[Nelson, New Zealand] We have to be in Nelson tomorrow to see a guy about a thing so today’s mission was to get a look at some of Marlborough Sound (an actual Sound, not a Fiord that was incorrectly named). We headed out of town via another gear shop that had some technical climbing and ice gear, which is always fun, and picked up a copy of the NZ quarterly climbing magazine (just for the photos). Once the road out of town left the coast the bends and climbing started. It was very slow going made even slower because it was hot enough to use air-con.

We pulled into a small parking area near Goat Hill after spotting another DoC sign and a large collection of bee hive boxes. The DoC is amazing in this country. No matter where you are the DoC has setup marked trails, loos, donation box and picnic spots. The signs always indicate walking time and distance. This little empty trail to a lookout on Goat Hill even had a comment book. Not so impressive? Well it had been there since 2009 and there was a working pen! The short trail offered some stunning views of Okiwi bay and few islands popping out of the turquoise sea. A magic spot. :gps:(GPS)::-41.10195::173.64149:gps:

We stopped for quick lunch at Okiwi bay. A tiny little bay side village. The serviced camper van park had a warning sign up on the main road 20km back stating that advanced bookings were essential. The place was empty. It really has been a bad year for Kiwi tourism. Good for us as we have never been turned away from a park. We decided to continue on to Elaine Bay. It was a very slow drive as the road got even more windy along impressive bluffs lined by forestry. Plenty of spots to stop and snap photos. The only traffic was the occasional logging truck flying around a blind corner on a steep hill – yikes. Logging must be a major industry in the area. The steep hillsides stripped of trees were impressive (impressive that they can operate on such steep slopes). When we eventually got to Elaine bay, V was feeling pretty I’ll (the roads were that windy). The basic DoC campsite overlooks a small collection of houses and fishing boats. Looks like a very peaceful spot to camp and a lot fun if you fish but not really our speed. We didn’t hang around long before hitting the road back to the campsite in Nelson -V didn’t enjoy that part at all 🙂 We didn’t get very far in Marlborough Sound, but what we did see looks magnificent.

Tonight is our last night in our little Vanette. It’s been great to be sleeping in the same ‘room’ every night for the past 4 weeks. Not having to pack up and find another hostel has been great. We can highly recommend doing New Zealand like this.

[Pictures: Beautiful views of the sound]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi