We very much enjoyed Nelson and were sad to leave but that could be said of most of the places where we have stayed in NZ. We left by 09:00, determined to beat the traffic that we experienced yesterday, and that seemed to work as we had no problem getting out of Nelson and the suburbs. It was not a good morning weather wise and was raining quite heavily as we sped south and west towards Murchison. where we had our customary coffee stop at a very busy but pleasant cafe. The LLW emerged from the loo saying that the conversation had been about a trailer having overturned just south of Murchison and that nobody seemed to know if the road was passable or not! If not passable, then to quote Manuel, "eese probleme" as a significant detour via the west coast would be necessary. The tension built as an ambulance sped past us on the road out of Murchison and then we arrived at the accident scene to see said trailer off the road and down a small slope. I guess the driver must have been hurt if an ambulance had been called out but it did not appear to be too serious from what we could see. We certainly hope it was not serious.
On we went and the rain did not relent but only helped to emphasise the vegetation which had become very "west coast" with temperate rainforests where trees were so tightly packed that you can hardly see the ground. This continued as we turned directly out past some historic gold mining sites with names such as Shenandoah and Minihaha (I'm not sure if the gold miners were fans of Longfellow!).
After about 60Km, we turned east and after Maruia Springs (a thermal spa resort) we started to climb the Lewis Pass and straight into cloud which at times (but thankfully only briefly) was quite thick and impenetrable. Once we breached the summit, the landscape changed completely and it was hard to believe we were in the same country. Wide open landscapes with wide river valleys, seemingly arid hillsides and endless Viper's Bugloss ( Echium Vulgare for the latin scholars amongst you and I'm sure the LLW will inform you in detail about the horticulture details of this).
The weather also improved, it stopped raining and there were some patches of blue. We stopped for one of the LLW's wonderful lunches, amongst aforementioned Echium Vulgare, and drove the last few miles into Hanmer Springs, located our camp site and replenished our dwindling food store from the local Four Square.
The LLW had some work to complete so Ray headed off on the bike via the iSite (NZ tourist office) where he procured a cycling map of the area which showed all types of rides from easy to expert. Ray set off around the town and then the start of one of the easy rides which we may complete tomorrow if the weather is friendly to us.
Upon return to the camper van, business was almost done and very soon wine and crisps were in order! This was followed by butterflied leg of lamb, perfectly grilled, and accompanied by boiled potatoes and a very nice salad - just the ticket!
After dinner we walked down to Dog Stream Park which is very close to our camp site and is also the southern entrance to Hanmer Forest where the cycle trails are. A perfect evening, warm, sunny and quiet apart from a few families enjoying the outdoors. We sat for a while, enjoyed the evening sun and marvelled at what a wonderful world we live in.
On we went and the rain did not relent but only helped to emphasise the vegetation which had become very "west coast" with temperate rainforests where trees were so tightly packed that you can hardly see the ground. This continued as we turned directly out past some historic gold mining sites with names such as Shenandoah and Minihaha (I'm not sure if the gold miners were fans of Longfellow!).
After about 60Km, we turned east and after Maruia Springs (a thermal spa resort) we started to climb the Lewis Pass and straight into cloud which at times (but thankfully only briefly) was quite thick and impenetrable. Once we breached the summit, the landscape changed completely and it was hard to believe we were in the same country. Wide open landscapes with wide river valleys, seemingly arid hillsides and endless Viper's Bugloss ( Echium Vulgare for the latin scholars amongst you and I'm sure the LLW will inform you in detail about the horticulture details of this).
The LLW had some work to complete so Ray headed off on the bike via the iSite (NZ tourist office) where he procured a cycling map of the area which showed all types of rides from easy to expert. Ray set off around the town and then the start of one of the easy rides which we may complete tomorrow if the weather is friendly to us.
Upon return to the camper van, business was almost done and very soon wine and crisps were in order! This was followed by butterflied leg of lamb, perfectly grilled, and accompanied by boiled potatoes and a very nice salad - just the ticket!
After dinner we walked down to Dog Stream Park which is very close to our camp site and is also the southern entrance to Hanmer Forest where the cycle trails are. A perfect evening, warm, sunny and quiet apart from a few families enjoying the outdoors. We sat for a while, enjoyed the evening sun and marvelled at what a wonderful world we live in.
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