We flew into Wellington where we went through customs - they were really strict. The flight attendant told us to declare anything that was on the form, which we did. She said we were better off declaring everything that could possibly be suspect than have them find something as we would be fined at the very least. Good advice as they looked through every one of my shells to make sure nothing was living on them. Hiking in the forest was also a possible problem but they let us go. Whew! We boarded the little plane to Nelson, which in contrast had no security check and was super easy and we had lots of time.
Nelson is a really interesting little town and we spent quite a bit of time wandering around and had a fabulous meal in one of the restaurants. The woman in the restaurant was very helpful telling us what were the good wines in the area and were available in the grocery store. We went to the WOW museum - no photos to show. I took tons, but again for own use and don't want to abuse the privilege. My felting teacher from Quebec, Marjolein Dalliinga, not only had her work on show there, but they used her work for a big banner in front of the museum, on the front of a beautiful art book and on the front of a journal which I just had to buy and bring home. The Wow museum is the World of Wearable Art and they have fantastical costumes and have a show in Wellington every October. It was only a few days before we got there, but unfortunately was sold out long before. www.worldofwearableart.com is the website The other half of the museum is for old vintage cars very handy for the husbands who weren't so enthusiastic about looking at the costumes.
We went on a trip to Abel Tasman which is a huge natural area. On the drive there we saw lots of orchards and kiwi fruit vines. We also saw the fluffiest sheep I have ever seen and presume they were merino. We boarded the boat and were treated to all kinds of wildlife on our way to our destination. A school or porpoises gave us an eyeful, as well as lots of sea birds.
We were dropped off at our destination of Torrent Bay. We had four hours to walk to Anchorage beach where we were to be picked up again by the boat. We thought we had lots of time to wander, but with the tide in, we had no short cuts and it ended up being a route march to get there in time. The path was lovely though with walks through the fern trees and beautiful views.
This part was our downfall, if the tide had been out, we could have walked along the beach and hopped over into the trees. Instead of which, we had to walk all along the bay. New Zealanders must be very fit, is all I can say. I could have used another couple of hours to enjoy the views and sit on the beaches for a while.
We got back to our hotel and enjoyed a feast of green lipped mussels. They were really big and tasty. Nearly everywhere we stayed had a kitchenette and small 'fridge. We were always given fresh milk, tea and coffee. We washed the mussels down with a sauvignon blanc from Kahourangi Estate winery. We also bought a bottle of the Multipulciano from the same winery that the woman had recommended from the restaurant. A good day!
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