Tongariro, Wellington to Nelson

Bob successfully completed the Tongariro Crossing on Feb. 26.Our son Rob had done it during his trip to New Zealand, so dad had to do it also. He said it was a very long, hard walk that took him about seven hours. He took some very interesting photos of the very rugged volcanic terrain. He also had some very sore muscles for the next few days to remind him of the experience.
We spent the next couple of days packing up for our trip to the south island and getting in the last rounds of golf at Taupo. We left for Wellington on Mar. 1. It was about a five hour trip, the first part along a stretch called the desert highway and it really was desert. We are constantly amazed at the varied topography in this small country. After we found our hotel in Wellington, we took a ride on an old cable car that climbs this very steep hill and ends up at the observatory and botanical gardens. There is a great viewpoint at the top along with the usual cafe. (They love their cafes here).We were up early the next morning to get in the queue for the ferry to Picton. We got on and then went for breakfast upstairs. The ride out of Wellington Harbour started out fairly calm, but soon started to get rougher (apparently quite normal for the Cook Strait). The ferry started to rock and roll back and forth and a little while later, Olga lost her breakfast - good thing she only had tea and toast. The rough part lasted about and hour and then it became calm again. The journey took about three hours and after we landed in Picton, we started to drive to Nelson.
The first part of the drive was through vineyards and orchards along some rather flat, straight roads - but we were soon driving through some more scenic reserves and the winding stretches that go along with them. We arrived safely and managed to find a brand new motel - quite nice with a jetted tub.(the Leisure Lodge) We then found the i site and booked a tour for the next day. We drove around a little to get the lay of the land. Nelson is larger and more spread out then we expected. In the morning,we drove to Kaiterteri and took a boat called the Vista for a look at the bays along Able Tasmin National Park.The boat stopped at a few of them to drop off and pick up various passengers, including a bunch of school kids on a field trip. We saw lots of little inlets and bays that looked inviting if you were camping and kayaking and had time to explore them. We have discovered that a lot of the activities in this country are meant for young, fit outdoors types. Anyway, we saw a little of the park, along with a colony of fur seals at Tonga Island along the way. It was a long day and we had a quiet dinner at the motel's restaurant,followed by a hot tub and bed.
The next day we were booked to do a bone carving stint with Stephan Gilberg, an immigrant from Germany who had fallen in love with New Zealand during a previous vacation. He used to do wookworking and guitar-making in Germany and after moving to New Zealand opened a small studio and started doing bone carving. Neither Bob or Olga are very artistic, so just choosing a design and doing the initial drawing was a challenge, but Stephan was very helpful. So we now each have a little polished necklace which we mad ourselves and plan to give to our kids - part of the Maori tradition of passing things on. We had planned to golf in Nelson, but Bob was coming down with a cold and the weather was cool and windy, so no golf in Nelson.