Nelson and Abel Tasman Visit

Hey everyone

Hope all is great back in MN, I'm sure everyone is starting to get ready for the start of the neverending holiday season. I've been busy here in New Zealand, with classes wrapping up I've had quite a bit of school work to finish up with. But I've also been able to do some more traveling around New Zealand with my latest journey to the northern part of the South Island. I was able to call on the hospitality of some wonderful rotarians in the town of Nelson, and visit with the local clubs as well. Nelson is known for beautiful sunny weather, although I visited during a rare rainy week:

However it was still great, and I got to do some hiking on the Abel Tasman Coast track. This track is follows the beautiful coastline, a lot of people enjoy kayaking and camping in this area:

The tides can be a bit tricky to navagate aorund, as evidenced by these pictures of a boat on the shore:

These pictures were taken just a couple hours apart! The weather was quite nice, although not quite warm enough for a swim (trust me, I tested the water!). As I mentioned, I was able to stay with some rotarians during my visit, and here is the gorgeous view from one of their houses:

Not a bad view to wake up to every morning! I was also able to do some exploring in a couple towns surrounding Nelson, and drove up the windy Takaka Hills track. Although the driving was a bit difficult, the view at the top was definitely worth it:

After visiting a few clubs, I made my way back to Christchurch driving along the east coast. I made sure to make a stop in Kaikoura along the way, and had some delicious crayfish from a local stand. Just a couple more picture just outside of Kaikoura:

Although I'm a bit busy with school and rotary presentations for the next few weeks, I'm very excited to have a visit from my mom at the end of November! I've missed her very much, I can't believe I will get to see her in just a little over a month! I will report back then will some more pictures of our journey around New Zealand, and hopefully some good stories as well!