Nelson and the Abel Tasman National Park

It was a huge car ferry to Picton
and carried hundreds of passengers.

We saw at first islands and then the sides of the
Sound with a few homes.

The passage into Picton

 

The ferry ride over to the South Island was very smooth, happily, as it often is quite rough and the entrance into Picton very scenic. We then got a really lucky break. We were only able to reserve a car at the Blenheim airport, which was quite far and hard to reach. But when we checked into the Budget office right there at the Ferry dock to get directions, they found us a car right there!! 

The view from our motel room in Nelson.

The beautiful restaurant where we had dinner  our
first night at the Tides Hotel. 

The drive to Nelson took a little over an hour and we were able to check into our hotel. The Harborside Motel was small but right down at the Marina and our room had a great view of the boats. It was wonderful to have a relaxing afternoon for a change. And Scott did his magic once again, finding a wonderful restaurant on the river in the center of Nelson. We liked it so much we went back there the next night!

Scott relaxes up on the top deck.

Split Rock

Our "cruise" shuttle motor catamaran could 
pull right up on the beach.

There were so many of these beautiful beaches 
all along the Abel Tasman National Park coast!

Our one full day here we booked a cruise down the coast of the Abel Tasman National Park. It was an easy drive about an hour south along the shore. The "cruise" was really a shuttle service going down the length of the park. Most of the passengers were getting off at one of the beaches either to stay there at one of the lodges or to hike/swim. I wondered why the cruise said it was 3 - 6 hours! If we had understood we could have worn different clothes and gone for a hike or swim, picking up the next boat. But it was a beautiful cruise and a perfect day for it - as you can see from the photos.

We were able to get off once in a while when
the boat ran ahead of schedule and walk on the
beach

There were occasional small islands 

Our boat loaded up right from the street at 10 AM but by the time we came back the tide had gone out and it's a big tidal range. So we had to walk quite a ways and then cross this bridge. It really was a plank! Luckily a couple of the crew helped me across.

The next day was a long one from Nelson down to Kumara. It took 5 hours and a lot of concentration. I don't mind the driving on the left side of the road - I've driven a number of times that way. But the roads were narrow, very twisty with one way bridges and constant speed changes. We were exhausted at the end of the day. And it was cold and damp. That made us reconsider our plans ahead. We had reservations for 3 nights in Christchurch and 4 nights in Queenstown. The road from one to the other was probably 8 hours. So we booked a hotel a little more than half way and split the trip. That meant only two nights in Christchurch but with cloudy, showery weather conditions for the next 2 days, our trip down to Queenstown would be in good weather.

On the way from Nelson to Kumara we stopped 
at a cafe for coffee and scones. And discovered'
it was St. Patrick's Day!

We stayed in a converted Theater in Kumara - this was a former cold mine town. We actually had a separate cottage which was lovely although still dreary with the damp cold weather. The restaurant was cheery though and had good pub food The next morning we left early as we had a long drive over Arthur's Pass to Christchurch. And it was pouring rain! But that's my next post!

Theater Royal Hotel, Kumara pub.