Saturday, 2 April 2016
Nelson
Sadly, the weather gods were not on my side the two days I spent in Nelson. It was cloudy throughout, and it rained a bit too. It was not cold at all, but VERY humid! Given the disappointing weather conditions, I went to see The Lady In The Van with national treasure Dame Maggie Smith one afternoon. Interesting, but I had expected a bit more comedy. It was clear that the author was only interested in telling his own story.
On the second day, I first went to have a look at the Saturday market in Montgomery Square. Apart from two hippies "meditating for peace" and wanting donations, it was about as exciting as the monthly farmers market in Maidenhead. I also saw two of the residents at my hostel playing guitar and singing for money. Apparently many "creative people" flock to Nelson. Hippie capital of NZ? I smiled and moved on. The Queens Gardens were much nicer.
I then hiked up a mountain to see the Centre of New Zealand. The spot was appointed the geographic centre of the country in the 19th century, but more recent research has placed the actual centre somewhere else. Nevertheless, Nelson has kept its claim to fame and there is a monument on top of the "hill". It was a fairly challenging uphill walk to get there, but the views of Nelson (picture above on a sunny day) and the Maitai Valley made it worth the effort. I could only stay up there for about 10 minutes before it started to rain though, and the path quickly turned into a mudslide on my way down. By the time I got back to the hostel, I just wanted to crawl under the blanket and watch a movie online. And lucky for me, the wi-fi actually worked inside my room for a change!
I will not dwell on this hostel as it is not worth the effort. Of course "you get what you pay for" but I did not like it one bit. Too many people milling about, too many people in the kitchen, not enough toilets and showers, weak wi-fi signal that kept cutting out... As I have just arrived at my next destination, Franz Josef, I must say I am much happier with the accommodation here! First of all the sun shines, which hasn't happened much the last few days. I also have my own bathroom, a TV, fast wi-fi, a kettle, a toaster, and a big double bed! And there's more! The hostel serves free vegetable soup and popcorn every evening, you can make free international calls to landlines from reception, breakfast is included, and you can use the hot tub for free! I am really liking this. It only costs $15 more per night than Nelson - and the experience is so much better! Just goes to show how you can distinguish yourself from the competition if you just put your heart into your business.
The coach trip here was 10 hours, but again, not as bad as it could have been. We made several stops on the way for breakfast and lunch, and the seat next to me was empty so I could stretch out a bit. All in all quite bearable. The bus pass is excellent value. Manuel in Wellington (see earlier post) booked me two different passes, one based on number of trips and one based on number of hours. Combined, they saved me some $200 compared to buying single tickets. Quite pleased with that.
New Zealand turned back the clocks to standard time last night, so I got an extra hour in bed this morning :)
While I'm here, I will go see the Franz Josef glacier (haven't seen ice since Patagonia now), hopefully a picturesque lake with the reflection of Mount Cook, and the national kiwi breeding centre (the birds, not human New Zealanders!).
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