Stunning Nelson – I’ve returned!

Tuesday 25 February

Hello there, I’m back!  I’ve had some wonderful family time with my kids and delicious granddaughters and grandsons in both Auckland and Havelock North, and now it’s back to Salanjo in Nelson.

For once Air New Zealand arrived on time and I got to the marina in time to dump my bag, grab the shopping bags and then it was off to drop Mike and his family to Pics Peanut Butter World, next up it was to the much needed Barbers for Geoff, back to Pics for pickup (and a couple of tasty purchases for  grandkids) and a drop at the Airport, and then to the supermarket for a massive shop.  Four guests arriving this afternoon, so we need to fill the pantry and fridges.  Luckily enough, a friend of Geoff’s who lives in Nelson, has very generously lent us a car to keep in the marina whilst we are in the area so that has made life so much easier.  A whirlwind few hours and then two huge trolley fulls later we loaded all the bags and boxes into the car, no time to waste as Dave had already arrived from Auckland and had text us a photo of himself lounging in the cockpit of the boat, clearly already in holiday-mode!

A mammoth job finding space for all the groceries and boxes of bottles, and then Jo, Earl and Katrine arrived, more treats and bottles and a bag of home-grown vegetables which Katrine had kindly brought on a flight from Gisborne no less, along with two big boxes of her exquisite homemade shortbread – get that kettle on!

It was really windy when I disembarked the plane but abated a bit by the time everyone had arrived, and it was so hot in the marina we decided to head off for Croisilles Harbour for the night.  Annoyingly it got very choppy again on our way over so wasn’t a particularly leisurely sail with plenty of bouncing around.  Good to anchor in Squally Cove and enjoy a calmer sea and a dinner of freshly caught fish from Geoff’s earlier endeavours.

Wednesday 26 February

So it was extremely disappointing to wake up this morning to a very grey, very, very wet day….made even worse by various texts we received from friends in Hawkes Bay, Queenstown, Auckland and Gisborne telling us how hot and sunny it is there!!!!  Our plan is to head to d’Urville Island which means heading through French Pass, which, as you will now know…depends on timing with the tides.  We got there an hour early so headed into Okuwa Bay and put the anchor down for an hour.  Then it was off to tackle the Pass, a boat behind us and a tug towing a big boat heading towards us, Geoff was taking no prisoners and we got through first much to the chagrin of the tug skipper who gave us a few gestures, none of which seemed particularly friendly!  Such a shame the weather was so bad though as it would have been nice for our fellow travellers to experience it in the sunshine and blue seas like we had on previous occasions. 

And then we pulled in, back to see our friends at the d’Urville Island Wilderness Resort – this time I was in shorts and t-shirt!!!   A bit of a mission picking up and securing the mooring buoy, made more difficult with the audience of guests watching from the veranda of the resort, but we got there in the end!  

We had a great walk on the track to the waterfall, made slightly precarious in parts with the rain having made the ground and the leaves very slippery, with a few rocks and low hanging branches thrown in for good measure, oh and not to mention a few parts where the track was narrow with quite a drop on the side!  The waterfall was beautiful and after a bit of posing for photos, we all found ourselves a good stick to help with the return journey back to the resort.  A beautiful evening, a gin and tonic in the sunshine sharing stories with the two groups of people staying in the lodge for the night and then back to the boat for another lovely tasty dinner, delicious wines, music and camaraderie!

Thursday 27 February

Hooray, it’s stunning this morning, the other guests had a swim and a go on the paddleboard before breakfast – Chef Earl, having already been fishing early this morning, whipped up his freshly caught cod for breakfast (fruit and yoghurt for me!!)  And now we’re off to new territory - Pelorus Sound, named after the HMS Pelorus which was skippered by Philip Chetwode in 1838 and carried out the first survey here.  A pelorus was a navigational instrument used on sailing ships.  What a difference to yesterday, we cruised along, relaxing in the brilliant sunshine, Earl with his fishing rod out again, hoping to hook dinner!   We finally moored in the crystal-clear waters in front of Te Rawa Lodge and were all happy to get off and stretch our legs with a walk around to Wilson Bay farm in the next bay.  A lovely bay it was too, with a pretty little wharf.  No-one around, and the impressive Woolshed was open, so we stopped in for a peek and a photo or two!  An aperitif at the Lodge where we were asked if we had gone into the Woolshed ($10 per person apparently – our lips were sealed and I don’t think they are reading my blog!), a chat to some other lovely guests and then….yep, another convivial evening was had on the boat. 

Friday 28 February

And it’s another stunner – this is more like it!  The swimmers on the boat were up and in the (cool) water before breakfast (not me, I hasten to add!), brekkie was served and then we were off cruising through and enjoying the beautiful scenery of the indigenous forests around us.    We stopped at a Mussel Farm as Dave, Jo and Katrine were keen to add some variety to the fish buffet menu tonight, so whilst Earl was “on the rod” again, they went off in the dinghy to explore and hopefully grab a few.  For the readers outside New Zealand, Havelock which is in the Marlborough Sounds, is the Mussel Capital of the World with its locally cultivated Greenshell Mussels, they even have an annual Mussel and Seafood Festival every March to celebrate it.   Guess what everyone had for their entrée tonight?!

Saturday 1 March

We anchored in Whangarae Bay in Croisilles Harbour last night, (another workout with a mooring buoy but we’re getting used to it now!) so it wasn’t too far back to get to Nelson Marina today.  A busy morning, Earl, Jo and Dave are flying back to Auckland and Katrine is staying with her son in Nelson.  Nick and his son Ralph have already arrived in Nelson and Kate and the other two boys are arriving this afternoon.  We tidied the boat and remade all the beds as we were cruising along, reminisced on what a fabulous few days we have had together, and said our goodbyes as we pulled into Nelson Marina at 11.30am – all go as the Auckland flight departs at 1.00pm.  Nick was at the Marina, so it was four guests off and two on……… and another story to be continued!