner and hot coffee on our camp stove. Later we sat in the lamplight, eating our dinner and reviewing the days travels and deciding whether we would return home via the route we had taken or whether we would continue on to Blenheim and around the coast.
The next day we were up bright and early to a chorus of birds in the trees surrounding us. I had a bracing wash in the stream (and by bracing I mean near fatally cold) and we packed up the tent and headed back into Nelson.
I have to say that I found Nelson delightful. It seems to be one of those places where alternative lifestyles, tourism and street performance come together to make it a place to experience rather than just visit. We only spent a few hours there as this was more of a scouting trip than a vacation due to work demands. Nonetheless I was left with and impression of a vibrant and exciting place with numerous adventurous activities, cafes, restaurants and entertainment.
I recommend getting a street map of Nelson before driving there. It is quite large and spread out and even finding the centre of town is a challenge for the uninitiated. We eventually made it to the area called Trafalgar Square and easily found parking on the street. There is a great deal of pedestrian traffic in this are and we bailed out of the car to join the crowds wandering through the many stores and cafes.
We had lunch in a little park just up the street from Jens Hansen's workshop where the one ring ( there were actually forty variations) was made for Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" movies.
Unfortunately Jens passed away in 1999 and did not get to see his creation in the movie.
We walked around Trafalgar area. There are numerous charming old store fronts and above the square is a cathedral built on the site of a Maori Pa. The cathedral is the object at the top of the steps in this photo. We had a look through the cathedral. There is an abridged history of Nelson settlement by Pakeha (Europeans), and the building of the cathedral, on a board on the edge of the car park outside.
Nelson seemed more humid than we have experienced in Christchurch but still very pleasant and the sunshine was welcome. There is much to see here and much we didn't get to.
Marisa would like to see the World of Wearable Art Museum here but time did not permit on this trip. There are also some wonderful walks to do and, if you're a "Lord of the Rings" fan then there are some helicopter trips to do to locations around Nelson, including the location (Mt Olympus) where the fellowship took shelter from the Saruman's spies, the crebain from Dunland.
We will come back here in Winter to have a look at this area in the ski season. I for one would like to do some of the more adventurous walks at some stage. As the afternoon clouded over we decided to head home. We chose to travel the route we already knew because the weather looked threatening. We headed off around 1pm and wound our way back into the mountains for the long journey home. It seemed strange to spend so little time here considering the length of the trip but Marisa and I find the traveling as interesting as the destinations and, given the opportunity, we would rather travel somewhere than not, even if the time is short.
Anyway, the next time we come back we'll probably follow the beach and try to see something of the Marlborough Sounds
--Brook
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