Westport to Nelson

Raining in Westport early this morning - time to head out of town to Nelson! We took Highway 6 out of town - a single lane highway with lots of one lane bridges, which can be pretty scary along the way! There was one bridge in particular on a pretty scary bend along a rock face - when we drove it, we followed a big truck and trailer, so figured we’d be ok - pulled off the road after the bridge to watch other cars approach, and at one point, there were two heading towards each other!! I guess there was enough room for them to pass each other, but nevertheless it was still crazy to watch!

As we kept driving through the rain, we saw a sign that said “Swing Bridge”, so decided to stop and take a look. It was actually a bridge suspended over a river (and apparently the longest swing bridge in New Zealand). The bridge is 360 feet in length, and spans the Buller Gorge, swinging about 60 feet above the Buller River. We paid the $10 each to walk across, then took the short 15 minute loop walk back around through a lovely forested area, then back over the bridge - in the pouring rain!! Pretty cool experience!

Back on the road, we continued our drive to Nelson, arriving there just after noon, to a lovely sunny day. We were too early to check into our hotel, so took the footpath from the harbour to the lovely downtown area, which was a short 12 minute walk. As in a lot of towns we’ve visited, the main downtown area is pedestrian only, with lots of restaurants and cafes along the street. We were on Trafalgar Street, and at the end is a set of stairs leading up to a clock tower and a beautiful church. We stopped for lunch on Trafalgar Street - the place we ate at had crazy milkshakes - shake, whipped cream, donut, more whipped cream, cookies and candy!! More calories than anyone needs in a day!! We had a browse through a few stores, then went back to check into our lovely hotel suite.

I had a bit of a snooze, while Dave went for another look around town, then we drove into Nelson to have dinner at an Asian fusion restaurant, then back home to plan our day tomorrow - hoping the weather is good as there are some beautiful bays and beaches not far from here that we want to explore!Read more