Nelson week 2 - 2 1/2 (2017-03-29)

We have had a busy week and a half, not really doing anything touristy, but a lot of biking and walking, another movie, and two visits to the Sprig and Fern.

 

Nelson has a lot of biking options, including several areas of mountain bike trails in the surrounding hills, but they are not for us.  We are more into enjoying a quiet ride, with a cafe stop at the end.  For a short ride (15 Km) with no real hills, we head into town and then North along the coast to Clifton Terrace School, which is the end of the bike trail (Cafe stop back in Nelson).  For more challenge we head South to Richmond (28 Km return), with one long hill and then lots of flat - the trail follows an old railway bed, and climbs 100 metres up to a saddle, just outside of Nelson, then, after the downhill, is relatively flat all the way to Richmond.

 

Low Cloud at High Tide

 On one day we rode to Brightwater and back (45 Km), which is South of Richmond, and although it adds 17 Km to the trip, there are no more hills.  To avoid the 100 metre hill coming into Nelson on the return, we rode the coastal route through Tahunanui, which avoids the hill but involves biking on the side of a major highway.  Marlene decided that she would rather face the hill, than be squeezed between a cattle truck and a parked camper van, again.

 

The path from Richmond to Brightwater is asphalt most of the way, with a short section of gravel around a river crossing.  But the ride is in the country, amongst vineyards, market gardens & animals, and is part of the larger Great Taste Trail.

Richmond to Brightwater Bike Path

 

Marlene Having A Break From Pedalling

 But you can't bike every day....my butt just won't take it, so we have done several walks.  On the return from one walk, we stopped into the Racial Harmony Day celebration at Victory Park for lunch.  Many different ethnic groups in the city were selling the cuisine of their homeland, and we sat on the grass, chatting with a Fijian woman, while munching on pad thai, spring rolls and Sri Lankan samosas.  I guess everybody gets along when they have full stomachs.

 

Marlene also has a favourite 2 hour walk, up the hill (150 metres of elevation) to the (geographical) Centre of New Zealand marker, along the ridge, down to the Japanese Gardens, and back along the coast path.  We walked that one today, and were very happy to see the Red Cafe, just after 11 am, as the heat and humidity were getting rather unbearable.

 

Just below, the Centre of New Zealand is the Botanic Sports Field, site of New Zealand's first rugby match, which was played on 14 May,1870.  The match was organised by Charles Munro, who coached both sides, and was the referee, while playing for Nelson Town.  It is probably no coincidence that Nelson Town beat Nelson College, two goals to nil. 

On Tuesday we went to the local movie theatre to see "Alone in Berlin", the story of one couple's fight against the Nazis during WWII.  It is a little slow in places, but a good show, just the same.  Then the walk over to the Sprig and Fern was just enough to build up our appetite for a pint and a burger.

We only have one week left in Nelson, and just over two weeks left in New Zealand, so Marlene tells me that we have to make the most of it.  I would settle for a few days at the library.