Beautiful Nelson

Secret New Zealand
a travelogue
by John Stewart
Captions: a view across the main reach of the Queen Charlotte Sound
Graeme Hopkins of Compass Charters will take you
amongst grouper this size …
Or to dive for a lunch of lobbies!
(1050 words)

Nelsonians proudly proclaim their patch to be “New
Zealand’s best-kept secret”; trite, perhaps, but difficult
to dispute.
The north-east corner of Nelson in the South Island, the district
known as Marlborough, is rapidly being discovered.
If you are travelling there from Wellington, treat yourself to the
crossing on the Cook Strait ferry. There is a fast and frequent
service from the national capital with Air New Zealand Domestic, but
for scenery and romance, my wife and I thought the roll-on roll-off
ferry was just the ticket. Facilities aboard are good: they include a
crèche, mothers’ room and nurse, children’s video games
room, adults’ casino nook, restaurants, bars and sleeping
cabins. The 52-mile crossing takes three hours, with the final hour
running up the Queen Charlotte Sound to the picturesque village of
Picton. Nestling in rugged hills, this quaint little town of 3000 is
the springboard to a playground: fishing, swimming, sailing,
bushwalking and camping - the leisure pursuits of the Marlborough
Sounds (a classic ria, or drowned coastal mountain range) can be
enjoyed throughout hundreds of square miles and a maze of sheltered
bays and inlets.
We found accommodation plentiful, if of variable quality, and ranges
from NZ$79 to NZ$170 (GST inclusive) in Picton, and even more
expensive further afield. Most of the outlying resorts boast road
access, while the few exceptions are well serviced by mail-run launch
and water-taxi operators. Jeanne and I sailed with Compass Charters,
whom we heartily recommend; Christel and Graeme Hopkins will take you
to some lovely scenery and superb fishing.
Picton is no place to seek discos, nightclubs or theatre restaurants.
There aren’t any, but what we did enjoy were a couple of
reasonably good and affordable seafood restaurants. For practical
shopping such as clothing and groceries, you need to drive 25 minutes
through to the provincial capital, Blenheim.
We took an Avon rental car, but if you’re touring by campervan,
which is becoming increasingly popular among older tourists,
you’ll find most camping grounds to be excellent. They are
plentiful, generally close to populated areas, with facilities that
include hot water, showers, powered sites, shops, laundries and
security. Tariffs vary from NZ$20 to NZ$25 an adult per night. Youth
hostels and backpackers’ budget accommodation is comparably
competitive.
Newman’s, New Zealand’s oldest and largest bus line,
pioneered the campervan concept. They offer fully equipped two, four
and six-berth motor-homes, a complimentary campsite guide and a 10
percent discount at any Kiwi Camp.
Marlborough’s annual wine festival is a gourmet’s
paradise. Held at Montana’s Brancott Estate behind Woodbourne
Airport, this renowned nosh-up is already challenging the Wellington
and Canterbury events’ popularity; charter-planeloads even from
Sydney and Hong Kong are now making the pilgrimage. There are no gate
sales, and the NZ$85-a-head tickets are available by writing to
Marlborough Wine Festival, Freepost 85, Blenheim, New Zealand.
For a day trip, the Port Underwood drive is a spectacular diversion
that had us climb as high as 1000 feet above sea level before winding
down to cross the fertile coastal flats of White’s, Robin Hood,
Ocean and Oyster Bays. It is very remote - no tea rooms, telephones,
pubs or motels, although there are many attractive picnic spots, so
pack a thermos and hamper, and allow yourself a couple of hours for
the round trip back to Picton.
I confess to having a soft spot for the Pelorus Sound, 45 minutes from
Picton west around the Grove Arm and through Linkwater. The Pelorus is
far less populated and less developed than the Queen Charlotte. Its
beauty has a dark and brooding, almost mysterious quality. The boats
here do not snarl and scream and stink of paraffin, they just gently
chug. The people are warm, laid back and hospitable.
Within half an hour further west into the ranges are the almost
ethereally beautiful bushwalks of the Pelorus Reserve and renowned
trout fishing in the Pelorus River, then the famous Rai Valley bakery
where baker Jock Rennie made it into the 1968 Guinness Book of Records
with the world’s longest loaf of bread. The wee shop’s
reputation these days is for its scrumptious venison pies; at $3
they’re laughably expensive, but yummy - and you’re not
penny-pinching when you’re on holiday, so treat yourself!
On your way back towards Blenheim, sup an ale at the Canvastown pub.
The dilapidated old two-storeyed wooden hotel is all that remains of
the once thriving 19th century goldrush settlement - so named for the
vast acres of tents that housed those countless aspiring millionaires.
There are still a few grains to be panned from the adjacent stream,
but don’t book passage in a hurry: the local graziers’
anecdotes over a pint in the Trout Hotel we deemed a good deal
weightier than the nuggets.
Your final imperative in this itinerary is a day or two on
Marlborough’s seaboard. Here again, there are no luxury resorts.
Kaikoura (‘kai,’ the native word for food and
‘koura’ meaning lobster) is the largest centre, a fishing
village of 2500 (the “lobster capital” of New Zealand),
well-served for camping grounds and middle-priced motels; it also
offers a dive-with-the-dolphins and whale-watching trip which, at
NZ$100 a head, is not for the backpacker’s and
hitch-hiker’s budget, but is popular with wealthy family groups.
These 60 miles of coast are almost a geographical conundrum. In the
lee of the seaward mountains, we swept on beautiful tar seal from
driftwood-cluttered dunes and verdant swards to towering coastal
massifs where the adjacent main trunk railway would seem to qualify as
the most tunnelled stretch of track in the world. This coast is
legendary for its seal colonies, and we were able to get very close to
the animals as they bask and frolic on the rocks.
Probably the most spectacular strip of this coast is the last 10 miles
south of Kaikoura township. Here the mountains crowd the shore and the
highway hugs its hillside holds like a tarmac mantelpiece. It climbs
and twists precariously around the cliffs, escaping through two road
tunnels before plunging to wind back down into Oaro and out again into
the Hundalee Ranges.
The coast is at its most beautiful mid-winter, when it is clear, crisp
and chilly, but the vista of the snow-clad mountains as a backdrop to
this wild seascape is almost matchless. Picnic areas and bushwalks
abound, and the marine life in the rock pools is a world apart.
Whatever time of year you treat yourself to the delights of “New
Zealand’s best kept secret,” take plenty of time. There is
nothing fast or sophisticated about the Marlborough province, so see
it at the local pace. You’ll love it.
(ends)

