Christmas

23.12 -26.12.2016

During Christmas, we rented an apartment in Nelson with Luisa, Jessi, Andre, and Dennis to relax and celebrate Christmas there. We can check-in only after 4 pm, so we take a small detour to Marlborough Sounds on the way from Blenheim to Nelson. We drive a portion of the Queen Charlotte Track along the sounds and decide to take a hike to a viewpoint. The 45 minutes ascent was definitely worth it, as we had a great 360° view of two fjords!

When we arrived at the accommodation, we were greeted very warmly by our landlady Donna and her dog Moscow. We occupied the upper part of the house while she lived in the lower part. The house is located on Best Island right by the water. We settle into our rooms and go grocery shopping together for the next few days. After countless discussions and an hour later, we get something from the Thai restaurant for dinner and spend the evening comfortably. On Saturday morning, we wrap the last gifts and then Andre and Witzi cook a sweet potato-pumpkin soup. Afterwards, to get into the Christmas spirit, we bake cookies. There was even a Christmas songs CD :D Following that, Jessi and I made Goulash with dumplings for dinner. All the anxiety was unfounded, and we enjoyed our meal. Of course, there was gift exchange in the evening. We spent Sunday very relaxed. We took a beach walk, watched a movie, and of course, had a typical New Zealand BBQ.

On Monday, we checked out and enjoyed Boxing Day together in Nelson, where there are traditionally great discounts. We spent the evening together at Tahunanui Beach, and then our paths separated. The other four went to explore Abel Tasman National Park, and we stayed in Nelson.