Head to Collingwood

Then we continued by bus to the northernmost point of the South Island, another breathtaking landscape. Every time I doze off on the bus and then wake up, I think ... damn, I missed another view of the landscape ... Serpentine roads winding up the mountain, and behind every curve a fabulous sight of this landscape ... green ... bush, forest, giant ferns, palms, coniferous trees ... just everything ... unfortunately, the internet here is so weak that uploading pictures doesn't work.

Arriving in Collingwood, I was then picked up and we went another 10 km to the lodge ... and here I felt like I was in paradise, surrounded by bush, a few cottages on the property, a large cozy garden, a huge hanging trampoline stretched over a small river. When you lie on it, you can hear the babbling of the stream from below and the rustling of the ferns from above when the wind comes ... comfortable and spacious rooms, a nice lounge with a large kitchen ... and the atmosphere was very familiar and warm ... for me it was the most beautiful hostel so far, more like a big shared flat where new people move in every few days ... and this morning I left with a somewhat nostalgic feeling.

Oh yes, but I was also on the way, so the beach was not much, as the weather was rather cold and very, very windy ... but on the first day I drove a few kilometers with a German who had a car, and then we went on a hike to some beaches. However, as there is both low tide and high tide here, we couldn't see the last beach completely because the water was already too high to climb over the rocks.

The next day, I treated myself to another bus ride to Farewell Spit, such a huge peninsula, and we drove along the beach again. The path to the lighthouse took about 1.5 hours, with a few breaks along the way to photograph some seals who were unaffected by the wind and the whipping sand.

Well, on the third day it rained ... and I just sat around, ate everything, and relaxed.

And today we continued, back to Nelson ... since I only arrived here this afternoon, I only took a short city stroll, had a pizza 🥘 and now I'm sitting here on the bed about to fall asleep ... so that's it for today ... and as I said, the pictures are still coming ... so let your imagination play for now ... it looks dreamy, magical, mystical, green, lush, and healthy here ... 👍👏😁