Not-so-sunny St. Arnaud

 We ventured a little further inland to the Nelson Lakes region which has a couple of fresh water sub-alpine lakes and a couple of local ski fields.  A simple day trip to test out the van, really.  (Notice how much taller Dave is than me when we are sitting down? Weird, eh?)  Oh, right and in case you hadn't noticed the right side drive, Jackson snapped this photo so I could point it out to you.  There are signs all over NZ that say "KEEP LEFT".  It's really funny, but they get SO many tourists here!   

As you see, the weather was chilly and overcast, but we managed a 2 hour hike through a lovely beech forest.  

The boys were fascinated with the "honeydew" that collects on the outside of the beech trees.  They are all blackened by a sooty beech mold (fungus) and tiny scale insects burrow inside.  They have a very long tube like appendage that protrudes from their rear and looks like a white hair sticking out of the tree.  WELL, these scale insects eat the tree's sap and produce a sweet tasting "nectar" that birds and (unfortunately) wasps love.   Apparently it's safe to eat - so we did!  The boys LOVED it and ran through the bush catching droplets of honeydew on their fingers and licking it off. 
 

 Walking around the lake we found a great dock near a popular summer campsite (not opened yet, so deserted at the moment).

 You might be curious to know what the boys are looking at . . .

 

Long finned eels are native to these lakes - who knew?  Even though they are at the top of the food chain in the lakes, they still prefer to hide under the docks and amuse visitors.  They grow up to 5ft long and 50 lbs...anyone for a swim???   

 

We drove up near the summit of Mount Robert to look down on the peninsula we'd walked around and as you can see I'm "homeschooling" Jack with a good explanation and all of the necessary details, reading the history panels etc  - while Xavier is under Daddy's supervision . . . .

OK, people, get it together for a group shot.

As part of our commitment to both the scenic route and Dave's love of driving on gravel roads, some of our "off the beaten path" adventures find us in places like this:

with a cool swing bridge in a farmer's field near the start of a reserve trail

overlooking a pleasant stream

 we were after 4:30pm though, so we let Jackson pinch the cow and we headed home

walking through the sheep paddocks

and opening and closing the farm gate manually.  Not that you can see, but this gate didn't even have a hinge, it was chicken-wired to a metal stake.  And the passenger has to get out of the vehicle and lift it! 

Oh, the places we'll go this year (hopefully back to the beach sooner, rather than later!) . . . 

Golden Bay

 We headed out for a tiki tour around the Golden Bay area for a 3 night camping trip to test out our new tent and enjoy some time with the extended family as Dave's family joined us at Pohara Holiday Park.  About one hour away from Nelson, the road sweeps over Takaka Hill.  There is an underground caving system here, part of "Marble Mountain" and we stopped to explore.
The tour guide was a lovely grandma-type, so the boys each got a torch (aka flashlight) to hold for the journey.    

 They even got to hold a REAL moa bone.  The Moa was a flightless bird, even larger than the emu and ostrich and was hunted to extinction long ago.  Some fell through sink holes in this mountainside terrain and ended up fossilized throughout the cave system that stretches for hundreds of kilometers. 

Above ground after we climbed out of the cave,  you can see bay and the many marble rocks sticking out of the ground.  Looks for this landscape in the upcoming Hobbit movie (hint, hint)!
 

A lovely "hairpin" turn coming down the Takaka hill on the switchback road.

 Day 2 saw us head to Anatoki Salmon farm when you catch your own salmon and then it's prepared for you for your lunch! 

 Daddy & Xavier nabbed one first.

But Mommy & Jackson's was HEAPS bigger!

Overall standings . . . mine ranks in at the largest by about 500 g

Picnic lunch with freshly smoked salmon, caught by us less than 1 hour ago.  Very cool fun! 
They provide all of the equipment for fishing in their fully stocked pond and you only pay for amount of fish you catch by weight! 

 Side road pitstop at Labyrinth Rocks, very cool rock formations, tunnels and a maze of pathways.
through the bush.  Someone had graciously placed a few dozen animal skulls in some of the rock ledges (no photo!) of farm animals to aid the boys in their anatomy lessons . . . LOL 

It was warm enough for a swim that afternoon as the tide was out and the water shallow for a good 50 meters.  

 Jackson found a scallop shell . . .

Dave was looking for pippies and cockles, small shellfish his mother loves to cook up for tea (dinner).  Luckily he only found 3 reasonable sized ones, so there was no need to share.

Xavier had a nap on the blanket again and we had to wake him up when the tide was coming in just a few feet away (what's with him falling asleep on the beach??)

Coastal highway just past the beach goes right through this tunnel.

Then we ventured on to Pupu Springs, the largest fresh water spring in the southern hemisphere and the clearest water in the world.  It was raining a bit which messed up the reflections on the water . . .

 We drove another hour or so north to the top of the south island which is more exposed on the westernly side and headed to Cape Farewell and Wharariki Beach. 

You probably can't spot the seals in this photo, but Jackson did in person!

En route!

 Made it!  Huge sand dunes to run up and down and a blustery wind complimented the grey day, but the boys took off their shoes and set to exploring mode anyways.  The weather quite suited the mood of this windswept, wild kind of beach.   

 Baby seal pup up close and personal, in a small rock pool on the beach with parents looking down on him from the ledge above. 

Some caves to crawl through again (at least for the little people)

Lovely peacock waiting for us by the car for afternoon tea.  We were surprised by Nana & Poppa in their motorhome for a warm cuppa and biscuits for the boys before carrying on.
 

The beginning of Farewell Spit, a lengthy sand spit that curves around Golden Bay and is the target of many whale beachings annually.  They suspect it's because of the large tidal estuaries and the gentle sloping of the beaches that confused the whales and they find themselves much too close to shore.  Some are rescued of course, but many are not.

 Up in the sheep paddock at the viewing point.  The boys think it's hilarious fun to walk through the sheep paddocks and try to avoid stepping on sheep poo.  It's nigh on impossible, but fun for kids.
You can even spot it in the photo.

 Lovely one lane bridges dot the country . . .

Beautiful sunset at Pohara Beach.  This is high tide.  There's at least 100 meters of beach that appears at low tide as seen in the previous photos of the boys swimming.

Day 3:  We jumped on a ferry to explore the Abel Tasman National Park, checked out Split Apple Rock . . .

The GOLDEN sand beaches . . . 

 
Jumped off the ferry at Tonga Quarry and walked on the part of the Abel Tasman Coastal walk (one of NZ's Great Walks) with the boys for 2 hours over to Bark Bay where we waited for the water taxi to pick us up again.  The boys did great and walked without a sit down break for the whole time, including a bit of uphill trekking.   The views are nothing short of spectacular, the colours are vivid.

We didn't stay for a 4th night in the tent as they were forecasting 3 degrees Celsius overnight with the risk of frost . . .  when my cozy warm bed is less than 1 hour's drive away, I'm not going to freeze in a tent.

It was a great trip.  We're heading away again in the morning, but this time for 12 days in the North Island.  Leaving the computer at home, so there probably won't be an update until closer to Christmas.  Volcanos, hot pools, gloworm caves and beaches here we come!