We had a quick look around Nelson city centre, which seemed to be a really nice place and then went on a brief stroll to the 'Centre of New Zealand' which is on top of a hill within walking distance of the city. It was a lovely walk along a river and up the hill, the weather was beautiful too, great views of the city, port and surrounding area.

We then drove to Marahau, which is at the start of the Abel Tasman National Park, where you can do one of NZ's great walks, and because it is as far as you can drive, after this town it is water all the way! We stopped at a beautiful spot looking out over a huge golden beach, where you can pick cockles. The weather forecast was not looking too promising and it started raining as we caught the Water Taxi, which traveled for just over an hour past some gorgeous scenery, including the famous Split Apple Rock, to a place called Bark Bay which is about 24km up the coast.The boat ride was a bit like a roller coaster with the wind blowing quite big swells and the little boat was going up and down!

The Abel Tasman National Park track was excellent and really well marked. It was also a real mix of scenery.The forest or 'bush' went all the way to the beach and was thick with ferns. The sea and the few lagoons were beautiful turquoise colours, especially when the sun came out as it did from time to time. We took an extra side track to go and see Cleopatra's Pool which was a beautiful waterfall and pool about 1km upstream from the path, if it had been hotter we would definitely have both been in there swimming!!

By late afternoon we were both getting quite tired and our feet were starting to ache!It was a long but really enjoyable day and for the most part the weather was kind to us!!

Lots of Love

A&S xxx