19/05/2018 - "50 Greatest Photographs - National Geographic" in Nelson

After the past few days at the beautiful "Golden Bay", as the northernmost region of the South Island of New Zealand is also often called, we took our next longer stay in "Nelson".

For six days, we explored the city and the surrounding area. Our first destination was "Rabbit Island", which is located outside of Nelson. The small peninsula is a classic recreational area for city dwellers. Surrounded by a pine forest, the wide sandy beach definitely invites you to relax. If it weren't for the nasty smell of fertilizer during the drive. When we finally left the passage behind us, we also enjoyed the quiet and relaxing atmosphere for nearly two hours. During our leisurely beach walk, looking for special shells, we occasionally found a small starfish lying in the sand. The sun was almost so strong that day that you could walk around without a sweater - how wonderful. :)

The longer break in Nelson was used for various visits to the library. One of these visits was particularly memorable for us. The plan was to work on the blog and recharge the electronics. That didn't work out because we couldn't find a power plug. Since the laptop was almost out of power and it was raining that day, we spontaneously decided to start a puzzle. Just as we finished the border, a loud siren sounded. - We are used to that in New Zealand. Often you hear them without any serious danger. Most of the time it is activated for training purposes for the fire brigade or to check its functionality. - In this case, however, a loudspeaker voice asked all visitors to leave the library immediately! Completely perplexed, we grabbed our things and left the building through one of the emergency exits. But it quickly turned out that it was a drill for the library employees.

We used the eviction from the library to take a walk into the city center. It is not very big, but it has a few nice corners. Like the cathedral with its high church tower, which can always be seen from the shopping street. 
Also worth a visit was the "Botanical Hill". On the city hill grows a "Kauri". At the beginning of our New Zealand trip, we saw many of these mighty and impressive trees. For us it was clear that we had to visit this one too. When we stood in front of it, we were amazed at how small the tree was. The Kauri was planted in 1951. So when you consider that it takes more than 65 years to reach this size, it is even more impressive how old and large the trees can become.
At the top of the Botanical Hill, a monument awaited us with the inscription: "'Center of New Zealand". However, this marker is not the official geographical center of New Zealand - it is a central point for land surveying. The true geographical center of the country is located about 40 kilometers southwest of Nelson.
Nevertheless, the view from up here was wonderful. Nelson, the harbor, and the surrounding neighborhoods were perfectly visible.

In a suburb called "Richmond" we strolled up and down the shopping street and bought smaller souvenirs of our trip to New Zealand. :)
We also got another opinion about the condition of our front tires. The mechanic recognized the defects, but did not consider them as serious as his colleague from "Takaka".

After it had been raining most of the time, the sun came out just in time for Tobi's 25th birthday. May 19th started with a plentiful breakfast at the campsite. When we were ready to go, we drove to the city to visit a very special exhibition. The top 50 pictures from "National Geographic" were presented. Each of the pictures had a very personal and individual story. The respective photographers gave their statements under the pictures, which allowed the visitor to immerse themselves in the scene. In some cases, the photographer lived on site for several months just to take that picture. Everything was represented, from an unreal underwater cave to pictures with a religious effect. The most famous photo was the portrait of twelve-year-old Sharbat Gula - "Afghan Girl" - taken by Steve McCurry. Likewise, the photo of a female leopard taken by Paul Nicklen was one of the more famous specimens.
We thought the $5 admission fee was very well invested. For us hobby photographers, the exhibition was an absolute special experience! Learning the reasons and stories behind a picture can be quite interesting. It tempted us to look at the photos from a different perspective. Suddenly we noticed details in the background that we had overlooked before. The captured moment almost reflected the emotions vividly. Totally impressive!
Afterwards, we paid a visit to the Saturday weekly market. Many art dealers and food producers from the region showcased their goods here. The market is one of the most beautiful and largest markets we have visited in New Zealand so far. The variety of stands and the relaxed atmosphere were a lot of fun.
In the afternoon, we drove to "Tahunanui Beach". There we enjoyed the birthday cake baked the day before. ;)
Back at the campsite, the birthday boy challenged me to a round of mini golf. The campsite's own mini golf course was a bit run down and overgrown - but we had a lot of fun. Head to head, the last hole decided about victory and defeat. With a large lead of one point, Tobi won. ;)
For dinner, we wanted something more elaborate. We had chicken wings with carrot vegetables and rosemary potatoes. The rest of the kitchen was amazed. Rightly so, it looked fantastic and tasted excellent.
The exciting birthday ended with a few Skype calls.