We headed today from Nelson to our next stop – Greymouth. Rather than following the main road, we decided to take the coast road towards Westport and then south from there to Greymouth. The main idea was to be able to stop at the Punakaiki rocks – otherwise known as the ‘pancake rocks‘. Punakaiki rocks This is an area of the coast where the...
Abel Tasman was a Dutch seafarer and merchant from near Groningen who is best known as the first European explorer to reach the islands of Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) and New Zealand. He also was the first to sight the Fiji islands. When he arrived in New Zealand he anchored in Golden Bay at the southern end of what is now the national park. The park...
We started this morning with a walk to the centre of New Zealand. It is slightly debateable whether it really is the centrepoint of New Zealand and recent earthquakes may have moved it slightly, but, from the perspective of a surveyor, this trig point is the centre because it is the origin point for Nelson and Nelson is the central land district of the 12 New Zealand...
This morning we wandered around Nelson. Nelson is the oldest city in the South Island and the second-oldest settled city in New Zealand – it was established in 1841 and was proclaimed a city by royal charter in 1858. The town was named after Nelson and some of the roads in the town are named after people and ships associated with the Battle of Trafalgar. The main...
We made an early start this morning. Rashly, we had booked a whale watching trip. This meant a 7.15am start and from the front at Kaikoura they ferried us by bus to South Bay marina. The boats they use are catamarans and use jet units which allows them to accelerate very quickly up to around 30 knots but to slow down in a couple of boat lengths – highly...