Still in transit

Trip Start Jun 06, 2006
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Trip End Dec 01, 2006


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Monday, August 21, 2006

The ferry arrives in Picton and it is a two and half hour drive to Nelson, which was our first stop on the South Island. Camped in Tahunanui holiday park, our first one and did all the necessary things to keep the van functioning. I think Stan particularly enjoyed dumping the waste. (he he!) Proper showers the next morning felt wonderful as you don't bang every part of your body. The laundry wasn't finished so we went for a walk on Tahunanui beach and gathered some shells. I finally found Paua shells there. They are very funky, mainly green mussel type shells that have very vivid patterns on the inside. The ones I found have to be polished in order to look as cool as the ones that are sold by the jewelry shops. But I have absolutely no idea how to do that. Maybe google will tell me! Paid a brief visit to the local Saturday market, bought some fresh groceries and Venison salami, a local speciality.

The four hour journey to Greymouth was uneventful but spectacular
01Fire on the hill
01Fire on the hill
. It is the largest town on the west coast with a population of about 13000 people. I think that there are more people in my district in Delhi. The lack of people in this country spooks me. I'm used to people all around me all the time. Come five p.m and there is no soul to be seen here. I think a few more South Asians are needed to make the place bustling. The evening in Greymouth was spent watching the rugby match between Australia and New Zealand. NZ won. Yay! The night was spent in a dodgy car park in town as the traffic wardens don't work on weekends. Free parking is good as long as you have everything you need, water, battery power and an empty waste bin!

Sunday we decided to be extremely lazy. Just needed a change in the view from the bedroom, so we drove a bit and parked near the coast. Stan made a lovely breakfast and it felt just like a normal Sunday back home, apart from the fact that we live in camper van with no TV. The drive to Franz Joseph was beautiful and we stopped at a couple of gorgeous lakes along the way. Found decent free parking again and and had a wander around. Decided to walk to the glacier ourselves the next morning and do some kayaking on the lake in the afternoon. Had dinner in a restaurant - splurge! I had pumpkin soup again, it seems to be some kind of national dish here. I'm still waiting to find a place that makes it by hollowing out a pumpkin and filling the hole with stock and baking it in an oven. It's supposed to be really great.
Nelson hotels Slideshow

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