Ferry - South Is. Nelson...
Am. Hazy sun - warm. Packed car. Walked to find place to buy replacement watch battery - then discovered it was OK. Back to Cuba St./Fidels. V. good brunch - eggs Benedict + salmon. Drove to ferry, late leaving and very slow. Crossing took nearly 6 hours! Drove around small coast road to Nelson, v. winding - good views. Hotel at Nelson OK. Raining.
Our crossing was booked for 1.30pm, which limited sightseeing - we decided to return to Fidel's for brunch as other people's breakfasts looked delicious on our previous visit for coffee and brownies. Instead of walking along the harbour front we took a shortcut through the Te Aro district using backstreets. They were a mixture of faded Victorian villas and industrial and office blocks from the 20s & 30s, reflecting the city's development during the first half of the last century. It reminded me of Portland, Maine.
Fidel's was as crowded on a Monday as at the weekend, but we were happy to sit on a bench seat in the window and wait for a table to become available. It's a very buzzy place, attracting students and creative types. The table next to us was occupied by a serious looking chap in his 50s with a big beard, bald head and black, thick-rimmed glasses (think Alan Ginsberg). He was being talked at enthusiastically by a chap three decades his junior - a bit underfed looking with stringy long hair (think Neil from the Young Ones). Both seemed to be video installation artists of some sort and the earnest one sided discussion centred around what exactly the aesthetic consequences were of using an analogue rather than a digital platform. I was no clearer afterwards on questions of aesthetics, but the one outcome I noted was intense debate of this type inevitably led to cold expressos.
Never mind the aesthetics, where is my breakfast, Gill muses.
However, when the eggs benedict did finally arrive they were truly delicious...
as was the coffee.
We will remember Fidel's forever - it's a great coffeehouse. Time now to head back to the apartment - we had already checked out and loaded the car, but because people are kind and considerate here, the receptionist let us leave the car in one of the place's dedicated parking spots. As ever we arrived far too early for the 1.30pm ferry. The service seemed to be running late, it was quite windy on the quayside, I wondered if we were going to have a bumpy crossing. I am not a good sailor having been known to become queasy in Dover docks even before the ship had cast off.
Finally we were on our way, as many campers and motorhomes as cars. I had a pang of regret, perhaps we should have rented one for a week or so despite the cost, next time maybe.
The weather closed in once we hit the open sea so we did not see much until we reached the long inlet of Queen Charlotte Sound. I have Captain Cook's journal with me as holiday reading, as luck would have it he and I were on the exact same spot on the planet separated only by 243 years and 210 days. I celebrated the fact by taking a windswept snapshot on deck.
Though the weather was squally today, it was terrible when Cook sailed these waters, in fact there are dark murmurings on T.V. regarding the forecast. Cyclone Gita has devastated Tahiti in recent days; it is always an inexact science to second guess where storm systems will head next, but it is a possibility that the remnants of the system will affect hereabouts later in the week.
The 'Straightsman' docks at Picton on the South Island. Budget accommodation was a bit thin on the ground there, so we had booked a motel in Nelson. It looked nearby on the map, however the main road goes south towards Blenhiem, making our bed for the night more than eighty miles distant. Given that we had docked later than scheduled we would be arriving after dark. Gill found a shortcut through the hills to Havelock. It shaved twenty miles off the journey. The road was unexpectedly narrow and twisting, slow-going, but beautiful, despite the dull weather.
We found a lay-by somewhere beyond Linkwater and pulled off to admire the view of the inlet.
We have a rule about selfies - we don't! However, it seemed like 'a moment', here on this empty byway in the quiet forests of the South Island - so, here we are, in wrinkly close-up.
