We had an enjoyable stay in Nelson, catching up with relatives both near and distant at the family reunion and taking the opportunity to revisit Nelson Lakes and Blenheim. The weather was generally brilliant, and we managed excursions to several places in the area which generally involved climbing up some sort of a hill.
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| View from the "Centre of New Zealand" above Nelson. |
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| Miles of open beach at Rabbit Island. |
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| Kieran lines up a shot. |
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| The reward for a steep climb up the track from Cable Bay. |
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| On the way back down, trying to catch up to James. |
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| A mysterious water jet on the road to Maitai Dam. |
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| The Maitai Dam above Nelson - part of the water supply system. |
Upon leaving Nelson we drove to Picton via Nelson Lakes and then Blenheim. We lunched at Saint Arnaud, which was pretty quiet, and did the Loop Track bush walk up onto the slopes and back along the edge of Lake Rotoiti. Another nice sunny day.
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| Lake Rotoiti - the standard photo everybody takes! |
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| Sue can still skip a stone when the need arises! |
After lunch it was on to Blenheim where we did the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre. There was a bit of a lunch crowd in the cafe, but the venue is large so it was not crowded in the exhibition spaces. The main display is designed around the personal airplane collection of the famous Sir Peter The-Hobbit Jackson, and there is a second space containing a World War II exhibition. You can also buy a ticket for a ride in real biplane if you're feeling brave and wealthy at the same time.
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| Thrill seekers getting briefed for their biplane experience. |
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| A real plane, with realistic action figures providing some drama. |
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| Weird and wonderful airplanes of all shapes. This one has the propeller at the back. |
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| A Spitfire, in the WWII exhibition. |
The World War II exhibition finished with a full-on "immersive experience" of the bombing of Stalingrad by the Germans, from the point of view of a resident of Stalingrad lurking in a ruined building. Helps to make you glad you never had to experience anything like that yourself.
We returned home via the Makana Chocolate Factory (recommended by Lisa), then Picton and the Cook Strait ferry.
