We may not come home!!!

O.K. This is paradise. After driving through Blenheim, which was lovely, but it was miles upon miles of vineyards. Not that I have anything against vineyards, but we decided to stay in Nelson. Lucky us! I don't know where to start. There are mountains behind us, ocean two minutes away, great shops and pubs, beautiful sunshine and warm temperatures. The population is small and they are very friendly. In some ways it reminds us of parts of B.C. Someone said to us today that they have friends that go to B.C. every winter and that B.C. is like New Zealand on steroids and I think that is a good analogy. We are just really getting into this holiday (poor us) and we have to leave the day after tomorrow. Today we went to a little beach called Kaiteriteri. About the only thing to do there is swim, take cruises and kayak. So we decided to rent kayaks. We had a fabulous time. Saw our very first penguins in the wild. They are the smallest variety of penguins. (Blue penguins) Anyway, we don't want to leave. We thought that we would never come back but now we are trying to think of ways to get back in a more affordable way. House exchange maybe. So we would never do Australia again but would come straight to the south island of New Zealand.

This place has the highest concentration of artisans and craftsmen in New Zealand. After our kayak and swim we stopped at a gallery run by a Maori man who comes from a long line of jade carvers. Had a good chat with him. He has a friend that comes to Nelson every winter. Also, the guy that rented us the kayaks has friends ( also Ian and Linda) that come to Fernie every winter. They ski all day and drive taxi at night. Some life!

Anyway, I can't think of anyone who wouldn't love New Zealand, but I keep thinking of my brother Craig and how much he would enjoy this place. You too Judy. Wonderful jewellry!

So tomorrow we are off to Picton to catch the ferry the following day for Wellington on the north island. Boo Hoo, I don't want to leave but hopefully we will find some hidden treasures there as well. We hope to meet up with Brenda and Basil's friends Ingrid and Tom in Wellington and get some good tips from them. Rotarua is a must see but other than that we are just going to explore.

Hope everyone at home is well. Look forward to seeing you all. ( well, maybe a little)

P.S. Have you ever seen bikinis and Christmas trees in the same window display?

Love to all

Linda and Ian