Home of the Ring

We left Kaikoura at a fairly pleasant hour and headed further north up the coast to Nelson. The weather upon leaving was pretty much the same as the day before and I was begining to feel a little depressed as I had visions it was gonna be like this for the whole of my trip. I need'nt have been so downbeat as by lunchtime the weather was starting to look up and there were even patches of blue sky. Then when we arrived in Nelson it was beautiful, warm and sunny. Not really suprising when I was told later that it has both the most sunshine and warm temperatures for the whole of NZ

Nelson is known as the geographical "Centre of New Zealand" and we took a little walk up a stupidly steep hill on the outskirts where there is a monument to celebrate the fact. The view from the top was really good and you could get a full 360' view of the surrounding countryside plus the citys of Nelson and Richmond and out over the bay to the Abel Tasman National Park. At the foot of the hill is a large playing Field where the first ever rugby match in New Zealand was played. With rugby being THE sport in NZ it is a pretty special place so I thought i'd get a piccie. This proved tricky because there was a group of small children playing cricket and i didn't want to appear to be taking an unhealthy interest in them!

The original home of NZ Rugby

With a full roast dinner included in our lodgings we headed back to make the most of some good food! You have to take advantage of these perks when travelling, supernoodles just dont seem to cover it!! After the meal and a few local beers, me and a some of the girls headed into town to see the jewellers that made THE ring from the "Lord of the Rings" film then onto a cool bar with a load of pool tables where I proceded to give a masterclass with the cue..

mmmm.. precious!!

Nelson, New Zealand