The Nelsons in Nelson

Denise and I had our first chance to get down to the south island a week ago. The area was beautiful and flashbulbs from our camera were going off like the paparazzi chasing Madonna just trying to snap a memory of all the lovely landscape. Therefore in an attempt to not bore the audience, I will be making several installments of our trip to keep you interested.

So lets get started! Our first stop on the week long trip begun ironically in a town called Nelson. Being well known for its sea food, artistry, wineries, and breweries, it was the perfect place for us to start our adventure. Although we were not greeted with a red carpet as we got off the twin propellered plane, I gave a distinguisted wave to the grounds crew on the tarmac much like the president does as he exits airforce one. Not a kings welcome at all, but we were happy to be on the ground. The flight was a rough one, and to be honest, we could have landed De Moines Iowa for all I care, just as long as we landed safely.

So we had arrived. The first thing we did on the following day was experiencing the Saturday market held right around the corner from the hostel we stayed at.

The market was fabulous! Intermingled amongst booths and tents of fine artisans and jewelers, there were cheese, sausage, fresh fish, and meat pie vendors. Meat pies are a huge thing down here and are sold not only in bakeries and grocery stores, but you can find them in gas stations as well. Denise found a specialty meat pie vendor that was selling a vegetarian meat pie.......interesting. As we strolled along, we bought loads of breads, cheeses, sausages, and smoked fish for our travels. I took a picture of this guy who was singing Sweet Caroline at the time. He sounded great, and he had the intricate facial tattoos to let us know he was a native Maori.
After the market, we set off to explore the rest of the town. I would call it a city, but the size doesn't constitute the title of city. There are only a few streets to fill out the down town grid.

Nelson is the home of The Ring. You know which ring I am talking about....you know,....the halflings.....hairy feet.....crazy adventure. Yep, one of the local jewelry artisans was commissioned to create the Lord of the Rings ring for the movie. This was the Jens Hansen's headquarters.

We didn't get a picture of one of the real one in the shop, which was almost big enough to be a wrist band, but I did get a picture next to this enormous replica. It makes me look like I am as small as Frodo Baggins himself. Or am I really in Middle earth....watcht out for the Orks!.... I'm a dork!

Anyway, we continued our trip to the cathedral which adorns the hilltop overlooking the town. It was amazingly elegant in side and contemporary, goth on the exterior.

The park surrounding the cathedral was full of blooming flowers and Denise's favorite trees in New Zealand (below). I am not sure what it is called, but we see them all over the place, and they are beautiful.

This is one of our favorite pictures taken while in Nelson
We walked most of the town streets popping in some of the shops before they closed. It seems that on a Saturdays everything shuts down at 4:00PM, and the city becomes a ghost town. But before everything did shut down, we found a brewery and a winery to help cope with the situation.


That as our first day of the trip, and it was a great one. We settled into the hostel which apparently has a problem with travelers steeling the wine corker.
We had to get a good nights rest to get ready for our next days adventure, a day long hike, an over night camp, and a kayak in Abel Tasman National Reserve. Tune into the next entry...