Nelson, Abel Tasman National Park & Marlborough Sounds 8th May to 14th May 2006 It's a dejected Stu & Amy who check out of the Motel on a Monday morning after Tottenham's failure to clinch 4th place in the league. The Lindauers Sparkling Rose remains on ice. We find it difficult to believe that the players can come down with a spot of delhi belly in a London Hotel when we have been working our way around numerous dodgy countries and have not had a sniff of violent vomiting and all the rest (touch wood). Anyway back to the trip - We spend the day having a look around Nelson which is quite a nice town but once again their's something strange about it all and it seems all the NZ towns seem to melt into one. Nothing really stands out and perhaps it's all the single storey architecture. The Cathedral is finished in the most unflattering grey exposed concrete almost like they couldn't be bothered to make it look 'aesthetically pleasing'. We decide to have a mad update on the internet as we feel that our dedicated readers (i.e. Mums & Dad) deserve it. One thing that NZ does do very well and it's really quite surprising is coffee shops. No we are not talking about the kind of coffee shops entertained within Amsterdam we are talking about genuine little cafes serving decent mochafrappas and all the rest with some delicious cakes. Nelson is no exception. We drive to a little town called Motueka in preparation for our 3-day trek in the Abel Tasman national park. Once more single storey buildings rule, maybe it's so they don't obscure the views or something. In the afternoon we amuse ourselves by playing 9 holes of golf, Stu tries (and generally fails) to teach Amy the basics but she gradually gets the hang of it and plays some pretty decent shots and her putting it not bad. Stu gets two pars and seven over pars (not telling how many cause it's shocking). The Abel Tasman National Park as we are informed is one of the most popular in all of NZ. And very nice it is. Beautiful golden beaches (something to do with the amount of iron in the soft rocks being gradually weathered by the sea) and lots of secluded bays all with forest directly behind. We take a boat trip out to the start of our walk and over the next 3 days walk back to our starting point. All in all we cover about 40km and the huts we stay in overnight are lovely and not too cold thankfully. Stu gets the fire going on the first night (and gets covered in ash/charcoal in the process). We have to cross a stream (only about knee deep) and an estuary-come-inlet thingy which is full of little shells. The only annoying thing about the whole walk is the presence of what the NZers call sandflies, little black b*****s that bite and there are plently of them. Needless to say Amy gets bitten the most but they aren't really too bad. In the evening after we finished the walk we decide to treat ourselves and have a nice posh meal out. So wearing our best clothes (which pretty much equals the same as our worst clothes i.e. dirty jeans and a crumpled shirt) we head off down for a meal in Motuekas only posh. You wouldn't have thought that at 8.05pm restaurants up and down Nz on a Friday night would be clearing up, but that's what these guys were doing. Oh yes, there's a big sign out the front saying that they are open till 9pm. On arrival we were informed that the only dishes remaining were 'hot-plates' where basically some veg and chips are cooked for you and you cook the meat yourself on an incredibly hot stone. This was fine as we thought it a bit novel. So we order a nice bottle of red and Stu asks for a starter of bread or something to which the reply is "sorry sir we only have the hot-plates" Not to worry but you would have thought they could have stretched to cutting up a bit or bread for starter wouldn't you? So all is going fine and we finish our main course at 9.05pm, by now all other diners have left and it's pretty obvious that the cleaning activity in the kitchen has finished. Feeling pretty miffed that the front door has been opened and the restaurant owners were trying to get rid of us. So Stu goes and asks for the desert menu to which he gets the civil response, "Sorry they have all gone home" So who exactly is they? the bloomin gateux and the cheescake? one may ask "so don't you have any ice cream or anything then?" Surely the muticultured Mr Norman could have come up with a better response (ok so I was tired and a bit pissed) "No they have all gone home" she replied (and with that went the ladies tip)... About 15 minutes later when we have almost finished our wine to our surprise the lady comes over to our table, does a bit of clearing up and asks "is there anything else I can get you?" THE BLOODY CHEEK OF IT! Let's, as Lloyd Grossman would say, 'look at the evidence' 1) The kitchen is dark 2) We have established that they will not serve starters 3) We have established that they will not serve desert 4)The front door is open inviting us to leave Do they really want us to order another main course?!@#@ Thankfully the hospitality we have received throughout NZ has been a million times better than this example but sadly in a little town with a population of about 17 (as most NZ town in the South island are) the restaurants all close at about 8.30pm especially on a Friday night because THE FLAMIN RUGBY's ON INNIT!!!! So our South island jaunt comes to an end and we spend a few days in Picton waiting for our ferry and having a couple of short walks amongst the beautiful Marlborough Sounds. One last thing we have noticed about the good ol NZers is (quel suprise it's related to Rugby again) that at all times they have to be wearing at least one item that's black. Come on now everyone think about this for a second, think of every NZ person you know and when was the last time you saw them wearing bright colours? NEVER, AND YOU KNOW IT's TRUE! One presumes it is all to do with the almighty all blacks and to show some affinity with them at all times. Come on you Kiwis, get over it and watch an entertaining sport for once, and try some singing and a bit of crowd involvement at matches as well. Each to their own I suppose. All the best and lets have some messages!! Stu & Amy