Lorraine texted to say a campervan in Golden Bay north of us had to be rescued because the water had reached the sills! It was very bad up there and the road in was closed. As we hit the road south to Nelson we could see plenty of evidence of the impact of the heavy rain.
Nelson was only a short distance away so we were quickly in the centre of town and looking for a supermarket to stock up before the Easter closures (all supermarkets and most other places close Good Friday and Easter Sunday here).
We took a walk along Nile Street to spot Choi's school which was housed in a lovely one-storey early building painted blue and white, and then had lunch before parking up at the Botanical Fields to walk up the hill which is the dead centre of New Zealand.
This was a pleasant twenty minute walk up, with a diversion to see the sole, young kauri tree planted in 1951. The views from the top were stunning, as we have come to expect, looking out over Nelson and then across the bay and, coming round, the countryside behind of heavily forested hills and exclusive homes.
You just have to stand on the centre, don't you?!
After enjoying the view we drove further east to explore Boulder Bank which we had seen from the viewpoint. Boulder Bank is a natural spit of boulders extending 13k across the bay and creating the Nelson Haven behind it. We drove down the gravel track to its beginning and walked along it for some distance, enjoying the views across to Nelson and the waves crashing on the seaward side. There were a couple of surfers enjoying the conditions created by the recent weather.
We moved further along the coast a short distance to kill some time before our friends arrived home from work. We parked up at Glenduan to relax and watch the surfers. I lay in the bedroom of Oscar the Van with the window open, enjoying the shade from the intense sun and the sound of the waves breaking on the shore.
It was time to drive the short distance to Hira and up the narrow wooded valley to seek out Chris and Choi's house hiding in the hillside. What a beautiful home and absolutely suited to their lifestyle. They have planted several varieties of fruit and nut trees in their garden around which struts a small clutch of guinea fowl with several chicks in an incubator in the garage. Their boys, much grown since we last saw them some thirteen years ago, are now fine young men, well mannered with good senses of humour and a credit to their parents. It was great to see Chris and Choi looking so well and thriving on the NZ lifestyle. We talked about every subject under the sun, had a delicious dinner, drank more NZ wine and caught up with each other's lives until midnight, wonderful!
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