in article , Johnny Stewart
at wrote on 14/12/03 5:54 PM:

Secret New Zealand
a travelogue
by John Stewart
Captions: a view across the main reach of the Queen Charlotte Sound
Graeme Hopkins of Compass Charters will take you
amongst grouper this size …
Or to dive for a lunch of lobbies!
(1050 words)

Nelsonians proudly proclaim their patch to be “New
Zealand’s best-kept secret”; trite, perhaps, but difficult
to dispute.

Some geography gone astray here ;-)!! - Marlborough is not part of Nelson -
but a separate district altogether. Neither are provinces any longer - NZ
abolished Provincial Govt in 1876 so the only use for the term "province" is
in Rugby Union - NPC = National Provincial Championships.

Vicki

On Mon, 15 Dec 2003 23:15:10 +1300, vicki Steven
wrote:

in article , Johnny Stewart
at wrote on 14/12/03 5:54 PM:

Secret New Zealand
a travelogue
by John Stewart
Captions: a view across the main reach of the Queen Charlotte Sound
Graeme Hopkins of Compass Charters will take you
amongst grouper this size …
Or to dive for a lunch of lobbies!
(1050 words)

Nelsonians proudly proclaim their patch to be “New
Zealand’s best-kept secret”; trite, perhaps, but difficult
to dispute.

Some geography gone astray here ;-)!! - Marlborough is not part of Nelson -
but a separate district altogether. Neither are provinces any longer - NZ
abolished Provincial Govt in 1876 so the only use for the term "province" is
in Rugby Union - NPC = National Provincial Championships.

Well, not quite. There are also local Anniversary Day holidays each
year, which are generally based on the old Provincial boundaries.

