Nelson part 2

Morning view from our balcony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our first post of Nelson focussed on our outdoor activities. Fran thought we should also show the more laid back part of our stay. We had a beautiful two bedroom condo shared with Charles and Linda. It overlooked the harbour and Tasman Bay beyond. We took full advantage of the large balcony that extended the full width of the apartment for morning coffee and supper in the evening.

Morning coffee overlooking the lighthouse.

Just livin'.

Supper

The view.

The harbour was busy with commerce as well as pleasure craft. This was a neat sight for a couple of land lubbers like Fran and Ken. It was old hat to Maritimers like Charles and Linda.

Our view of the sunset.

We were a fifteen minute walk to the centre of town via Anzac Park and we went daily. Since our apartment did not have internet, we frequented a café that did and got to know the staff quite well. Nelson is an attractive and typical New Zealand town with a population around 50 000. The main shopping streets are comprised of local independent stores and New Zealand chain stores. The only international chain represented is Starbucks. Market days are Wednesday and Saturday and we took full advantage. Fresh fruits and vegetables are abundant since we are entering fall.

Anzac Park, on our walking route to downtown.

Nelson, the top of the main street looking at the cathedral. Fran is leaving a coffee shop.

Nearly all of the main shopping streets in every town we have visitied are covered like this and usually decorated with flowers or public art.

Market day. It's all local and usually picked the same day.

Our coffee shop and connection to the world.

While here, we have been reflecting on things that we have observed about New Zealand. Here are some random observations:

The population of New Zealand is 4 million people; 3.2 million live on the North Island. Of the 800,000 who live on the South Island, 300,000 live in Christchurch. That leaves 500,000 people to spread over the entire South Island outside of Christchurch. No wonder there are no traffic jams!

Kiwis have their own fashion style. Most dress very well. Almost all women of all ages wear dresses and skirts. Men in the cities, like Auckland, wear suits.

Many Kiwis like to go barefoot when they are dressed casually. It is common for primary aged children to go barefoot to school.

Kiwis don’t swear much. We have rarely heard the F bomb.

Most kiwis are fit. It is rare to see fat kids or adults. When we were discussing this with a café owner, he expressed surprise saying that in surveys of obesity conducted in South Pacific countries, New Zealand ranks poorly. He himself is identified as obese in NZ terms. We judged him to be carrying about 20 extra pounds for his build.

Kiwis like their coffee. There is a café on every block even in the smallest towns. The favourite brew is called a flat white which is a latte with a very thin layer of foam on top in which they create a fern, the national symbol.

Almost as frequent as coffee shops are outdoor shops selling good quality outdoor clothing and gear.

Cars last forever here. It is not unusual to see 15 year old cars in great shape on the roads. The oldest seen so far - a 1965 Ford Anglia. Many of the old cars are imported used from Japan.

There are cicadas everywhere there are more than two trees. The sound is deafening at times!

 Finally, most Kiwis seem very happy with life. We have had various explanations why. Here is my  favourite.  “You had to pay to come to paradise. I get paid to live here.”




We are on the road again for the next week heading to Golden Bay first and then down the west coast.

Nelson

Fran and Linda walking Tahunanui Beach in the evening.

We settled into Nelson for a 10 day stay. Our apartment is an upscale modern building overlooking the harbour. It is a 15 minute walk from the city centre and all of the necessary shops and services. We can walk to everything and have not moved the car since we arrived.

Nelson receives the most sun of any place in New Zealand and we have enjoyed a straight run of sunny, blue sky days. The sun is hot, but the constant sea breeze creates a very comfortable temperature. It is the gateway to Abel Tasman Park, a national park accessible only by water or by foot. A water shuttle leaves the city from a dock directly opposite our building and stops at a dozen beaches in the park. Nelson has a vibrant arts and crafts community. There are nearly two dozen galleries in the downtown district alone, which is about 8 blocks in size. It is also the city of beaches.



As planned, we have dropped out of tourist mode to "let’s just live here" mode. The fresh fish shop across the way has provided our protein while the farmers markets have provided the local fresh fruits and vegetables. Needless to say, the wine has been New Zealand white and since it is sold at the grocery store, there is always some on sale. Walks downtown have revealed a variety of cafés, restaurants, galleries, shops and an excellent public library. There is something for each of us.

Fran on a hike in Abel Tasman Park

Fran's view

We have enjoyed the beaches and the walks in Abel Tasman Park. Once again Fran set herself a hiking goal and met it. All along the park’s shoreline are bays of various sizes, all with a golden sand beach. They are very popular with boaters, kyakers, and hikers. Nelson is built on a narrow stretch of land between the ocean and The Ranges, a set of mountains. Walking trails through The Ranges are just minutes from downtown.

