Ted. When we visited New Zealand for the first time in 2017 we spent a week exploring the north end of the North Island. From there, we traveled to Te Anau at the south end of the South Island to do some hiking in Fjordland National Park, home of several iconic destinations including Milford Sound. As we were carless, we made use of a wonderful network of shuttles. Over a period of days, we became friendly with one of the shuttle drivers. Sadly I have forgotten her name but I do remember that she invited us to her home one evening for a glass of wine.
As we chatted that evening, she asked us where we were planning to go when we returned to New Zealand. We didn’t have a clue so she recommended her home town of Nelson. She said it was a very livable town of about 55,000 with a mild, sunny climate. Because we thought so highly of her, we have always assumed that was where we would end up on our next visit. Situated at the north end of the South Island, this is now serving us well as a good base to explore a part of the country we skipped in 2017.
Here are a few snapshots I took on our first hike this week which was up a hill overlooking the city of Nelson and bearing a surveyor's mark designating it the "Center of New Zealand."
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| Theoretically the "center" of the country |
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| I call this a Dr Seuss Tree |
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The town is surrounded by hills
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| The city and port on Tasman Bay |
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