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Sandy drove the car from the terminal to Nelson. The journey took us across the whole of the Marlborough Wine Country-it seemed very strange seeing familiar vineyard names a long way from Tescos! We intended to go wine tasting at a later date but that did not work out due to lack of time ( we only had 8 weeks in New Zealand, hardly enough time to scratch the surface of this beautiful place).
We had a fantastic meal in Nelson at a restaurant called Hopgoods- it is owned by an English chef who moved here a few years ago after 25 years cooking in London. His home made breads are the best that we have ever tasted- the cheese board was sensational - well the whole meal was!
We decided to stay on in Nelson for a few days. The following day Brian took his turn at driving- unfortunately his legs would not go under the steering wheel! This led to much frustration, gnashing of teeth and language that would not normally be associated with him. It would be fair to say that that morning was not a highlight of the trip!!!! Maritial harmony was seriously strained.......... Sandy drove for the rest of what remained of the day! We drove up to the Abel Tasman National Park via a scenic mountain road! We had a wonderful walk through stunning scenery, which we enjoyed despite the heavy rain. (The incredible beaches and coastline,with the wooded hills as a back drop take some beating.) One day we would love to return to tackle the Abel Tasman Track properly!
The next day we contacted the Car Hire Company in Nelson-the staff were wonderful and quickly found us a more spacious car. Brian was now ready to resume driving! We headed for the west coast. We found a lovely B&B at Carter's Bay to the south west of Westport. Gary and Lesley(the owners) pointed us in the right direction. Tauranga Bay has a great eatery overlooking the bay - we had a good meal before heading for a colony of Fur Seals who were residing on the rocks at the opposite side of the bay- an amazing sight,noisy and full of energetic pups of varying sizes, with the bullseals oblivious to everything except their own importance! We were both entranced and only the failing light forced us away.
The following we drove down the coast to Greymouth- a beautiful rugged coastline with oohs and aahs around every corner. We stopped to look at some famously spectacular blow holes- but they were not blowing that day! Nevertheless, the rocks and caves were a wonder to behold. We headed to Christchurch via the Lewis Pass and rest stop at Hamner Springs- can the scenery get any better? It seems to carry on doing so!
We arrived in Christchurch very tired- distances are much greater than you realise and there is a temptation to drive too far in one day. We had a late night coffee and a wonderful, shared dessert in a place called Strawberry Fayre. Wow,yummy!
Next day,off to meet Alistair,Gabi and the boys. We caught up with them at Wanuii,where we shared a delightful picnic on the village green of this lovely place. Sandy had eyed up the coffee at the local pub,but was not allowed to go-Alec distracted her with a regular supply of French Fries. The bottle of Fizz mellowed us all. Then we all headed for Kiakora via the scenic route-lots of climbing and descending through beautiful countryside. Finally, late into the evening we arrived.We found an apartment for us all to share,which Alistair kindly paid for as a wedding present,along with a wonderful evening meal.The following morning VERY early,we set off on a trip to see the whales.We were all fast asleep when we boarded the boat but soon woke up.The boat rolled so that we felt we were on a tummy lurging ride at the fair!We stopped occasionally for them to listen with their special device to see if there were any whales close by.This made the boat roll more and it did not inspire confidence to be told we were bound to feel sea-sick! The next time it stopped, Sandy was changing colour and despite her boasts that she had never been sea-sick however rough the conditions,she was very ill!Brian,who never travels well on a boat was so busy looking after her,he was okay!!Alistair, by this time was also looking green and was sitting very still inside the boat wearing shades-these McLeish's they cannot hack it!However all this trauma was very well worth it ,because we eventially located a sperm whale and raced off to see it.What a sight!It was huge and lying on the surface of the water looking like a log .The boat carefully went up very close until we felt that we could reach out and touch it.After about ten minutes it flicked it's tail and dived back under the sea so gracefully.We all just stood there stunned at this amazing sight(even Sandy and Alistair!).The guide then asked if anyone minded being back late back as another whale had been spotted(Sandy and Alistair groaned,their agony was to continue)!We found our second whale but it had already surfaced for a while,so we did not get as long to see this one but again we were all awe-struck.Watching the faces of Alec and Max,it was obvious how special they had found it too.Gaby and Brian were pretty excited too!On our return to land(much to Sandy and Alistair's relief) we all returned to the apartment for breakfast.Alistair and family then had to leave and travel back to the ferry.It was lovely to see them all and share this trip together.
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