South Island Sun - but how long will it last??

We boarded the ferry in Wellington and were faced once again with a cloudly, overcast day, but at least the water was calm!! However, after this bad start, things got amazingly better. As we moved closer to the South Island the sun came out and the views as we entered and travelled up the Marlborough Sound to Picton were breathtaking. This is what we had been waiting for!!!!

Having picked up our new rental car we took the Queen Charlotte costal route to Nelson. Again, the journey was in sunshine and we were able to stop at various lookouts on the way for more fabulous views!!!

Having travelled through Havelock, the green lipped mussel capital of the world Bob could not resist ordering these for his dinner that evening in Nelson and he wasn't disappointed - they were delicious!!! (Sorry Idris!!!).

Unfortunately, we woke the next day to the same old story - overcast skies and the threat of rain!! Not to be deterred we headed on our planned day to the Abel Tasman Nature Reserve. There we "enjoyed" a white knuckle water taxi ride up the coastline (well Jan had white knuckles and a few bruises - to say it was bumpy was an understatement!!!). The view of the coves, beaches and reserve were not at their best in the overcast skies, but enjoyable nonetheless. We disembarked at Tonga Bay for a 6km walk back along the coastline to Bark Bay for the water taxi return journey. (Had it not been more than 3 hours walk back, Jan would have walked all the way!!!!). Bob was up for a bit of sea kayaking, but unfortunately time ran out (well that's his excuse anyway!!!).

The next day dawned cloudy and dull again as we set off south via Westport, visiting a seal colony at Tarangua Bay on the way and also stopping at Punakaiki to view the "pancake rocks" and blowholes - a magnificent and most unusual sight!

The weather had cheered up by then, so we were able to enjoy a few glimpses of the sun before heading on to our next overnight stop in Greymouth. It lived up to it's name, raining during the night and once again being dull and overcast in the morning.

The next morning a short journey down the road took us to Shantytown which is a restored gold mining town and this proved very interesting, with lots of old relics (no, not Bob!!!), panning for gold and a steam train journey up the valley.

On southwards we hit Hokitika, a beautiful "arty" town with lots of jade and jewellery shops, galleries and the like. We enjoyed a walk along the beach as the sun came out, stopping to admire the driftwood of all shapes and sizes.

Our overnight stop will be Franz Josef where we hope the weather will clear enough for us to enjoy the famous glacier.