So the Adam/Nelson International Chamber Music Festival came to an end Saturday night, and the next morning it was time for me to pack up and move on.
And I must admit, I was very sorry to leave Nelson. I was really starting to feel at home there. It's quite an experience to visit a city of 50,000 people and find yourself in the middle of spectacular scenery, beautiful old architecture, extensive urban services, plenty of culture and entertainment, and many, many fine cafes, restaurants, pubs, wine bars, brew pubs -- and all with a decided small-town vibe to it. Well, you get the idea. All these riches were located within a 10-minute or less walk of my très deluxe motel, the Palazzo Motor Lodge. If you ever head to Nelson and plan to stay more than an overnight, I heartily recommend it. Not only are the rooms beautiful and comfortable in every way, with full kitchen facilities, but the couple who own and manage the property go out of their way to ensure that everything is to your liking, as well as sharing tips on places to eat, things to do, and the like. This kind of family-like experience is all too rare in Canadian and American cities in the context of a hotel property.
I also had a field day with the multiple restaurants. Not the brew pubs, though. I've drifted away from beer and more to wine in recent years. However, Nelson is the centre of an active hop-growing industry and therefore, no surprise, the craft brewery capital of New Zealand. Nelson is also surrounded by a number of active vineyards and wineries, and just a couple of hours by road from Blenheim, which is the wine capital of New Zealand! Believe it or not, in six days I had different wines at every dinner except one, and every lunch except one, and never duplicated a selection. That was with all white wines, and all from the Nelson area. I didn't once get into any from Marlborough (the region around Blenheim).
The best thing about Nelson was the extreme friendliness of the people. Not just service staff in the tourism industry, but people sitting next to me at concerts, people I was introduced to, people sitting at the next table in a cafe or on a patio, everyone was so much friendlier than they would be in similar situations at home! Believe me, Nelson has totally won my heart and I will be back!
(The Festival runs every second February. Hmmm -- 2019? 2021?)
Once I finished packing up and checked out, I took the road east from Nelson to Havelock. The entire stretch from Wakapuaka to Rai Valley was genuine mountain road, either snaking up and down the hills or threading through the narrow valleys. So it took me about 90 minutes to drive to Havelock, where I had a mid-morning coffee and snack. Two of my friends heartily recommended me to try a New Zealand style of coffee called a "flat white". It uses less milk than a standard latte or cappuccino, with a thinner foamed layer on top, and allows the distinctive taste of the espresso to come through, nicely enhanced and not at all overwhelmed. I'm hooked! So I enjoyed a flat white facing a marina on the shore of Pelorus Sound, one of the ocean inlets known collectively as the Marlborough Sounds. As the map shows, this coastal region has one of the world's most contorted coastlines.
After leaving Havelock, I followed what looks like the "direct route," the thin line winding along the shores of Pelorus Sound and Queen Charlotte Sound to Picton. Ha ha! Again, a mountain road every inch of the way, with innumerable sharp bends twisting your driver's arms into knots. Most of the way the speed limit is 50 km/h, and you're doing well indeed if you can hold that speed! But there are compensations, such as these terrific views of Havelock and the Pelorus Sound region from the mountainside across the inlet.
As you drive along the shores of Queen Charlotte Sound you enjoy beautiful views every inch of the way -- but it's almost impossible to find a safe place to pull off the narrow road and take pictures! However, on the hill overlooking the small town of Picton there is a good-sized overlook and parking area. And here you can see exactly what makes little old Picton so important to the entire country: the harbour where the car ferries arrive and depart from Wellington on the North Island. Here you have one vessel from each of the two main operators at the docks, as well as a good overview of Picton town.
In Picton the long-threatened rain finally happened, but had the good sense to do its thing while I was inside eating lunch. During my 75 minute stop I got a good meal, a good walk, looked into a couple of stores, and walked around down on the waterfront.
After that I drove south on State Highway # 1 to Blenheim, a reasonably quick and easy drive. About 10 kilometres north of Blenheim the road suddenly popped out of the mountains onto the low, dry Marlborough plains and the sun came out -- wine country par excellence.
But I wasn't planning any big-time sightseeing for the rest of the day. As usual after a festival, I was pretty tired. A good afternoon nap was next on the agenda. For dinner, I went into town to one of the few restaurants open on Sunday, and had a delicious lamb dinner for about 60% of what it would have cost me in a Canadian restaurant.
The next day involved a very long and roundabout route to get from Blenheim to Christchurch. The usual direct route, State Highway 1, has several sections both north and south of Kaikoura either buried under mountains or drowned under the ocean as a result of the November earthquakes. But the alternate route is certainly a long one: all the way west to Murchison, and then back south and southeast to finally reach Christchurch. So an early start was essential.
The trip ended up, with several short stops, taking seven and a half hours -- mainly because construction season is in full swing. I must have gone through at least 20 different sets of roadworks. And for almost the entire distance it was raining, just about to rain, or just finished raining. The sun only came out as I approached Culverden, an hour north of Christchurch. Anyway, rain or no rain, I did manage to get a few photos as the road wound its way between and over all those mountains.
A little by-note: a couple of Maori names appear in today's post. As with all the Polynesian languages, from Hawaii and Tahiti to Samoa and Fiji, the Maori words are basically pronounced by sounding every letter.
Lake Rotoiti ("Roh-toh-ee-tee", just to give you the idea) at St. Arnaud, complete with ducks and dramatic cloud-capped mountains.
Maruia Falls south of Murchison. I'm always up for viewing a good waterfall, but this one has a particularly unique history. This impressive waterfall didn't even exist until after the great Murchison earthquake of 1929, which was a 7.8 on the Richter scale.
An Alpine valley east of Lewis Pass.
After the sun came out, the rock formations in Weka Pass just north of Culverden.
The next day involved a very long and roundabout route to get from Blenheim to Christchurch. The usual direct route, State Highway 1, has several sections both north and south of Kaikoura either buried under mountains or drowned under the ocean as a result of the November earthquakes. But the alternate route is certainly a long one: all the way west to Murchison, and then back south and southeast to finally reach Christchurch. So an early start was essential.
The trip ended up, with several short stops, taking seven and a half hours -- mainly because construction season is in full swing. I must have gone through at least 20 different sets of roadworks. And for almost the entire distance it was raining, just about to rain, or just finished raining. The sun only came out as I approached Culverden, an hour north of Christchurch. Anyway, rain or no rain, I did manage to get a few photos as the road wound its way between and over all those mountains.
A little by-note: a couple of Maori names appear in today's post. As with all the Polynesian languages, from Hawaii and Tahiti to Samoa and Fiji, the Maori words are basically pronounced by sounding every letter.
Lake Rotoiti ("Roh-toh-ee-tee", just to give you the idea) at St. Arnaud, complete with ducks and dramatic cloud-capped mountains.
Maruia Falls south of Murchison. I'm always up for viewing a good waterfall, but this one has a particularly unique history. This impressive waterfall didn't even exist until after the great Murchison earthquake of 1929, which was a 7.8 on the Richter scale.
An Alpine valley east of Lewis Pass.
After the sun came out, the rock formations in Weka Pass just north of Culverden.
Two days of driving, from Nelson to Picton and Blenheim, then from Blenheim to Murchison and Christchurch -- with pictures of some of the spectacular sights along the way.
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