North of the South

A gentle ferry ride over the Cook Straits gave great views of what is to come on the south island, snowy mountain tops and lush green inlets. Jumping into Kora (the car), we wound our way to Nelson with lovely views over the Queen Charlotte sounds. The hostel for the night was full of longterm workers gossiping about love triangles. Not quite the chat we're after at the moment so we decided to move on.

The next day was grey and wet so postponing planned hiking, we ambled along in the car to farewell spit and farewell cove the northen most point of the island. On the way back we stopped into the Mussel inn a cosy pub with their own vraft beer and a big open fire. It was lovely to just sit there listening to the rain outside.

We stopped in Takaka for the night and had a wonderful time in the Barefoot hostel which is run by a friendly couple in theri 60's. James grabbed one of the hostel's guitars and jammed with one of the other guests and the owner, while all of us in the kitchen sang along and chatted. This was more like it, actual socialising.

We headed out after supper to the only place with the rugby on to watch Lions v Highlanders. The locals in the pub had the policy of supporting the Lions during the provincial matches so there was a lot of shouting at the ref. Great little place Tekaka.Read more