Nelson

Our first stop on the south island was Nelson where we visited Erika's old work colleague Lili. After the rain up north and the wind in Wellington, Nelson felt like the perfect place to visit. It is the town with the most sunshine per year in New Zealand.

After catching the early morning ferry across Cook Straight we had plenty of time for our drive to Nelson. We therefore decided to take the scenic route along the Marlborough Sounds. The road was windy and narrow but it was worth it. A number of lookout points along the way provided lunch and coffee spots with excellent views. Before we got to Nelson we also had time to stop and jump off some cliffs into a crystal clear river.

The day after we arrived in Nelson, Lili took us to her favorite swimming spot. After a BBQ lunch outside the motor home in the hot Nelson sun we jumped into the water to let the slow current take us down the stream.

At the end of our Nelson day we headed up along the cost towards the Abel Tasman national park. We wanted to spend the night in a good spot for the hiking adventures that were planned for the following day.