Day 11. Nelson

I can’t explain how amazing it was to have a lovely, hot, LONG shower and then crawl into a nice soft bed! I’m not cut out for this camping malarkey.

(In case you don’t want to read my rambling, I had a lovely day and Nelson is charming, it’s got the perfect blend of having the hustle and bustle of a big town but retaining a holiday feel)

I woke up nice and early, (I was hoping for a lie in but when life gives you lemons...) after a quick cup of tea, I couldn’t pass up free tea and coffee, I made the trek into Nelson. I say trek, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, only a bit of one mind. It’s 2 kilometers (just over a mile) to the supermarket and then another 20 minutes to the centre, it just felt much longer because the sun was out in full force (It was already 20degrees at 8am)

After wandering around the streets watching shops slowly open their doors I found the Cathedral. It was… interesting. I told myself not to expect a Cathedral as I was used to, particularly not after Italy. And it certainly was like no Cathedral I’d seen before. But its differences had their own appeal. Plus I felt it was a nice way to start my day.

the view of the Cathedral from the shops

A proposed idea for what it should look like!

I saw this quote in the history of the building section and thought it fitted the Cathedral perfectly

i lit some candles for those back home- so you know i'm thinking of you :)

After a little more roaming around (and picking up a pair of shoes that were in the sale – they had 10 pairs out when I went into the Cathedral and only one when I came out. So, obviously, I had to buy them – it was fate) I found the Bead Gallery. Which, as the name suggests, is a space crammed to the rafters with Beads! I’m just going to let the pictures explain this place – it was captivating though as there was so much to stop and admire.

Next up was a stop at an adorable café where you could buy and paint your own pottery (love the idea) before taking a walk to the beach and more exploring.

By about 2 Axel was awake and ready (he’s staying at a different hostel to me and George as he got here earlier) so we hunted down a little coffee shop, KUSH, which was recommended in our guidebook for having amazing coffee and a fun atmosphere. After one or two wrong turns we found it, and it was great to sit and chat in our look nook filled with books with good coffee.

(homemade lemonade)

One of my favourite details of the coffee shop!

After talking about summer plans (Australia is calling my name- sorry mum, at least it’s safer than India and Ghana?) we both headed back to our hostels. And who do I find in our room at the hostel other than Alex! (the guy we befriended from our hostel room in Wellington!) Such a small world.

At the moment we’re just planning Able Tasman and trying to figure out how much we can get done in a few days, we’re going to spend two more nights here in Nelson soaking up the rays and then it’s off again.

P.S the weather here is SO beautiful, and the consistency makes a welcome change to Marlborough Sound where it was hit or miss!