Ginger Without Borders

We had not planned to begin the three and a half hour drive to Nelson at 2:30pm but that is when the Whale Watch buses discharged us at the parking lot. We did not regret changing our plans to make the attempt at a great sperm whale encounter. Dawn got to see the dusky dolphins frolic up close and we saw a number of sea birds, notably two petrels, the cape and the north great. It was so entertaining to watch them glide above the water and disappear behind the big swells and then light gently on the crest of the waves. I watched one black-backed gull (they are three times the weight of the other two NZ gulls) glide straight at the catamaran for at least a full minute looking just like an albatross. It is the reason they are sometimes called a mollyhawk, after the small albatross the mollymawk.

Almost as soon as we left Kaikoura heading north on Highway One, we were reminded of the recent the earthquake damage. For 50 miles, we were stopped repeatedly as the road became one lane for the repair crews rebuilding the highway. And the radio reported that Prince Charles would end his NZ tour in Kaikoura with a speech thanking the earthquake repair workers (so we got out just in time to avoid his crowds).

Once we turned inland, instead of the usual rolling green hills feeding sheep and cattle, we entered the Marlborough District, famed for its vineyards. Like in the south of Australia, the vineyards stretched to the horizon on both sides of the highway.

But then we turned off Highway One and back onto Highway 6 (which eventually leads back to Greymouth and Queenstown) and into the low mountains that are planted in Monterey pine (and some Douglas fir). Around about every third turn through the mountains there were slopes either recently clear cut or just replanted. It was very strange to drive through what at a distance appeared to be mountains similar to the lower Appalachains only to find row planted trees and clear cut slopes up close. We chose not to take pictures of the clear cut slopes.

We got to Nelson at about 6:30pm, and fortunately rush hour was past. Then we drove through Nelson and out past the port to a suburb named Monaco. The tide was out. The hotel on the shoreline was a part of a housing area planned to look like an English village. The hotel’s restaurant was booked but there was a pub across the street (to the right of the picture below) named the Honest Lawyer. I did not make that up. They had a vey nice black beer and good seafood chowder.

We were both tired of driving, so the next morning we bagged the original idea of driving to the Abel Tasman National Park (a one hour drive) and drove the fifteen minutes to Nelson’s downtown (and a Victorian Park). Queen Victoria proclaimed this place a Bishop’s See and a city under letters patent in 1858, the second in NZ so created (Christchurch was the first). The townsfolk chose to name their city after her favorite admiral.

While we were enjoying a very nice pastry at the Park’s cafe, Dawn suddenly jumped up and said “I saw something that looks like a kiwi.” Sure enough, a weka, another flightless bird found mostly on the west side of the south island (where we were), came walking out of the bushes beside the cafe. Apparently, they can run quite fast. They will also steal anything left out – not just food, but watches and spoons.

We had parked the car near a field with a public restroom (no picture of the restroom this time). Turns out the field was the site of the very first rugby game in NZ, so we got a picture of Dawn instead to commemorate her new sports passion.

We needed to return to the hotel early to rearrange all our stuff for the ferry ride to the north island on Saturday. By the time we had that sorted, the tide had returned and the sun was setting. So we had our final night in the south island.

PS., Lena, we were pretty frugal with your inheritance today. We didn’t drive to the National Park and I only ate delicious mussels for dinner. They were the famous green lipped mussels of NZ, one of the largest mussels in the world (that is a black beer next to the mussels). Mom stayed in the room and was asleep when I got back but her cold is a lot better. She got a little annoyed with me at the Rugby Park earlier but I think I am ok for tonight.