Over the Hills and far Away to Nelson

Nelson, Nelson, New Zealand
Monday, December 9, 2013

The drive from Hanmer Springs to Nelson takes around four hours and for the most part you're not sure where to look, the surroundings are so eye catching. We are fortunate with the time of year, because the flora is at its absolute best. The mountainsides are clothed with broom, foxgloves, tree lupins(yellow this time), vipers bugloss ( brilliant blue flower spikes) a large yellow cowslip type flower, ox eye daisies, wild lycesteria, hebe and so I could go on. Again there were forests of native beech at higher levels and podocarp firs lower down. The mountains are heavily folded and then glaciated, with associated mountain streams and waterfalls, making for some spectacular vistas. Once again we saw very few cars and little sign of habitation, apart from the odd isolated sheep/cattle station. It must be a lonely life. I'm not sure if the view from the windows would make up for the lack of human contact for me. I think I would need a week on and a week off!
We rolled into Nelson early afternoon, having passed through the small town of Brightwater. It is the birthplace of Sir Ernest Rutherford the first nuclear physicist, who split the atom and as he saw it, gave the world an alternative form of energy. Nuclear bombs were not on his mind at the time! He was born into a family of 12 siblings and spent most of his working life at The Cavendish Laboratories in Cambridge, being awarded a Nobel Prize in Chemistry (not his first discipline). Large oaks from little acorns grow.
Our place of abode here was something of a surprise. It is called the Penthouse, but we took that euphemistically, erroneously as it turned out. We were shown into this huge apartment with very modern decor over looking the harbour. The walls facing the view are folding glass doors and there is a balcony to hold a party on. I had to make a conscious effort to close my mouth and accept it to the manor born. Sadly, we are only here one night. A week would be glorious. I could spend all day on the wooden chaise with a book and a G&T, drinking it and the view. Yet another cracker, well done Jessica!
We spent the rest of the afternoon on an upmarket pub crawl. Never let it be said that we have ignored the hop section of our escape. There is a great leaflet explaining the whys and wherefores of the local craft beer microbreweries, of which there are many and Peter had a great time sampling the odd one or three. I was the driver on this occasion and the afternoon passed quite quickly as you might imagine.
We had supper over the road at Relish, on the waterfront and the food was undeniably scrummy. A very good Brightwater Sauvignon was the accompaniment and I write to you watching the sun set from my balcony erie.
To close, a wonderful quotation espied today for you to ponder in the wee small hours.
"Go to heaven for the climate and hell for the company". The inimitable Mark Twain.Read more