Valentino by a crystal blue Italian (New Zealand) stream

Well, it’s rained, for two days, and a bit today, so very relieved we only booked for one day on the Queen Charlotte track, or the second day would have been really miserable (shame about the Australians we met who’d booked a guide (why?) to do it over 4 days last year who will have had a very miserable day 2 and 3, hopefully today will have been ok for them! 

So we chilled and did blog updates etc, then yesterday moved on to Motueka via Nelson and some fantastic coastal roads, how many times can you stop to take piccies? 

A typical view on the way

A baby fantail playing in a puddle

Nelson was quite big and had a cinema, and it was pouring down so we stopped, grabbed a bite of lunch and went to see Skyfall! Thoroughly enjoyed it, felt very decadent – there were 8 of us in the 13.50 showing and it was only 16.20 when we came out.

Today, the main plan of attack was to book our next couple of days, having slept through a thunder storm directly overhead we thought we’d had weather until we heard about the tornado in Auckland killing 3 hospitalising 7 and making 200 homes uninhabitable. 

As a gentle start, we took a drive out to the resurgence of the Riwaka River, where it appears out of the ground again having gone through the hill before flowing off to the sea. It’s not in the Rough Guide, it was recommended by the lady when we checked in and only a 10 minute walk from the carpark, but it was a truly magical place, as the sun hit the water, it was crystal clear, a beautiful blue, and the reflections on the rocks above all made it breathtaking.

The deep blue pool lit by sunlight as it emerges from the hillside

The emergence from a little further back

 Having dragged ourselves away we thought we’d go to the two lookouts on the hill above, looking out in both directions from a ridge, got to the top in cloud, so went to the caves instead, amazing limestone formations, and limestone coral (a new one on me) Coffee and cake, and clear skies by the time we’d finished! More photos!

Some of the formations in Ngaru cave

The view as we emerged from the cave

Carried on on our way to the beginning of the Able Tasman National Park where we have now sorted the next two days, a long walk tomorrow as we get dropped off by water taxi at Bark Bay and walk back 22.8 Km and then a days kayaking on Sunday which hopefully will include seals and penguins. Watch this space for the full story (but probably not for at least 2 days)!

We are off in a short while to view the starlight parade, waiting for Santa! It’s all very strange, yes today is a bit cooler, but we are still wandering about in t-shirts, Christmas seems a very long way away!