Nelson and Malborough

The 2 boys
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We awake to find a lovely stream behind us.  I study the guide books and formulate a plan for the next few days.  Its hard to work out a route round the south island as there is so much here to see and do.  I make a decision for us to travel the west coast first, then switch to the east.  We set off for Nelson and the Abel Tasman Park.

The drive is lovely, I am already seeing a difference to the North Island in scenery.  There are lots of places to stop and go walking, but with the kids this is hard for us to do.  I make a resolution to return here without the kids one day and do some of the walks.

green lipped mussels

Nelson isnt as I expected, it is much larger, and more commercial than I thought.  I think I was expecting something like St. Ives.  I was hoping to find the craft shops but didnt come across one. Think we just walked down the wrong streets though.  We enjoyed strolling around though, and had a Starbucks then found Matthew some more shorts.

Eating food turned into a mammoth task.  We were to go to the Anchor which is on the harbourside in Nelson.  But on arrival it looked closed, and also far too smart to take 2 screaming kids into.  So we pressed onwards.  We ended up in a place called Smugglers Inn, and the food was delicious, our best yet in New Zealand.  We had local green lipped mussels, which put the mussels in Leigh-on-Sea to shame.  Then I had the lamb and Steve had chicken, and it has never tasted so good.  And all this from a pub.  The meal was pricey for New Zealand though, came to 40 quid in total, but well worth it, and was enough to have served 4 people.

We head north for Kaiteriteri, which looks lovely as we turn the corner into it.  Sandy beaches and calm calm water.