NZ Day 2 - Nelson

Day 2 in NZ started bright & early (with only a little bit of a hangover) with a trip on the Interislander Ferry to Picton. We stood on the deck for most of the trip to catch the view. It was just a little bit chilly.

The views were amazing - here is Wellington from afar, with a tiny speck of a plane coming in to land at the airport.

The landscape is beautiful - very dramatic.

And very Middle Earth :-)

As we headed into Cook Strait, the wind got even stronger. I can't think of a better place in the world for a wind farm.

Eventually I had to pry my frozen legs from the deck & go downstairs to thaw out. We went back up as we entered Marlborough Sounds.

This was only a peek at the South Island and already it was beautiful.

From Picton we hopped back in the van & headed straight for Nelson. I loved it - a very artistic town with lots of character & loads of friendly people. There was a public knitting display happening when we were there. Dozens of lamposts, trees, rubbish bins and anything else you could think of, were all wrapped up.

The Nelson Cathedral is a commanding art-deco building at the top of the town, with an impressive bell-tower for a relatively new church.

The other side of the cathedral.

South Street is a row of beautifully preserved Victorian workers cottages.

Wandering around, we stumbled across Queens Gardens. They were really lovely, with lots of quiet places to sit & contemplate life. Plus this pretty bridge.

And this awesome water wheel.

After wandering around the gardens for a while, we headed on to our destination for the afternoon - the CENTRE OF NEW ZEALAND!

Yep, that's right, Nelson boasts a big hill with the geographic centre of NZ in the middle of it. It's a short, but fairly steep climb up to the monument.

The views are pretty special - I would love to see it on a clear day.