Nelson

Trip to Nelson

October 24, 2021 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

The first weekend of October, we went to Nelson on an overnight trip to visit friends. We were planning to go to a wedding, but because of Level 2 lockdown, only Esther was able to go. We decided to go just to see people, though. We went up there on a Saturday morning, and it was a beautiful day! This has been a very wet year on the Coast, so we thoroughly enjoyed seeing sunshine. We had to stop a few times because of carsick tummies, which made it a longer trip than it would have needed to be, but that gave the boys time to enjoy a creek along the road. Elijah took these pictures on his phone.

A little farther on, I took this picture as we went over the Hope Saddle. The mountains were so gorgeous that day!

We spent that afternoon with a family we got to know in Kaikoura the first few years we were in New Zealand. It was great to reconnect with them! They live at a Christian camp, where he is the cook, so our boys had great fun all afternoon using the obstacle course and other equipment there. Sunday morning we had an open-air meeting with several families on top of a hill on a farm, and then we went into Nelson to meet another old friend from Cheviot. After spending a couple of hours with her, we went to her church, and then drove the 3+ hours home. We were all very tired, but it was great to catch up with so many people.

Nelson

January 5, 2019 by NZ Filbruns 2 Comments

We have some dear friends who live near Nelson. We don’t get to see them very often, but always enjoy being with them when we can. One Sunday in December, we decided to make the trip up there to attend church with them, and then spend the afternoon together. It suited our friends, so we left here earlier than we usually get around on a Sunday morning and headed north! This was one of those times that Google Maps gets it right about the time it takes to get somewhere, so we ended up only a minute or two late for church. We had a great time reconnecting with people we know and love, and got back home that night tired but thankful for the gift of good friends.

Some of the scenery we enjoyed along the way was spectacular!

We ate lunch at a reserve on an estuary near our friend’s home.

After lunch, we walked around a small pond at one side of the reserve. I was amused when we came across Simon washing his boots in the pond. One of his brothers had gotten him muddy.

It almost looked like snow all over the ground—it was actually fluff from the cottonwood trees!

I think this was a shag sitting over the pond.

On our way home, we stopped for fuel in Murchison. Simon spotted this old truck across the way, and had to go take a closer look at it. He’s under the sign in a blue shirt; Mr. Imagination is standing next to the sign, in another blue shirt.

As we drove through the Buller Gorge, we were surprised to come up behind this horse and wagon!

We’re guessing the people were headed back to this picturesque farm.

Kaiteriteri and Split Apple Rock

August 27, 2015 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

On Sunday we went to church with our friends, and then after a quick lunch went out to Split Apple Rock. We had been there with them a year ago, but wanted to show it to my sister-in-law. We didn’t see any penguins this time, but the rock was just as spectacular as the other time! The golden sand in Kaiteriteri is always impressive as well. The boys played on the flying fox (zipline in America) for awhile.

Little Miss was pretty tired by this point of our trip.

Mr. Diligence riding the flying fox at Kaiteriteri.

Mr. Inventor returning the flying fox for the next person to have a ride.

Giving Mr. Imagination a ride

Mr. Sweetie

The beach at Kaiteriteri

Mr. Diligence in a cave at Split Apple Rock, holding a handful of metalic sand.

Some of the boys walked out to the rock itself; the tide was fairly low when we got there.

They harvested more mussels! They cooked them that evening, and Mr. Intellectual found a pearl in one he ate!

The trail down to Split Apple Rock.

Shags on the rock.

Mr. Imagination and Mr. Sweetie looking at the water.

Split Apple Rock.

Motueka

August 25, 2015 by NZ Filbruns 1 Comment

Because of the trouble we had with the van, our plans for Saturday were changed. We packed up and left the campground in Collingwood as early as we could get around, and went over Takaka Hill back to Motueka, hoping to be able to get a used alternator. The used car parts place was closed, however; the information we had been given in Takaka that it would be open on Saturday morning was obviously wrong. We ended up buying a new alternator in Motueka, then going back to a garage in Riwaka that was open seven days a week. Then, we had to decide what to do during the two hours plus that it would take to change alternators. Gayle offered to take us to a beach, but it would have taken a good twenty minutes to get there, then twenty minutes back, and after the job was done he would have to go back out to get us. We opted to just start walking and see what was to be seen around Riwaka. We first went toward Takaka Hill; Mr. Intellectual wanted to find a fruit stand we had seen. After going about half a kilometer, however, I saw that we were nowhere near the fruit stand, so we turned around. As we went back past the garage, Gayle came out and joined us, which was great! Not only was his company welcome, but Mr. Imagination had woke up that morning not able to walk. His foot seemed slightly swollen and maybe bruised, but we have no idea what happened. He simply couldn’t put any weight on it. A three-year-old gets awfully heavy in a hurry when you’re carrying him while walking. We did a lot of trading off! Little Miss seemed quite light, compared to him.

