Rarangi Beach is near Blenheim
There is a DOC public campsite next to the beach. It costs NZ$6 per person per night (that's about £3)
We found this little lizard on our levelling wedge in the morning. He was lucky he didn't get squashed.
On the right, vines belonging to Wither Hills, though geographically closer to Cloudy Bay.
White's Bay; the last time we were here it looked like this ...
see this page from 2009
We moved on to Nelson Lakes. We saw a cloud !!! But very little wildlife.
Had a little worry with Tantalus but it was soon sorted by Dean in Motueka
We found Dean on a Friday, late morning. We left with the job done about 2 hours later.
Not expensive either. Recommended.
(The torsion bar support bracket had broken on one side. Dean fabricated 2 new ones and fitted them. They look a lot stronger than the old ones!)
We met Ray who is selling his beautiful Indian.
It's very hot here. We need to keep our liquid intake up. You can take that with a pinch of condiment if you wish.
We are in Braeburn, New Zealand. An apple sapling was found on the roadside at nearby Waiwhero in 1952 and grown on at a Braeburn orchard.
It became the parent plant for the Braeburn apple.
From that orchard, a red bud was found on one tree and developed into the red Braeburn variety, now called Eve.
I thought you would all like to know that.
You may have also noticed 'Tame eels on the map above?
They are to be found at a quirky cafe called Jester House.
On to Blenheim
Right on the 5 year anniversary of the earthquake in Christchurch, we felt it rocking again, epicentre just down the road.
New Zealand has had 19940 quakes in the past year but very few are noticable.
Don't let it put you off visiting here if you possibly can, it's all wonderful.
At the amazing Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre
Peter Jackson, yes, the film maker, has loaned most of these aircraft and many are capable of flight.
Um, maybe not this one ...
This diorama tells a story of a French pilot having been shot down by the German pilot on the left. The two men are very civilly chatting while the German soldiers are wondering what to do with the plane stuck in the tree.
Weta Workshop created the scene I believe.
Time to cross back to the North Island
This is a view of Picton (in the South Island.) taken from the Bluebridge Ferry as we were setting sail to the North Island.
There is great rivalry between the only two ferry companies.
The boat in the photo is the Interislander, the rival company.
We usually choose BlueBridge because they have been giving motorhomers a huge discount for years ($435 reduced to $198 this trip).
Fancy navigating round this lot
No, we didn't fall down the join in the pages ....