Touring the South Island

Since we returned to the South Island, we've had over a week driving south and we are right now in Queenstown.

To take a step back, we started driving slighly west from Picton (The ferry terminal) with the aim to reach Nelson which we have heard many good things about. After missing the turn off to the most direct way there, we spent an extra hour touring the countryside around Picton and Nelson which actually was ok as we drove through the beautiful wine country.

Lotsa sheep!

We eventually found our way to Nelson and stayed two nights at a nice place called the Warwick house just outside the very centre of town.

B&B in Nelson

Nelson is a very nice town that is big enough to 'have everything' but that still has a small town feel to it. It's known to be a hotspot for artists, galleries, sculptors, and other people interested in handicrafts and artsy stuff. We decided to take a good look at Nelson but also the overall region.

Right outside Nelson there is a place called Stoke which of course made Robert laugh as it was a small pleasant village with a nice community feel with a fire station, rugby, netball and cricket clubs! So, you wonder if the person who came from Stoke in England named it for a joke or decided (new Stoke) would be a totally different place than the one we know and avoid visiting in the UK!

Stoke fire station

Stoke, New Zealand!!!

We explored Nelson a bit and went to the Founders Heritage Park which is an area where a lot of old houses and workshops have been saved and moved to create the look and feel of an old town. Some of the buildings are displays of what it used to look like, but some are occupied by operating businesses such as the brewery (making handcrafted organic beers), a bakery and some others which host local artists.

We also took a look at Nelson's farmers market which takes place every Saturday. Lots of local merchants show up to sell everything from locally grown veggies, fruit, home made breads, jams, honey etc. etc., as well as things such as ceramics, pottery and arts. We bought some organic fruits, veggies and meat as we stayed in a self contained cabin for the last two nights and had access to a kitchen.

View from our bed in our cabin- with a horse right outside

So after two nights in Nelson itself, we drove around in the countryside about 20km along the coast which is where we found this awesome place that rented out cabins. It was located on a hill overlooking mountains and the local fruit growing valley and there were horses, sheep and chickens right outside our cabin. We even saw some New Zealand kiwi fruits! It was nice to be able to cook our own food especially since we had picked up such goodies from the farmers market.

Kiwi trees!

New Zealand kiwi fruits

We also took a look at Rabbit Island which is an island located just off the coast and a popular recreational destination which a beautiful beach a lots of opportunities for picnics and just hanging out. We strolled down the beach and collected some beautiful shells that were washed up on shore. Not a rabbit in sight though!

Victoria on the beach of Rabbit Island

Rabbit Island

The Abel Tasman National Park is just north of the Nelson region and we had first planned on doing a boat tour along the coast. Unfortunately the rain was pouring the day we wanted to go so we decided to just drive through it on the outskirts.

Abel Tasman National Park

Abel Tasman National PArk

Abel Tasman National Park

After four days, we decided to head off and drove down the West coast to Greymouth where we only stayed one night. On the way we made short stops to look at some 'wildlife' such as cows, sheep, goats and chickens! (ok, not so much 'wild' life, but very entertaining. Robert decided to feed the chickens with pretzels which they loved!).

Belted Galloway cow

Robert is feeding the chickens pretzels.....

Easter chickens....

We drove through Franz Josef and took a look at the big Franz Josef glacier which very much reminded us about the glaciers in Canada. So much for Global warming, Franz Josef is actually advancing! Then we continued on south to Fox Glacier where we stayed the night. It was rainy and damp but very beautiful. As we are now approaching areas where the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed, it is easy to recognize the landscape.

Waterfalls

Franz Josef Glacier

Once we reached Queenstown, we decided to stay a couple of nights since driving can be quite tiring (which is why Victoria has a short nap on every journey). The roads in New Zealand are at times VERY windy so an observation is to not recommend a longer road trip for anybody who has any tendency to get car sick....

Queenstown is a small town where the number of tourists outnumbers the local residents. As the town is catering to the tourists, there are plenty of good shopping and eating options and we a really nice dinner in a French (!) resturant. It has a bit of 'Whistler' feel to it with lots of activities such as skiing, paragliding, bungee jumping, whitewater rafting and anything else that the adrenaline seeking person could ever wish for. Robert was contemplating a bungee jump but after seeing the prices decided against it. Victoria found a swimming pool which to her seemed to be a much more relaxed and inexpensive option to get those endorphines going...

We are off south today but as this is being written we haven't decided exactly where to go. As usual, that decision will be made once we hit the road and perhaps not until we reach an intersection which will force us to turn left or right!

Kiwi goat

Not sure who is more afraid of who....the goat or Victoria....

Victoria feeding the goat.