Home Sweet Home - Blogabond

From Wellington we caught the inter-island ferry into Picton and were blessed with a beautiful day, which not only made my first (and last) real impression of the capital city a good one, but made the entire crossing from the pillar box red tugs in the harbour to the grand beauty of Marlborough Sound as we entered the south island absolutely beautiful. New Zealand is full of 'sounds', particularly in the south western fjordland and unfortunately, due to our tight schedule, this was the only one we got to experience. Milford Sound, down in the fjordland, is the most famous and the treks around it are reckoned to be some of the world's most beautiful. Definitely one for the future. As it was, the glittering dark waters of the Marlborough meeting its dramatic plunging forested slopes gave me more than enought to gaze at in awe. Houses perched on tiny private beaches seemed dwarfed by the green mass towering above them - hills so steep and densely grown that in most cases not even an access road connected the houses to civilization - a boat being the only means of transport.

In Picton we bee-lined for a nearby rental company and very easily negotiated a great rate on another car for two weeks, opting for a manual this time which caused lots of initial confusion as we each took our turn at the wheel! Plunging straight back in to the twisting turns of another coastal road, we headed for Nelson, which our Auckland hosts had recommended, and enjoyed more staggering scenery along the way.

[Note - I am aware that superlatives and hyper-enthusiastic adjectives may start to sound tediously formulaic, but it is impossible to witness the landscape of New Zealand without marvelling, constantly. At every turn, particularly on the south island, are vistas of incredible beauty, grandeur and remoteness. It is as if someone had been given a model countryside set and has picked all the best mountains and forests, beaches and rivers and indulgently pieced them all together in one little corner of the globe, utterly forgetting to add people to the mix.]

So, to Nelson, a sweet little town with a pleasantly bustling atmosphere, and home to my favourite hostel from my time in New Zealand. At 'Accents on the Park' you feel rather as if you are staying in someone's home with a smart, clean but very homely feel to the living room, landings and bedrooms; warm, well-lit, comfortable bathrooms; and downstairs the most wonderful bar. When I walked in, the REAL, LIVE Christmas tree, the English country pub feel, and the casual local atmosphere immediately choked me with a wonderfully sentimental nostalgia. Gerry, a one-time Bristolian, served up delicious wallet-friendly food and a cider, and all three of us were very happy. If you go to Nelson, stay there.

At the local pool, where we had been drawn by a craving for exercise, a characteristically friendly Kiwi turned our goggle-buying mission into a bubbly but surreal 10-minute chat, and we exhausted ourselves doing some lengths. The sun even came out for our walk home! Finally we had shaken off the north island blues.

The next day we drove west to the Abel Tasman National Park - an absolute dream of remote, driftwood strewn beaches and gloriously green rainforest. We arrived too late to do our intended kayak up the coast and walk back, but instead opted to take one of the coastal paths through the park for a few hours and get a water taxi back. It is a stunning place. The following day we returned to give some kayaking a go, and visited the impressively incongruous 'split-apple rock' and a few pretty coves around Marahau. Abel Tasman is another place that merits a few days trekking and camping, and there were some great beach-side cabins which can be reserved in advance and really tempted me to return one day and do it thoroughly.

written by

Alex Kent on December 9, 2007 from Nelson, New Zealand

from the travel blog: On the Varieties of Nature

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