Photo update

We had fun exploring the Aorere Valley, a dairy farming area on the road to the Heaphy Track (one of NZ's 5 Great Walks). The general store at Bainham was a very funky  art gallery, coffee shop that felt like a junk yard in a barn. The Naked Possum Cafe, however, was quite upscale. Their art gallery features items made from tanned possum hide, an introduced animal that is huge pest. They eat native trees and the eggs of the national symbol, kiwi birds.

We made it out to the end of the Farewell Spit yesterday. Depending on the tide, it can be as long as 35 km. Tides here are very long because the land is flat allowing the water to go way out. We had hoped to see more birds but did see oyster catchers and godwits.

A view of Nelson from a lookout at what has been determined to be "the centre of New Zealand".

One of the dozens of phenomenal costumes from the Wearable Art Museum. Oddly, perhaps in a nod to the men, the other half of the museum displays classic cars.

John has done all of the driving so far while I serve as navigator. The road to Collingwood from Nelson goes over Tanaka Hill which is an extraordinarily curvy road. Good job John!

This is a shot of the Te Waikoropupu Springs, a sacred Maori site. Most place names here are in the Maori language. It's been hard for me to learn to pronounce these names! The springs put out 14,000 liters of water per second and are touted as the purest water in the world. Note the clear aqua water.

This is Cape Farewell, the northernmost point of the south island. Seals hang out here. We stopped here as part our tour to Farewell Spit.

Milnthorpe Beach is typical of the area. The tide is out making the beach extra wide. Not a soul here though we just missed a wedding that caused the entire region to shut down. We had trouble finding a restaurant open as far as 30 minutes away. Parts of the beach are totally covered with seashells. It made me sad to walk on them making them crunch and break under foot. Most of them were whole.

I am continuing my accreditation work LOL. We took a little wine tasting tour and I just had to get his photo. Amazing wines here, mostly famous for the Sauvignon Blanc and top notch Pinot Noir.