We enjoyed a close-up look at the orchards along the way, and the lemon, orange and grapefruit trees in every other backyard. The first stretch we walked along, at the edge of a busy highway, we were on a narrow shoulder of grass with a deep ditch beside it. We were thankful when we reached a bicycle trail we could walk on, instead! When we reached the outskirts of Riwaka, we stopped to rest for awhile at a tiny playground. After feeding the baby and reading a few chapters of our book (I was glad that I had left my Kindle in my purse!), we went on into Riwaka. Gayle and Mr. Inventor went back soon, to see if the van was done, and the rest of us continued on. We stopped at a few fruit/vege stands. We bought a bag of apples at the first, and had a welcome snack, and then bought some kumara (sweet potatoes) at the next. At the last one, we bought several kilos of golden kiwifruit. We ended up each carrying a load, with two little children and all that fruit! We kept going, though, and were soon out of Riwaka and onto the bridge over the Motueka River. When we got to the other end, I sat down to feed Little Miss again while everyone rested and ate some kiwifruit, and then I stayed there with a few of the boys while Esther, her aunt, and another couple boys went on. We were able to flag Gayle down when he showed up with the van, and then we found the others. We calculated the next day that some of us walked 5.5 kilometers, and the rest about 7! They got a few blocks into Motueka.

This is a typical apple orchard in the Motueka area. They are all dwarf apples, rigourously trained up. Not all are completely enclosed in netting the way this one is, but it’s not uncommon.

Mr. Imagination who couldn’t walk all day. He crawled from the picnic table to this swing!

By this time, it was around 2:00 in the afternoon, and we were famished. We headed out to the waterfront and found a park at which we could eat our sandwiches. There were picnic tables beside an old quay with a wrecked ship beside it, and a flock of screaming seagulls circling overhead, begging for food. One seagull was especially funny. He would open his mouth wide and push his head way forward, and tell the other seagulls off. Apparently, he was the big boss! After lunch we walked around and enjoyed the green grass and beautiful bushes, and walked out the quay. The boys found a trail of stepping stones across the mud flat to the wrecked ship and looked inside it.

We had had a big enough day already, with that long walk, that after doing some necessary grocery shopping in Motueka we went on to the home of the friends we were planning to spend the weekend with. There was enough time before dark to set up a tent and get the camper ready for the night.

Nelson Trip, Part Three and Split Apple Rock

June 2, 2014 by NZ Filbruns 2 Comments

After eating lunch and letting the children play for awhile at Kaiteriteri, we drove a little farther on, to Split Apple Rock. We hiked down a steep trail from the car park to the beach, and suddenly saw this amazing rock!

There was amazing black sand on this beach, which kept itself separate from the golden sand. It was also much heavier. Must be a lot of minerals in it!

We also got to see and hear a tui! That was a new experience. The song is beautiful, but the video I took to try to record the sound only picked up the sound of the waves.

This was another beautiful beach!

The children explored some caves they found at one end of the beach, using headlamps they ran back up to the van to get, and found some Little Blue Penguins back in a crack! That was a special experience.

And then, a tour boat came along and anchored just offshore so the passengers could enjoy a cup of tea in these beautiful surroundings—and the man taking the tour recognized us and shouted hello across the water! That was special.

After leaving Split Apple Rock, we drove around to Marehau, at the beginning of Abel Tasman Park, just to see the area, then, without stopping, went back to our friend’s house with a very tired family. Despite being tired, however, the boys (and some of their girls) went down to play in the mud flats, since it was high tide. They came in at dark, covered with mud and cold!

I was intrigued by these boats, left high and dry on mud flats when the tide went out.

The view from our friend’s deck:

Nelson Trip, Part Two–Kaiteriteri

May 31, 2014 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

The friends we visited in Nelson took us to Kaiteriteri, about a half-hour drive from their house, for the day. What a beautiful place! The sand was even more golden than Lake Michigan, but very coarse. The sky was so blue! It was a perfect morning. The children climbed the rocks, dug in the sand, and played fox and geese.

Nelson Trip, Part One

May 29, 2014 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

We had planned to go to Nelson to visit friends over Easter weekend, but because of the storm had to change our plans. Three weeks later, we were able to go there. As we drove north, we were very thankful we hadn’t tried to go! The scars from the storm were still very visible, and it was obvious that we would not have made it through with our van.