Gene, Paul and I flew to the South Island and enjoyed a great lunch at a winery near Nelson. What pleasure to be able to go wine tasting and then enjoy my favorite glass of Pinot Noir at lunch overlooking the vineyards. That evening we heard a contemporary classical music concert at church, featuring San Francisco guitarist, David Tannenbaum--we do indeed live in a global village.
The next day we headed south toward Queen Charlotte Sound, dealing with the now usual drama of trying to drive on the other side of the road. My favorite trick is turning on the windshield wipers when I really want to hit the turn signal.
A photograph of the Sound from a particularly scenic pull out, that also featured a short hike. The sound of cicadas was overwhelming, drowning out all out sounds--imagine a wall of insect sound.
Am I wearing a bathing suit? A quick stop at a local watering hole on the Pelorus River for a dunk.
And then on to the our three day trek on the Kaikoura Coast Trail, which was built by three farms along the coast who got together to organize a tramp through their properties. I call it backpacking light. We carried day packs and our food for the day, while our bags we transported from farm to farm for us. We stayed each night at the different farm.
The first day, we hiked over the coastal mountain range to the sea. The photograph above is looking north, taken from a rest hut, where we treated ourselves to tea and a nap (for some). We hiked through forest and then emerged into the rolling hills you see here.
Not a lot of flowers along the route, but this one caught my eye.
Our second day entailed a long hike along a rocky beach. Rough on my feet, but Gene was having a good time.
The sandstone cliffs were quite friable. Remarkable were "fossil" shells embedded in the rock. I picked up a small piece of one and put it in my backpack. It was dust by the time we got to the farm.
Amazing what a little paint will do to touch up the flora!
Can you tell it's windy?
Our last look at the sea, before we headed back over the coastal range.
