Up at 6 for the ferry. Another poor night's sleep for me -- must be Wellington. The signs for the ferry direct you way up the harbour to a check-in desk that looks a bit deserted. After five minutes a bloke comes out and tells you to go back down the harbour where there are more signs but only visible in this direction. Great!
The Lynx is a nice clean modern catamarn type car ferry and whips over the Cook Strait (a mere 2m swell today) in an hour before chuntering down the Queen Charloote sound towards Picton. Halfway down there was a garbled PA announcement and a 25-50 animal pod of dolphins popped into view and jumped out and into the water for a few minutes before we outran them.
We didn't see much of Picton as our chosen route to Nelson took us over the Queen Charlotte Drive (she was obviously popular round here) scenic road. Scenic means narrow, winding, not flat with occaisional glimpses of stuff below and fewer stopping points. We did stop at one which was marvellously tranquil for, oh, about a minute before, like sheep, tourists stop to see what we're looking at.
We drove on up to Pelorus Bridge and stopped for a nap, both of us quite tired. Forty winks later (read: an hour and a half) we treated ourselves to jam and bread before heading off. Not. The battery was dead flat and the lights were on. Oops.
A couple of other tourists joined in a couple of bump starts to no avail. Getting no phone signal Helen flagged down a (common round here) semi-truck -- like a Land Rover, a cabin and a covered flat-bed only with two rows of seats in the cabin. It turned out to be some Department of Conservation people who were skiving off because it had started to rain. More bump starting, scratching of heads and a borrowed set of jump leads later and it turns over. Plan B, then: drive straight to Nelson, don't stop, don't stall.
Of course, the car is fine.
Nelson is a fair size and has reasonable facilities. We have a wander round town in the rain. The guesthouse woman then gives us the hard sell on tramping or kayaking Abel Tasman National Park. We are going to ignore her offering, methinks. Not enough time or money. We take advantage of a "loyalty" scheme and have a cheap dinner at a "Victorian" pub which excels in cheap pub food. We watch Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets for NZ$8 -- Tuesday is discount day!
Shortbread Cottage, Nelson S41.26754 E173.28444 Elev. -33m!
Copyright 2002 Ian Fitchet. All rights reserved.