We decided to visit Nelson because it’s one of the main towns in the south island, as well as it being a convenient place to access Abel Tasman National Park. We thought all that nature might give us a nice relaxing break from the wine tours.
We started our first day visiting the national park with a guided sea kayak. We donned a big waterproof skirt thing and, GoPro at the ready, we jumped into our tandem kayak to start paddling – slowly. Our weight/power distributions were definitely not well matched for speed.
After circling the small islands and caves close to the coastline, our guide took us over to “Split Apple Rock” – the second most photographed rock in Australasia. We then hopped on shore for elevensies – impressively our guide whipped out a cafetiere from his dry bag for a high quality coffee break.
That afternoon we boarded a sea shuttle cruise. This passed by a colony of seals on Adele island, who have just produced some pups, before dropping us off at Anchorage – one of Abel Tasmans golden beaches.
We decided to have a bit of a wander, and saw a sign for a 2 hour 20 minute return walk to Cleopatra’s Pools. Naturally we thought we were better than the sign, and set off to find them.
45 minutes later we located them, having walked through some pretty stunning scenery on the way. We headed back and still had plenty of time to lounge around on the sand waiting for the boat. 1 hour 35 minutes overall.
It had been a perfect day in the park, and with bad weather forecast for the next day we decided not to go back and spoil our memory of the place. Plus we really couldn’t face waking up early again.
Instead we took a walk up a hill (surprise) to see the ‘Centre of New Zealand’, found the field the first NZ game of rugby was played on and wandered around Nelson’s art galleries.
The afternoon was also spent anxiously checking the weather forecast and road updates. The road to Franz Josef was still closed, which was making it increasingly unlikely we were going to be able to make it.
After much deliberation, we managed to come up with a genius plan. The first part of which was to head to Greymouth, stopping to look at the ‘Pancake Rocks’ in Punakaiki on the way.
From Greymouth we caught the cross-country TranzAlpine Express train to Christchurch. This was something we’d thought about doing before we left the UK, but hadn’t managed to make it fit in our itinerary. It’s a 4 hour trip through the mountains that separate east from west, on a train built to take in the stunning panoramic views.
It all provided an suitably epic backdrop to a monopoly deal showdown for the ages. Frances won 5-3.
We had a brief overnight visit to Christchurch, featuring Frances highlight of our time in New Zealand – a trip to Burger King.
The following day we caught the Bus to Mount Cook, passing through Lake Tekapo on the way. The weather did not provide spectacular views for us on this occasion, we seemed to have a dark cloud follow us around all day. When we arrived in Mount Cook it was still there, but we decided to persevere to do a casual 14km walk around the Hooker Valley Track.
Wet & tired, we treated ourselves to a meal out, and a game of pool. Finally, something Frances didn’t win.
The next morning we’d booked ourselves in for a heli-hike to the Tasman Glacier (an alternative to the original plan for Franz Josef). After yesterday’s cloud, we had little hope it would be going ahead. Fortunately, we awoke to glorious sunshine and clear skies. Which made us realise why there were so many people visit this tiny mountain village.
After a brief period of unnecessary stress created by the shuttle not showing up until after the flight “departure time”, and the clueless booking office, we made it to the airport. Luckily the choppers were still on the ground.
Frances got prime position in the helicopter’s front seat (one of the perks of being small), and enjoyed some brilliant scenic views on our flight to the glacier. Everyone managed to get out of the helicopter fairly graciously, and no limbs were lost.
Crampons on feet, we started trekking around the glacier with our guide. He gave us loads of information about glaciers/mountains and took us to crevasses and moulins.
There was a lot of booming from the mountains above from ‘snowfalls’. This was concerning for us, but our guide seemed to think it was good luck.
The weather held up, and we had another impressive ride back in the helicopter.
Back on solid ground, we hopped on the bus to take us to Queenstown. Which is where we are now. A very successful detour, all in all.
Ps from Andrew: For those who came here for the Kombucha (which I know is all of you), here are the latest reviews.
Not the worst, but overall a bit too sweet and sickly. Not enough lemon. 6/10.
There & Back Again 