Ken enjoying the same view as Fran. Where's Ken

A family enjoying a Sunday picnic. Instead of driving to the park, they boat to a bay and picnic on the beach.

A typical bay with a beach. It is high tide so the beach is small.

Our beach.

Ken enjoying our beach.

So our stay here is nearly at an end. On Friday the two couples part ways once again for 10 days. Fran and I are headed up to Golden Bay and then down the west coast.

The Earthquake

We were in Nelson. We didn’t feel a tremour but there was a feeling in the air as we entered the iSite centre, a community tourist agency, at about 10 after 1. The employees seemed a little anxious. It was while we were making a booking a colleague of the young woman who was assisting us came over and asked, “Have you heard about the earthquake?” That was our first awareness. A little while later as we were walking down the main street we  noticed a crowd around the TV sets in an appliance store. We stopped and watched. From then on the news of the quake was everywhere. We returned to the apartment to follow the story on our own TV. What struck us most was the way the story was covered and the response of New Zealanders.

The coverage is very factual. It focuses on what has happened, what is happening, and how people are reacting. Clearly, people are upset. There are images of the wounded being assisted, and some people appear disoriented and visibly shaken. Those interviewed, however, for the most part related their stories calmly. The talked about crawling out of buildings which had collapsed. One group of women described, in detail, how they worked on the fourth floor of an office building and how they had hung on while the building shook and buckled around them. When the shaking stopped, they were at street level, one wall had completely disappeared and they just walked out. There was no wailing for the camera. No announcements about how God had saved them, no great drama. The building had collapsed and they had escaped unscathed and rescue workers were now working to free those trapped in the rubble. They described how they had been helped or how they had helped others.

All of the officials who were interviewed - the mayor, the chief of police, the head of public health, the chief of public safety all had the same message - keep yourself safe, help family members, check on your neighbours, look after the elderly. Things will look worse in the morning, be ready for that, but together we will get through this.

The mayor announced that all but 5 water pumping stations were shut so conserving water was essential. All the sewage treatment plants were off line so don’t flush the loo. It’s raining so put out your pots and pans and collect water; drain your hot water tank as a source of water; conserve and we’ll do our best to get things back on line as soon as possible, but don’t expect things to change in the next few days.

The chief Public Health Officer advised boiling water to prevent disease. Hospitals are crowded and are triaging patients and the most severe cases are being flown to other communities. Teams of paramedics are on their way from across the country and from Australia. Everyone will get treatment, but it will take time. Again the message - keep yourself safe, look after family members, check on neighbours and the elderly.

Message after message the focus was on the positive, be calm, this is what you need to do. Rescue centres were established within hours across the city and thousands of people went for a hot meal and shelter.

The television coverage was not hysterical. It did not focus on the death of the family pet or interview relatives of the dead. In fact, those who had lost loved ones were given their space. Reporters and anchors were sombre but focussed. They gave the bad news, 65 dead with the count  predicted to go as high as 400, but also 125 people rescued so far, many others had texted their location to rescue crews, crews were working throughout the night. More crews were on their way to help. The language of the reporters was very revealing. Their verbs were crucial. They asked “What did you experience” not  How do you feel?”

The prime minister has stated that this is the worst national disaster that New Zealand has had to face. He has declared a state of  emergency. Already financial relief centres have been opened and residents can go and get cash to buy food since without power no ATM worked. This may be the worst national disaster, but one can’t help but feel that they will get through it and learn from it.

Picton

The Interislander from Wellington approaching Picton.

 

We left Wellington on a beautiful afternoon. The sky was clear enough to make the ocean blue, but there were enough clouds to make the sky interesting. We boarded the Interislander ferry at 1pm for a 2 pm sailing. The harbour was filled with sailboats enjoying the fair winds. It was a pleasant crossing. As we cruised up the Queen Charlotte Sound towards Picton on the South Island, Fran and I remarked how similar it seemed to the Vancouver to Victoria crossing. The islands dotting the sound were like the gulf islands - even the ferry seemed familiar and could well have been made by the same company as made the BC Ferries.

Picton is a lovely little town at the head of a bay forming a natural harbour at the end of the sound. We found our new digs easily, a three bedroom house overlooking the marina and the harbour. We arrived ahead of Charles and Linda who had crossed two days earlier so they could hike part of the Queen Charlotte Track. Fran and I quickly unpacked and took a glass of wine onto the terrace overlooking the town. It was wonderful. The Australians have a term for people like us - grey nomads. How apt it seems. We had taken the hustle of Wellington and exchanged it for the sound of the cicadas.

