Feb 4 - Picton to Nelson - 109 km

Another early start - we left the Villa Backpackers just after 7 am, grabbed a goodie and coffee at the bakery next door and headed out.  We climbed a hill out of Picton on the scenic Queen Charlotte drive.  Below are views of a ferry (not the one we came on) and of some twists and turns in the road.  It was a twisty one, no shoulders, no traffic but not too steep (about 6%).

Another photo along the road, of some palms along side.  The  vegetation is lush, but the soil seems fragile and easily damaged.  We saw a lot of 'slips' (small landslides) caused by all the recent rain.  And. I couldn't resist adding another picture in the Silly Signs department.

My last photo of Queen Charlotte Sound.  There are boats everywhere, and we saw kayaks and kayak tours as well.  It is sort of blasphemy to come all this way and not go for a sail or paddle, but that's the way it goes.

We left QC sound and headed inland for a while on very flat terrain - back into farming in the valleys and logging on the hills.   Crossing to the next inlet we stopped for a goody in Havelock (the green shelled mussel capital of the world) and continued on.  It was cloudy all morning which made for pleasant cycling, then the sun came out for our last two large climbs of the day.  It was full sun, no shade, and hot pavement for the last 3 hours so we got fried.  However, we made it to Nelson.  I didn't take any photos on the way into town.

After we got settled in a motel (the Backpackers was full) and we had our showers (very necessary!) I popped out for steaks, Greek Salad fixings and beer for dinner in the motel.  Great.  After dinner I cycled around Nelson to have a look.  Nelson seems like a newer town than many.  The industries here are fishing (I saw lots of boats & ice plants), mussel farming (I believe), forestry (from the looks of the hillsides and a local log sort) and freight, judging by the docks and cranes.

These are the steps to the Anglican Cathedral.  One of the fellows in the picture (drinking a beer) offered to do a Haka (Maori war dance) for 5 bucks, but I told him the crowd reading this blog would probably rather see a moon instead.  He declined.

Here's a shot looking back into town from the waterfront.  Note how he houses are spreading up the hills, ala Vancouver.

And last, but not least, for Lisbeth who said the photos of Queen Charlotte Sound from the ferry look so much like BC I haven't proved I'm in NZ.  So, here you go - a picture from the local shipyard.  Note that it contains a palm tree and in the background is a vessel named the "Cape Breton."  so, I'm either in NZ or they have palm trees at the shipyards in Nova Scotia (in February)!

Bye for now - we may be offline for a couple of days as we are heading toward Murchison, but may have to stop at a bicyclist's hostel partway there.  It is supposed to be hot tomorrow.

PS - Pat, I'll work on the picture of my butt.