It amazing how quiet Caravan Parks are in NZ. I woke as 6am this morning and got up at 6.30 to start working on my blog for the past 3 days. I finished around 8am and there was still really no noise in the park. How do they get all the kids to be quiet? Mandy slept well and woke at 8 and we were ready to go by about 9.30 after a lazy start and our first night in the camper. We visited the bank to exchange some money and Kathmandu to get another cheap jumper for me. $139 on sale to $40 plus a Summit Club discount to $31, then the exchange rate brings it down to about $25. Bargain.
We then set off for Abel Tasman NP up north. On the way we realized we were going to go through a town called Richmond and the end of the road was at Collingwood. We hoped we’d see a sign listing both and we did – except we didn’t have the camera ready. We arrived at the NP at around noon and went for a short walk which turned out to be a long walk getting back to the camper at around 2pm. (photo)
A quick couple of sandwiches made and off we set for Pelorus Bridge which took us back the way we’d come. I needed a little snooze in Richmond so Mandy went to check out the shops and sort something out for my dinner. We arrived here around 4.30 pm and have camped in the small and very quiet campground in a lovely spot that reminds us of Cape Tribulation in far north Queensland. After setting up, we went to check out the bridge and it is a beautiful place that is very peaceful. The water is flowing fast and crystal clear. Another short walk took us to the suspension bridge (photo) and I managed to convince Mandy to tie the camera to the bridge and get the self timer happening. The most difficult part was not rocking the bridge too much between pushing the button and running into the photo. It is a pity it was cloudy here as we think the water colour would be spectacular with the right light.
Our dinner tonight consisted of leftover Thai for Mandy and a tin of Chunky soup with bread for me. Not too shabby! We were also treated to the passing near our feet of a largish bird (photo) but we couldn’t recognize it. I was browsing through the local paper later and saw an article on the Weka bird that was returning to the bush in parts of NZ. When I looked at the photo, sure enough, it was the bird WE had just seen.
A bit earlier to bed tonight as we have a 350km drive tomorrow to get to Hamner Springs and some sightseeing along the way. Should be fun.
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