South Island

We finally made a trip to the south island! We left on Thursday, 5 February and returned on Sunday, 8 February. Our car and the three of us went on the Interislander Ferry. Going there we were on the Arahura (Pathway to Dawn) and we returned on the Aratere (Quick Path). It was pretty cool driving the car on and off the ferry. Cars line up about an hour before the ferry is scheduled to leave. On Thursday it looked like a big tailgating party. So on the return we were ready for the wait with sandwiches, cider and ginger beer (ginger ale). Dennis made a friend on the return trip and enjoyed running around the boat.

We stayed at Echo Lodge Bed & Breakfast in Picton for one night. It is a lovely old house. The new proprietors have plans to do it up. We were very comfortable and well cared for by Sharon.

Friday morning we headed for Nelson. We elected to take the longer route towards Blenheim. The shorter route along the Queen Charlotte sounds is very curvy and we weren't in the mood for car sickness! Around Blenheim are lots of vineyards; this is the Marlborough wine area. When we arrived in Nelson we grabbed a picnic lunch and headed for Tahunanui Beach.

After lunch, we checked in at the Nelson City Holiday Park. We stayed in a kitchen unit and brought our own linens. The bed was very comfortable; I was thrilled since this is budget accommodation. We got our room set up; Dennis jumped on the trampoline.

We didn't have enough beach time so we checked out Rabbit Island. It is connected to the mainland by a short causeway surrounded by salt marsh. (Reminded us of Jekyll Island off the coast of Georgia.) The beach here was just lovely. All three of us swam and let the waves rolling in splash us. We saw horse trailers and horses since a section of the beach is designated for them.

Tom barbecued burgers for dinner. Dennis made friends and ran around the park and jumped on the trampoline.

Saturday morning we went to the Nelson outdoor market. Here we bought a head massager, cherries, 1 kg. jar of peanut butter, a wool scarf, lavender soap and a sun hat. We had a picnic lunch at Queens Gardens. The ducks kept hoping for a hand out from us.

Then we toured the WOW and Antique Car Museum. WOW stands for World of Wearable Art. WOW is an annual show that started in Nelson and is now held in Wellington. People from all over the world design costumes for this show. The costumes go on real people, with choreography, music and lighting to create the show. We got a flavor of the show seeing the costumes and video clips of past shows. Tom and I plan to go to the next one in September.

We took Dennis to a Fun Park where he spent an hour going up and down a hydro slide. He also got to ride in a bumper boat. We thought three activities were enough for one day, so we went back to the holiday park.

Dennis made friends with a new neighbor boy. They invited Dennis to go across the road to play some soccer. At the park were some young men towing one another on a mountain board or roller skis behind a van. Dennis and his friend got to try it out too. While there were were serenaded by two older men, one playing the accordion and one a harmonica. When they finished a song, we clapped for them.

In the evenings Tom read to me from A Labyrinth of Waterways by W. Frank Ponder. It is about the pioneers of the Marlborough sounds. I pulled out a map and a magnifier to find the places talked about in the book. The return drive to Picton had new meaning after we had read about theses places and the first settlers.

Sunday came too soon. We ate our Sultana Bran (raisin), repacked the car and headed back towards Picton. Unfortunately we didn't see any open vineyards so we went into Blenheim for lunch. A cafe along the river with a fountain appealed to me. We sat outside and had delicious meals and coffees.

Back in Picton we had plenty of time before we needed to check in for the ferry. I shopped in town while the boys went to the park. Picton has a beautiful playground and park along the harbor. One section has a mini sailboat pond and railroad run by the Lions Club. Dennis got to put a boat in the pond and ride the train. Next to this is a mini golf and merry go round. The three of us played mini golf. Dennis wanted to go for a swim. We went to the beach where Dennis swam out to a raft. He wanted to warm up, so he did that in the kiddie wading pool in the middle of the park. Tom and I stayed cool in the shade of a gazebo. After a few hours it was time to queue up for the ferry.