We left Palmerston North on Sunday to fly to Nelson on the South Island. We flew from Wellington in a Q300 (small twin engine turbo prop), which took 40 minutes. No conveyor belt here - luggage was wheeled off and left on the trolley for pick up as we left the airport. We stayed the night in Nelson and had time to look around and take a walk to the 'centre' of New Zealand, which was up a steep hill, but with a panoramic view of the bay and hills. There was a plaque on the ground showing the centre. It had rained a lot the night before and the clouds were still rolling around the hills behind us. Nelson was so flat and spread out. The streets are nice and wide with lots of shops along treelined streets very pleasant to walk around. It had an interesting Cathedral made of stone and concrete with the tower being open in the centre.

After our tour we collected our bags and took the bus to Motueka. It was a grey trip as the weather had closed in and it had become very foggy, so we didn't see the amazing scenery everyone promised!

Our host picked us up from Motueka town and off we went to his free range chicken farm, our destination for the next week or two.

Orchard View farm has several hundred free range chickens and supplies eggs all around the area. This past week and a half we have been feeding and watering the chickens and sorting and cleaning the eggs by hand before boxing then ready for sale. Inbetween chicken duties we have also been cleaning feeders and gardening.

In the afternoons we have had the use of the car and have visited Abel Tasman National Park and a natural spring at Golden Bay on the other side of Takaka Mountain next to the house. It took over half an hour to get to the top, so what looked like a quick drive was twice as long as we thought. By the time we reached the spring it was time to return the same way back over the mountain. On the plus side we chose a sunny day and the views were quite spectacular. Waikoropupu Springs were amazing, the water was crystal clear and the colour of the water a beautiful azure blue.

Abel Tasman Park was just as spectacular. The path took us along the coast and as we turned each corner a beautiful bay came into view, each one seemed to be more splendid than the last. As we started the walk the tide was in and sparkling clear water gently lapped the golden sands below us. Three hours later we returned and the sea had receded leaving intricate patterns in the sand across the bay. The textures and colours contrasted with the sky-scape and it was easy to see how Maori artists get their inspiration from the land and create wonderful works of art. We ate our lunch sitting looking out over the sea. Glorious!