Nelson
Trip Start
Jan 16, 2010
1
48
56
Trip End
Oct 19, 2010
Nelson, Nelson, New Zealand
Monday, August 9, 2010
That night, after our cooking was dragged out due to wind, we went into Vikki and Michael's Wikid camping van for an evening of chit chat and travelling stories. We stayed by the beach parked up next to them.
Bang, bang. Someone was outside. It was just before 12. Anna woke up first then Liam in a daze. Bang again. We knew it was probably a security man but you are always a little wary in a campervan especially as there had been some boy racers around earlier. Liam got in the front seat and put the window down. It was a Nelson security officer explaining that there was no freedom camping allowed anywhere in the area. We accepted a leaflet and luckily was just given a warning. The man then moved on to Vikki and Michael's van. We pulled away and ended up in a residential road, like we usually did, not far in the next town Richmond. Down for the night again, this time in peace.
The next morning we were deciding whether to stay in Nelson an extra day or not. We decided to stay and went to the library to use the free internet. We then went to the WOW Museum and saw an amazing wearable art exhibition with costumes, glow in the dark and neon body suits and amazing dresses. The museum also had an amazing collection of old cars: definitely take a look at the photos if you are a car lover! We finished the museum with a cinema viewing of past WOW shows which used to be held in Nelson and are now held in Wellington due to the annual 40,000 tickets sold. Anna is looking into taking part next year. We nearly didn't go to the museum due to time but we are very glad we didn't miss it!!
We had a short walk round town into a great bead shop, a recycle boutique (where Anna tried on a beautiful all in one jumpsuit made from cottonsilk with a vivid green print spotted with occasional red and orange flowers, but boohoo the legs were too short) Instead she found a NZ made floral rag top by Sue Edwards Boutique, which she bought.
We went on the hunt to find a launderette but only found a dry cleaners so we headed to Paradiso Hostel to see if we could use their facilities. The hostel was just out of the town centre and Helen the reception lady was really friendly when we arrived. She said for $12 each we could use all the facilities for the next day including showers, kitchen, washing, tv room, spa, pool and games room, park up for the night in their carpark and get free soup at dinner and breakfast in the morning. Such a good offer we jumped at the chance. The hostel was warm and welcoming like a big house with lots of bedrooms. There were wooden and treehouse features where communal rooms had ladders to mini attics, like a treehouse. We used our time at the hostel to fill up water bottles, get the laundry done and chill out in some space- typical wants for a camper. The hot soup was yummy, leak and potato, served up in the busy social kitchen. In the evening we watched the funny film 'Sex Drive' in the TV room and chatted with some other people.
In the morning we had free breakfast and hot showers- a big plus! We said goodbye and went for a final walk round town. We went in to look at the glass creations at Flame Daisy, which were very original and full of colour, and view the Lord of the Rings final 'one ring to rule them all' ring by Jens Hansen at his jewelry workshop. We found out 40 different rings were used in the film depending on the rings scene, lighting and it's wearer. The actual engraving on the ring was only added in special effects after filming.
We really enjoyed our visit to Nelson for it's sun, beach, recouping and creativity.