But the article needs a lot of correcting, which I won't attempt to
complete. I will just comment that the Marlborough Sounds are drowned
river valleys, not mountain ranges. Not to be confused with the
"sounds" of Fiordland, which are fiords - formed by glaciers.
--
Martin Hunt
Ngaio
Wellington
New Zealand

Martin Hunt wrote in message . ..
On Mon, 15 Dec 2003 23:15:10 +1300, vicki Steven
wrote:

in article , Johnny Stewart
at wrote on 14/12/03 5:54 PM:

Secret New Zealand
a travelogue
by John Stewart
Captions: a view across the main reach of the Queen Charlotte Sound
Graeme Hopkins of Compass Charters will take you
amongst grouper this size …
Or to dive for a lunch of lobbies!
(1050 words)

Nelsonians proudly proclaim their patch to be “New
Zealand’s best-kept secret”; trite, perhaps, but difficult
to dispute.

Some geography gone astray here ;-)!! - Marlborough is not part of Nelson -
but a separate district altogether. Neither are provinces any longer - NZ
abolished Provincial Govt in 1876 so the only use for the term "province" is
in Rugby Union - NPC = National Provincial Championships.

Well, not quite. There are also local Anniversary Day holidays each
year, which are generally based on the old Provincial boundaries.

But the article needs a lot of correcting, which I won't attempt to
complete. I will just comment that the Marlborough Sounds are drowned
river valleys, not mountain ranges. Not to be confused with the
"sounds" of Fiordland, which are fiords - formed by glaciers.

A ria is as I described it.
Fjord is spelt with a 'j,' not an 'i.'
But most importantly, I write, in the spirit of this column, for the
information and assistance of travellers ... not to appease the
nit-picky whims intellectuals and academics. It could be possible
here to get bogged down in irrelevancies, which would be sad, no?
John

On 16 Dec 2003 12:34:32 -0800, (Johnny
Stewart) wrote:

Martin Hunt wrote in message . ..
On Mon, 15 Dec 2003 23:15:10 +1300, vicki Steven
wrote:

in article , Johnny Stewart
at wrote on 14/12/03 5:54 PM:

Secret New Zealand
a travelogue
by John Stewart
Captions: a view across the main reach of the Queen Charlotte Sound
Graeme Hopkins of Compass Charters will take you
amongst grouper this size …
Or to dive for a lunch of lobbies!
(1050 words)

Nelsonians proudly proclaim their patch to be “New
Zealand’s best-kept secret”; trite, perhaps, but difficult
to dispute.

Some geography gone astray here ;-)!! - Marlborough is not part of Nelson -
but a separate district altogether. Neither are provinces any longer - NZ
abolished Provincial Govt in 1876 so the only use for the term "province" is
in Rugby Union - NPC = National Provincial Championships.

Well, not quite. There are also local Anniversary Day holidays each
year, which are generally based on the old Provincial boundaries.

But the article needs a lot of correcting, which I won't attempt to
complete. I will just comment that the Marlborough Sounds are drowned
river valleys, not mountain ranges. Not to be confused with the
"sounds" of Fiordland, which are fiords - formed by glaciers.

A ria is as I described it.

I'll take your word for it, but I can't find 'ria' in my dictionaries.
Here, they are called "sounds".

Fjord is spelt with a 'j,' not an 'i.'

Where I live, either spelling can be used - most dictionaries give the
'j' spelling as an alternative. Most people will spell it with an 'i',
because it makes more sense, especially as Fiordland is spelt that
way.

But most importantly, I write, in the spirit of this column, for the
information and assistance of travellers ... not to appease the
nit-picky whims intellectuals and academics. It could be possible
here to get bogged down in irrelevancies, which would be sad, no?

Agreed, but accuracy is important, too. Having said that, the rest of
the article is quite good. It is really only the Marlborough being
part of Nelson which wasn't quite right, and I had a chuckle at the
thought of Blenheim being a provincial capital (although I suppose it
was once).

But I found that your article was not easy to read, because of all
those #8xxx numbers scattered through it (which is probably why I
didn't read it properly before). What are they for? They seem to
mostly be where I expect quote marks or apostrophes.

John

--
Martin Hunt
Ngaio
Wellington
New Zealand