A "grey nomad"enjoying the view from our terrace.

Two 'grey nomads' enjoying morning coffee.

 

The next day was one of the few that we had planned before we left Canada, attending the Marlborough Wine Festival in Blenheim. The festival was featured in a number of travel guides and we arranged our arrival in Picton to coincide with it. Saturday we were up early and on the road. We arrived in Blenheim looking for signs to the festival. We saw none. The young woman at the information centre in town gave us directions, “Go to the next roundabout and follow the signs”, but she had no tickets left so we would have to get some at the gate. No where during our planning had any of us seen any mention of tickets. The next roundabout had no signs. It’s a big festival with attendance averaging 8000. There have to be signs.  Between the map, a compass and our GPS we decided to head out towards where we thought the festival should be. Surely we would find some signs. After half an hour we stopped and asked directions. We were travelling in the wrong direction. Twenty minutes later - in the right direction - we saw a sign. It was white with pale gold lettering and it was a towering 2 feet tall. Just over 2 km down the road were saw a line of traffic. Terrific - we have arrived - the day is saved. We crawled along behind the traffic until we reached the gate. Charles, ever the ambassador, exclaimed that we were from Canada and we had planned this visit nearly a year ago and that we were great fans of New Zealand wine and could we have 4 tickets please. How lovely that we were from Canada and how nice that we loved New Zealand wine and how special it was to know that the festival is known abroad, but there are no same day ticket sales. No amount of ambassadorial charm could get us past the gate. We thought even Larry could not have cracked this one. Dejected, but not beaten, we decided to plan our own winery tour. We got out the map and planned the route. At our first stop we were told that all of the wineries were closed to the public this day because all of the staff were at the wine festival.
There was nothing left to do except go for coffee. By the time we reached a café, we had convinced ourselves that we didn’t want to go to the festival anyway. The tickets were $50 dollars each and we had all been to the Niagara Wine Festival and how different could it be anyway? As we waited for our flat whites to be prepared Linda told the barista our tale of woe. “Oh, she said, they have tickets at the  community centre office in town. It closes in 10 minutes but I can call and have them stay open until you get there.”
Back to the car, into town, buy the tickets for $100 a couple - after all it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, back to the festival grounds, we know the way by now,  and up to the gate. There is no line up. It’s two oclock and the gates opened at ten. We parked the car, for five dollars, showed our tickets and went in to find eight thousand young people drunk and staggering around to a number of bands playing rap music badly and very loudly.  They lurched from booth to booth paying up to 6 dollars for a ‘taste’ of  wine. The most popular food seemed to be a lamb shank - a large chunk of greasy lamb still on the bone that one gnaws down to the bone. Well over half of the attendees were scantily clad, drunk young women. Charles and Ken thought since we came all this way, we should probably stay for a little while. Fran and Linda thought otherwise and somehow Charles and Ken were outvoted.
We finished the day on our deck, overlooking the harbour and drinking a nice Australian wine.

Vineyards - Marlborough

It's like Niagara, only hills instead of the lake

 

We wiled away the next two days with walks over the Victoria Domain, strolling through the village, sitting at our favourite café watching the sail boats come and go, selecting which fresh fish we wanted for supper and just enjoying the views from our deck. We were reluctant to leave.

The Victoria Domain (forested hills in the centre) which offers spectacular views of the Sound.

One of the views from the Victoria Domain - the Queen Charlotte Sound looking away from Picton.

 

Views from Victoria Domain.

Picton harbour as seen from our favourite cafe.

Are we happy?  You betcha.

 Next stop, Nelson

Napier to Wellington, February 5 - 10

Two of the many parks to be found in Napier.

We left the mist and rain in Tongariro and headed south to Napier. After crossing two mountain ranges, we crested and there at our feet were vineyards sweeping down to a brilliant blue ocean with Napier gleamimg white in the curve of a huge bay.

Napier is known for its Art Deco architecture - in fact it is the largest community of this style in the world. In 1931 the centre of the town was flattened by an earthquake and subsequent fires. The town council acted swiftly to have the centre re-built and decided to emulate the popular European style - Art Deco. We signed up for a tour to learn about the town. Our tour guide was an English teacher at the local school who volunteers her time on weekends. We had a very well organised field trip! Our group of 5 was complimented on how well we listened, kept up and asked good questions. If she had made us hold hands crossing the street, Ken was going to threaten her with a performance appraisal. It was an excellent tour. She had grown up in Napier so the facts of history were personalized by anecdotes. It was an enjoyable afternoon.

