Road Trip Part 1 - Christchurch to Nelson

Friday, 13.12.2019

So much has happened in the last week that I don't even know where to begin. Lars arrived in Christchurch last Saturday and of course, he lost his wallet at the beginning of the vacation, so it's a really good start to the trip. Well, never mind. After Lars caught up on some sleep, we headed towards Hanmer Springs and had a nice afternoon in the thermal pools before continuing on to Kaikoura. Kaikoura is the ideal place to observe whales. But we skipped that because we only spent half a day there and you would have to book a boat tour, which is also expensive. But there are several other places in the south of the island where we could make up for it if we ever feel the urge. But for now, we're heading north and then west. Originally, we wanted to drive to the Marlborough Sounds that day and go camping there, but I didn't feel like driving more than 2 hours to get there, so we only drove to Marfells Beach, which was only half the distance but also really nice.

On Wednesday, we drove to Picton to see the Marlborough Sounds. We walked a bit of the Queen Charlotte Track, which is one of the Great Walks here. We hiked about 12 km to Davis Bay and then further to the first lookout and back, which was about only 1/10 of the track. From there, we had a really great view of the Sound. The muscle soreness was definitely worth it. That's what happens when you haven't really done any sports for a month or even longer. After that, Lars and I could hardly manage to walk another 500m up to the Cullen Lookout in Havelock, let alone drive more than an hour to Nelson. Luckily, we passed by the Pelorus Bridge, which crosses the Pelorus River known for its crystal clear water. I treated myself to a little refreshment, even though I was half frozen. I could swear the water was only about 10 degrees. Apart from that, I got bitten by sandflies. But other than that, everything was great. Somehow, we still managed to make it to Nelson, from where we will drive to Abel Tasman National Park tomorrow.