This place was one of the main "go to" places in my head before visiting here. I wanted to use it as a base to go exploring but in this particular journey I didn't have the time. But what was the main reason I wanted to come here?

Abel Tasman National Park

Anything that's got "National Park" written on the sign is normally worth checking out.

Image Source

Unfortunately it was quite far away and not to mention a huge area! No problem, I've got the car right? Wrong! Nelson was also the place where the car was to be delivered so as soon as I got there, it was on foot.

As impressive and tempting as the Abel Tasman was, I simply didn't have time to explore it properly. You have to remember up until this point I'd experienced several rainforests and waterfalls back in Aus combined with the Daintree Rainforest so it was safe to say I'd seen alot of forestation and greenery. Not to mention I'd just driven to and from Milford Sound and through Arthurs Pass which is hard to beat to say the least.

Even if I look at an edited and filtered image like the one I nicked from a google search above, it just didn't appeal to me at the time.

Sure you can do Kyaking there which would of been cool but I did sea kyaking with dolphins combined with kyak surfing back in Byron bay Not to mention the sandflies! After my experience of sandflies in the blue pools I wanted to stay well away from forestation and still water.

The Beach

Nelsons beach was nice as beaches go but honestly nothing to write home about. What did strike me was the depth of the water. It was barely knee deep for quite a way out. I didn't see anyone swimming or surfing just kind of wading through the shallows, it was odd.

At first I thought the tide was out but the sand on the beach was bone dry. Bit odd

These pictures were taken from me standing in the sea. I had no swimwear on at all, just normal shorts and teashirt.

The town

I didn't know what to expect here. Seemed busy but also quiet at the same time. I suppose the half hour walk from the air bnb to town didn't help. But it was a quite nice walk past the park where if it was windy and sunny enough you'd see the locals flying their kites and having picnics.

Appart from that, the town was pretty small. Here's the only picture I took.

Lol

My highlight

For me just walking along the coastal walk was the highlight of this place. There was a whole load of Goats along the walk that were just roaming free. I had to walk pretty much through them in order to continue where I wanted to go. A bit scary since I knew if they felt threatened they'd gang up and headbut me or something. But appart from that it was quiet, peaceful and had a nice view.

Also, not that they're on this let alone see my blog, but I have to give a mention to my air bnb hosts who were super freindly. Inviting me for dinner and having drinks whilst playing cards against humanity was a right laugh. It wouldn't of been the same if I had just booked into any old hostel.

Onwards

So where to go from here?

East!

I had to get another car...
For some reason I didn't take a picture of it but I remember it being fast and sporty! It was lowered and seemed to have a body kit on it. Not exactly ideal for the roads I had to face later on.

I had no idea what awaited me. In my head I thought I'd just drive to Christchurch with not much to see. Boy was I wrong!

The only way forward was to hit the road and find out...