A typical Art Deco store front.

Art Deco feature.

Art Deco feature.

Ken enjoying a cup of tea on our balcony after a hard day of touristing.

Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is a young and vibrant city. We stayed downtown, two blocks from the harbour. Amid theatres, coffee shops, restaurants and public art is Te Papa, the national museum. We spent many hours over two days exploring the exhibits that explain, reveal and demonstrate the history and culture of New Zealand from its cataclismic formation 65 million years ago to the Maori land settlement claims now in the news - and it is free! We booked an in depth tour of Maori art and culture. Our tour guide, an elderly Maori, illustrated what we saw with personal anecdotes. It culminated with lunch in the cafeteria where we sampled traditional Maori foods.

Te Maere, a meeting house in the conference centre in Te Papa.

People in Wellington live on the hills that surround the extensive harbour and its approach from the sea. Houses perch precariously on the hillsides. Very brave, we think, since Wellington is due for another earthquake any year now. We took a day to drive around Marine Parade exporing allof the little bays that house Wellingtonites.

Wellington harbour and homes.

A typical house.....

...and its view

I could look at this over morning coffee.

Some houses are near the water, and ready for the flood!

The civic square, downtown Wellington. Can you find Fran? (email us for a clue)

Art in the park. As this artist was sculpting in stone, artists at Winterlude in Ottawa are sculpting in ice.

Looking towards the south island. It is under the clouds which is fitting as Aotearoa is Maori for NZ and means
"long white clouds.Ït is our next destination.

Taupo to Tongariro National Park, February 1 - 5

Lake Taupo with Mt. Ruapehu in the distance

 Ken was the most interested in Taupo for 3 reasons - Huka Falls, the Maori carvings on a rock face overlooking Lake Taupo and the Ora - the Garden of Well Being. We accomplished a visit to all three.

Huka Falls is one of the most visited sites in NZ. Lake Taupo at 619 sq km is the largest lake in the country and it drains down the Wairakei river towards the sea near Auckland. Six km from the town of Taupo the water is channelled through a narrow gorge of volcanic hardened rock where it falls at a rate of 350,000 litres per second over an 11m bluff into a foaming cauldron below. The power of the river is harnessed to produce 15% of the country’s electricity. (Ken is thinking of becoming a tour guide)  Very nice, Ken, but it’s no Niagara Falls! Let’s get on to Taupo for ice cream.

Fran with the mighty Huka Falls in the background

 After ice cream ( which is excellent and very inexpensive - $2.50CAD for 2 LARGE scoops) Ken dragged Fran off to see his second site - the Maori rock carvings.  He forgot to mention that they can only be seen from the water. Hence - a boat ride. After an hour of bouncing around on a particularly choppy lake, one of the roughest evenings the captain had ever seen, we reached the carvings. They are worth the trip.

Maori carving, Lake Taupo

Maori carving, Lake Taupo

 After a lovely supper on the harbour, we retired to our condo to sit on the balcony, sip wine, and watch the sun go down. Ken is redeemed.

Sunset, a glass of wine and a view.

 The next day we went to the Ora - a beautiful garden developed in the Maori style. Ora means well-being and that is exactly what one feels sitting there.

Fran in the Garden of well Being. It won the gold medal in the Chelsea Garden Show.

 From Taupo we headed to Tongariro National Park for three days. The park is dominated by three active volcanoes - Mt. Ruapehu, Mt. Ngauruhoe and Mt. Tongariro. The last major eruption was 1995.
It is a popular skiing destination in winter and an active hiking region all year. Ken and Charles planned to hike the Tongariro Crossing - a 19 km trail that crosses all three mountains. Unfortunately, as we arrived, so did rain and gale strength winds in the upper altitudes. The crossing was closed for our three day stay.

Mt. Ngauruhoe - the first and last view we had of it. It was Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Tamaraki Falls.

Fran and Mangawhero Falls in the rain.

 Undaunted, we hiked trails at the lower elevations, where it was only raining, had afternoon tea and scones at the Bayview Chateau Hotel and retreated there for after dinner drinks. A glass of 16yr old Lagavulen was only $10CAD. The rooms, however, were a different story. One can pay up to $1000.00NZ per night if one chooses. We chose the 2 bedroom hiking cabin at $100 per night. Hey, we had the same view and the use of the Chateau’s facilities. Not cheap - practical is what we agreed upon.

Tea and scones at the Bayview Chateau.

The drive from Tongariro to Napier amazed us. In the space of two hours we went from alpine, to desert, to sub-tropical to pasture and finally to wine country by the ocean. What a country!