Thursday 14th February

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone.

Today we moved from Nelson, where we have enjoyed being, and travelled to Picton. We had to pick up our Brian Strong picture on the way and I also had a quick trip round a scrapbooking shop just around the corner from our motel. Paper products in NZ are expensive and it was really noticeable in this shop. The owner told us she’d started the business nearly 3 years ago when scrapbooking first began to make an appearance in NZ. She has to buy all her stock from the USA as there are no paper manufacturing plants here for the quality required for scrapbooking or cardmaking. 12”x12” papers were the equivalent of 68p per sheet for the cheapest going up to £4.35. Sheets of peel offs were £1.30 each. (I know this won’t mean anything to you heathens out there who don’t do papercraft, but for all my fellow card makers, it’ll mean a lot. The same peel offs cost on average 79p per sheet in UK.) The shop was very well set out

and she runs good classes (I had a look at some of her work) but papercrafters here must be dedicated to pay out these kind of prices to continue doing it.

When we got to Brian Strong’s studio, he had our picture all wrapped and in a tube and he had other customers so we simply picked it up and left.

Back on the main road, we tried to follow the signs for Picton – but there weren’t any, or at least none that we could see. So for the first time here, we got lost in Nelson. “Don’t worry” said Tom. “It’s nearly midday, so the sun will be north of us, so we’ll head towards it.” That didn’t work as we ended up going east. Having stopped to have another look at the street map, we realised that the map had been printed with the streets showing vertical and horizontal for ease of use, but wasn’t orientated north and south as normal maps. Tom worked out where we really were and we set off again in the correct direction. On the way to pick up SH6, we found a sign that said “Centre of NZ” so just had to stop. It’s on Milton St in Nelson and is at the top of a hillock behind a rugby pitch and park area. When you read the noticeboard in detail, they admit that it’s not actually the true centre of NZ, which is about 55km SW, but for a while they thought it was so why let the facts get in the way of a good story? The rugby pitch is where the first game of rugby was played in NZ in 1870 (another “fact”??) Anyway, having found SH6, it was off along the coast eastwards, nice and straight to begin with but then, wow!, did we meet some bends. Up into the hills through the Hira forest to the Whangamoa Saddle, then down into the Rai Valley through the Rai Forest. These forests are mainly pine compared to the more primeval looking tropical forests we’ve seen on the west coast of N Island and obviously planted as opposed to being selfsown. We passed through Pelorus Bridge and Canvastown (so named because the settlement sprang up as a sea of tents during the gold rush of the 1860’s), then having descended all the way to sea level again, we stopped for coffee at Havelock. It also began life as a gold town but now has the distinction of being the green mussel capital of NZ and has a thriving harbour and marina. It is the gateway to the Pelorus Sounds where there are innumerable small bays and coves for fishing, diving or just enjoying the beaches. The old Post Office now sells crafts and Tom fell for a bowl made from Matai wood, which I have to admit is rather lovely, so we now have to find space for that in the luggage. (It’s not just me who’s spending the kids’ inheritance). I feel a new suitcase may be on the cards! We then found the “Wood Guy”, who makes the most amazing garden furniture from wood. Just like normal furniture, but about 4 times as thick, and sometimes 4 times as long. After Havelock we left SH6 and turned onto the Queen Charlotte Drive, the coast road to Picton. At Cullen Point Lookout about 5km from Havelock, after the road has climbed steeply, there are magnificent views back towards Havelock and in the other direction along the Mahakipawa arm of Mahau Sound. There are houses peeping out of the forest seemingly unreachable except by sea but as you drive on, you pass the driveways to these properties turning at impossible angles from the road and disappearing at horrific angles down towards the shore. Beautiful, but not for me!!

The road straightens in places but for the most part is very winding and when you reach the shore of Okiwa Bay, it starts to climb again – then the bends really start!! Although they’re not any worse than others we’ve met on the way, they’re closer together, so there’s no respite. The only saving grace is that the views into the bays are great and there are plenty of pulling in places to take photos. At one of our stops, we saw a very swish motorhome with the numberplate KNAUS! It was knbig!

At the viewpoint overlooking Picton, we were just in time to see the Interisland ferry, Arahua, leaving for Wellington. More piccies!

We found our motel, the Bell Bird easily and have unpacked just the basics for tonight. Its perfectly acceptable, and, althought right on the main road, has good views from the balcony. It’s now 9.45pm, we’ve just returned from the RSA club where we had another good meal and met a couple from Canada, John and June, who’d just arrived to tour S Island. They’re doing it by coach and train but we were able to give them some hints of where to go in Christchurch and Queenstown. They were able to give us some info on Australia as John originates from Brisbane, so we spent a very pleasant evening. I don’t know when we will be able to put this on the blog as we’re netfree here, but we hope by the end of the weekend at least.

Missing you all loads, but we’re still managing to get on OK despite the enforced togetherness, and the thought of another 2+ months doesn’t cause me any excessive distress!! Keep finding the patchwork and papercraft shops for me, some bookshops for Tom and some nice walking for us both and we’ll be fine!!